IC TRIP : MARA from the 30th of February until the 4th of March 2012)

Since its founding in 1995, Free The Children's programs have engaged over a million young people worldwide.
To date, Free The Children has built over 650 schools and school rooms bringing the fundamental right of education to over 55,000 children every day. Hundreds of communities have benefited from its water and sanitation projects, medical resources and alternative income programs.
Me to We has developed a highly effective model for creating social change, with each branch of the Me to We tree designed to support Free The Children's work at home and abroad. Volunteers on a Me to We trip help build schools. Speakers carry a message of action and hope. Leadership facilitators teach about youth leadership for global change. In addition, half of Me to We's net profit goes to support the work of Free The Children. They also have a variety of campaigns which are run by young people around the world to raise awareness about the social issues faced by children around the world.
Through working together, these two associations have helped change lives, time and again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_b0EK2osBI&feature=player_embedded 



This was an amazing learning experience! i really felt I was making a change, even if it was a small one.
I won't forget playing all of the games (TIIIIIGER UPPER CUT), for taking the time to get to know each other better, for slow clapping after all of Mohammed's meal announcements, but most of all for taking the time to look into issues that I am passionate about, such as sexism. But most importantly, I will always remember helping to build a school for children, who may never have set foot inside a classroom, exploring the local market, learning about traditional Maasai culture, walking with the mamas to draw water and learning about the community water project, which helps to provide clean, safe drinking water for children and families, and about poverty-related issues in Africa. The final night at camp around the fire, each one of us shared what had impacted us throughout our time together. Whether it was vowing to look beyond the labels that we place on one another, paying closer attention to our water usage, or raising awareness on the reality in rural Kenyan education, we were all affected in a way or another. 
 Me to We Trips invites you to take a step  into a new world a step into the Maasai Mara region of Kenya. If you are interested in taking a walk in someone else’s shoes—sometimes quite literally—this is the trip for you. Building schools, digging wells, planting trees—I feel priviledged for the opportunity I had. Not only did I enjoy myself  but I also was part of creating change in this world.

RUNDA FEEDING PROGRAM: Sunday 20th november 2011

THE INTERACT CLUB organized a trip to Runda, where the members of the club helped a feeding association, to which we donate money from our fundraising's.This was my second Runda feeding trip. It was held on the 20th of november from 10:00 am till 12:00 pm. We all met up at the Java House near the UN, from where we all went to the Runda village in cars. Outside the gate, there was an army of hungry children who greeted us and inside, there were boxes an boxes filled with food : bread, milk, candy, etc... This food was bought with the donated money. Our job was to open the boxes and organize and arrange this huge amount of food in different areas of the place.  I was assigned the milk distribution with two other girls. I was assigned the distribution of the candy, which seemed to make all the children really happy. I was ecstatic about the fact that there was no shortage of food or drinks this time, unlike at my first Runda trip.
There is nothing more satisfying than a child thanking you with an honest smile on his face!

ZUMBA: Friday 7th October 2011

My mom takes zumba classes twice a week, and she insisted on taking me to my first class with her, on the 7th of october from 6:00 pm till 7:00 pm, in the My Fair Hotel, in Westland. It’s an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health.
It is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning producers, and contagious steps to form a "fitness-party" that is downright addictive.
But although it was really tiring, I loved it and decided to go every time i am free to do so.

I contributed to the "students for environment" 's bake sale!

My sister is a member of the SFE club, so i helped her make two vanilla cakes and brownies. I am not a great cook but deserts are my specialty, especially crepes. I gathered all the ingredients, and mixed them with the help of my sister. We were pleased with the result, and I was glad to see, the second day, that everything we prepared was sold.

JUNIOR VARSITY TENNIS TEAM: August-December 2011

I was chosen to be part of the team after 4 days of tryouts. We are 12 players in total. We have one hour long tennis practice every tuesday and wednesday mornings and every thursday afternoon. We work on our techniques, play games and doubles' matches. We play matches against other schools, such as Rosslyn on some thursdays after school, from 3:30 till 6:00 pm. We have won so long. We only wear our tennis outfits during matches. I am number 16 in the Lions JV team. Unfortunately, the tennis season will be over in December.

MUN: Model United Nations

Model United Nations (also known as "MUN") is an educational simulation that focuses on civics, communications, and multilateral diplomacy. 
During a Model United Nations conference, students take on roles as foreign diplomats and participate in a simulated session of an intergovernmental organization (IGO). Participants research a country, take on a role as a diplomat, investigate international issues, debate, deliberate, consult, and then develop solutions to world issues. During a simulation they must employ a variety of communications and critical thinking skills to defend and advance the policies of their country.


My schedule only allows me to participate in one MUN meeting every two weeks, on mondays week 1 during activity block. Therefore i won't be able to be chosen as one of the delegates in the MUN conference coming up. But even though i am not committed to this club as much as to Interact club, MUN remains important to me because it discusses world wide issues such as discrimination and sexism, which really matter for a feminist like me. Right now we are concentrating on some countries such as China, which our delegates will represent at the conference. Our job is to gather information about their backgrounds, their actual issues, their allies and their enemies. China has some sexist policies towards the female gender, which is why i chose to research this country instead of the other ones.

MURAL PAINTING: September- October 2011

THE CLUB COMMITTEE decided to paint a mural to represent the Interact club and what it does. It is in a way, to promote and advertise the club in the school. The members were asked of who was interested in designing it, so i volunteered. I first thought of what Interact does, and i used my previous experiences with the OVC trip and the Rhunda feeding program to do so. I than resumed and separated the roles of the club in four major catch phrases:
- Step on poverty
- Erase sadness
- Roll over hunger
- Say YES to interact club
 I then drew a colorful image for each, incorprating Kenyan animals to make it look fun and attractive to the eye. And finally i added the Interact club logo, before presenting it to Mrs. Taylor, the teacher responsible of the project. After she, Mrs. Maccay and the committee voted and approved it, the drawing and the painting began. The school gave us a very nice spot for the mural, near the high school office. It took 4 sessions to finish it off. I participated in two of them, during the drawing and the painting process. So i dedicated my time to designing it, and than tuesday 20th september and thursday 29th of september, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm after school. We were all really proud of the result!