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16 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 2, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Internship in Africa a once-in-a-lifetime experience By Shena Mistry SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Mishomoroni is known as an "urban slum to many people living in Mombasa, Kenya, but for me it has been a place of inspiration. I am an Oakville resident entering my fourth year studying International Development and Politics at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. As practical experience in my field of study, I spent this summer volunteering in Kenya at New Hope Junior School and New Hope Children's Home and Rehabilitation Centre which are located in an impoverished area called Mishomoroni. I taught English, math, and social studies at the school which has seven classes from Kindergarten to Grade 5. After school I would teach basic computer skills to the teachers and students at a nearby community centre. After a few weeks, they requested a fee of 200 Kenyan shillings/per day (approximately $4 Cdn.) for the two hours of use, so the computer lessons were halted as funds are very limited and the school can barely afford enough pencils for each student. Presently, 127 children from the neighbourhood attend New Hope Junior School and 27 of them are orphans living at the adjoining New Hope Children's Home and INSPIRATIONAL CHILDREN: Oakville's Shena Mistry with some of the children she taught at the New Hope Junior School and New Hope Children's Home and Rehabilitation Centre in Mombasa, Kenya. Rehabilitation Centre. My daily interaction Despite the hardships these children with the students from Monday to Friday for have already faced at such a young age, they a duration of 10 weeks has made me acutely are remarkably cheerful, intelligent, well aware of the universal importance of educa- behaved, and very eager to learn. Each and tion. every child at New Hope demonstrates unique talent with so much potential. These children have the drive and ability to succeed, but there is a major lack of funding to support their efforts. The lives of the children at New Hope ­ and of all underprivileged children around the world ­ are not solely the concern of the local community in which they reside, but a much larger international responsibility that should be and can be resolved through the collaborative efforts of individuals, governments, multinational corporations, NGOs, and educational institutions. Please help build a sense of hope in these youths so that they may have a brighter future. Donations are desperately needed for food, medical supplies, clothes, school books, and stationary. A website -- www.newhopechildren.org -- has been launched recently with profiles of the children and their personal hardships. If you would like to support New Hope by volunteering or sponsoring a child, you can contact Japheth Eyama, Project Founder and Chief Administrator of New Hope Centre, at hp_centre@yahoo.com. Upon arrival in Mombasa over two months ago, I wondered what difference I could possibly make as an individual volunteering at New Hope, but since then I have come to realize that nothing you do for a child is ever wasted. LOOK INSIDE THIS MONTH'S BONUSPAK ENVELOPE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF 20 FAMILY TOWER ONE OF 20 FAMILY TOWER PACKAGES FOR 4 PACKAGES FOR 4 TO TO LOOK FOR SPECIAL OFFERS FROM THESE ADVERTISERS IN YOUR JULY BONUSPAK BRONTE Chinese Restaurant L.L.B.O Mount Royal Laundromat & Dry Cleaners $ 30 1 VA LUE For Information call Marie Gallagher at 905-845-3824 ext 273 The Oakville Beaver See inside for details or go to Contests.metroland.com BONUSPAK Metroland