My recent visit to DIG in Kenya in May 2012 was a wonderful adventure thanks to the outstanding leadership of Sarah Koch, the executive director and her DIG co-workers! Our itinerary was well organized and offered a “hands-on” experience to help us understand the mission and work of the Garden Program. We visited many DIG sites and participated in their gardening endeavors. It was special to have the opportunity to meet the Kenyan people in their schools, homes & gardens and to see how DIG is giving them support in bettering their life style through learning how to plant and manage a garden, and reaping the harvest of nutritious vegetables from their home gardens.
We spent three days at WISER, the Women’s’ Institute of Secondary Education & Research’s boarding school located near Lake Victoria. The students gave us a guided tour of their school garden and classrooms. We visited several “home gardens” of girls who lived near the school. The DIG leaders and volunteers helped construct a home garden located on the shores of Lake Victoria. It was amazing to watch them create this new garden.
We traveled on to DIG’s Lwala site at the Health Clinic. The highlight of this visit for me was spending the day with Maurice (a student of the DIG Program) and his family at his home. He was so proud to show me his huge, thriving vegetable garden and the well that he had dug to supply water for his plants. I met his two wives, ten children, his mother & father and brother.
They all lived together on his lands that he and his brother had inherited from his father…One of his wives prepared a delicious meal of fresh vegetables from his garden. We enjoyed the afternoon talking about his life and family.
It was a humbling experience for me and I will cherish the memories of this special day…. The Encounter Mara Safari was a thrilling experience of observing the glorious animals in their natural habitats on the Masai Mara lands. Our Masai guide took us on early morning and late evenings safaris and related interesting facts about the animals and their surroundings. We also visited a Masai Mara Village.
I would highly recommend this trip with the DIG Team. They are devoted, young people who are determined to help the African people better their lives through their Gardening Program.
In my many worldly travels, this trip was by far the most meaningful and memorable one because of the close relationships I formed with the beautiful, hospitable Kenyan folk…
Nyla Hoffner Retired Teacher California