See Clearly |  Bogani & back again

Our stay at Bogani Cottages in the Maasai Mara was nothing short of magical, and the people we got to meet there made it all the more special. The staff and Me to We team were so accommodating and made us feel right at home. It was such a treat for us to be able to do a special vision screening for the staff closer to the end of our stay. We felt it was the least we could do to thank them for the wonderful hospitality. We had such an amazing opportunity to do screenings at the local health clinic and schools but it felt extra special being able to do the screening for the wonderful staff at Bogani, as we had the chance to really get to know them all and interact with them more.

We set up the screening after dinner one night and it was great seeing them all have fun with it, whether that was challenging each other to who could see better or teasing each other if they were struggling a bit to see the smaller letters. There was one staff member named Lillian who noticeably saw a difference with the glasses on and immediately started beaming when she could see well. She was so very thankful that we were able to help her with that and gave us a big hug when we left. I already miss the Kenyan hospitality and those special people that made all the difference during our trip.

On the last day of our trip, it was time to say goodbye to the Maasai Mara and make our way back to Nairobi. It was incredibly difficult to say goodbye to the staff who really felt like family to us at that point, and to the amazing community of the Mara. Not only was it absolutely breathtaking, but the locals we had the pleasure of meeting and the way of life we were introduced to left a lasting impression we would carry with us for a lifetime.

During our trip back to Nairobi, we stopped in to the Me to We Atelier to see where some of the products are made and sold. As we finished up some last minute purchases and started to leave to the bus to head to our next destination, we ran into a friendly, petite woman who introduced herself as Roxanne. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was Roxanne Joyal, CEO of Me to We and a founding member of Free the Children. She lives in Nairobi for parts of the year and was there for business, so it just so happened by chance that our group got to run into her. We had a chance to sit down and share some lunch with her and it was so inspiring to hear more about Roxanne’s story. She asked us lots of questions about how our experience was in the Mara and we got to learn more about her life in Nairobi and what really inspires her. It was an incredible opportunity to spend time with her and it was really clear how passionate and dedicated she is to her role with Me to We and its mission to change the world. She has a huge heart and we felt so lucky to have met her face-to-face. I felt it really was a perfect ending to the trip to see how the organization and charity do what they do.

Contribution from: Liz G, Call Center Manager Extraordinaire