Driven by the passion and sacrifices of Jessica and her husband Salimu, we decided to leave for the village and discover what can really be done with donations. From the start, the transparency emerged that, even from afar, one can perceive, and above all the dedication and determination with which they carry forward this project.

We were warmly welcomed into this big family to which we tried, in our small way, to bring some help and smiles. But the truth is that the greatest lessons were given to us by them, teaching us how important it is to help each other, always smile, and be grateful for what we have. We can't wait to go back and embrace everyone again.

In the meantime, we will continue to commit ourselves from here to ensure that so much effort and love reach as many people as possible and to ensure that Jessica and Salimu's sacrifices transform into something ever greater!

When someone asks me to talk about my volunteer work in Kenya, I always answer "you have to live it". When I returned to Italy, I immediately thought about leaving again. Yet, as soon as I arrived in Kenya, I had wanted to run away. When I arrived, Jessica began to share the first "general rules". Handing me my dinner, she told me I had to enter African culture, and so I ate ugali with my hands from the very first evening…

Then she assigned me my mineral water container and a small bottle to refill as needed and, with a candid but confident voice, she explained that there's no shower, no hot water, no water at all, and no toilet… It's in the village where our children are (my Salimu) that I came into deep contact with African culture and saw a deeply rooted culture. It's in that vast garden that you see in the photo where I played sack races, capture the flag... it's in front of the red door where, during food distribution, I saw hopeful eyes, but so hungry for love too...

It's in the pediatrician's office that I saw immense humanity and a professionalism I didn't expect… it's in the cries of the children during vaccinations that I felt love, tenderness, and the need to be embraced and to be embraced myself, too. The African reality is as far as possible from our orderly lifestyle, in Kenya poverty is practically everywhere, yet, during our volunteer work we received hundreds of smiles from the children…

Along the roads, an infinity of cheerful "jambo" from anyone who met us… nothing like our sad and bored "faces", surrounded by widespread well-being that doesn't let us perceive the true joys of life. You arrive at the awareness that reality is not what ultimately makes you run all day in the chaos of daily life and drags you into endless tiredness, that immerses you in your own and others' problems… reality is "truly looking" with the eyes of awareness, the only one that can help us reason how everything is ephemeral and that we must resize the weight of things, situations, people… see things well, the REAL ones... and manage to give the right dimension to everything.

I was a guest of Jessica and her family for two weeks in April 2024. I was able to meet many families whose children receive distance sponsorship, and you can feel a great sense of community within the village: every day was lived deeply from the first minutes after breakfast with moments of sharing together with the other children present there.

The nature surrounding Jessica's house takes your breath away… It was an experience that allowed me to see directly how difficult it is to live in contexts different from those we are used to in Italy, I recommend it to all people who want to give a hand to Jessica and who at the same time want to get to know Kenya!