Banjika Day 7 (Day 14: June 2)

 Hi! Today we arrived at school at around 7:45 for a nice breakfast including chai, donuts, and eggs. We decided the roles for everyone to work at the NGO for the day: we split up for people to make crafts, take photos/videos, create brochures, and work on their social media pages and website. After eating with the Banjika students for some time, we got on our bus to head over to Hidden Hope for the second day! Once we arrived, we all split into our groups to get started working on each of our projects. Sajni, Jazlyn, Sydney, Annie, and Bella made beaded bracelets, Danny and George took photos and videos of the people of Hidden Hope, Nicole and Ellen worked on the Instagram and TikTok pages, and everyone else helped create brochures and adjust the website. We not only spent time with our homestay buddies, but the amazing people who work for Hidden Hope and spent time learning about them and their stories. We ended with a bittersweet goodbye as we handed a bag full of gifts to the founder of Hidden Hope, James. The gifts consisted of materials such as hot glue and sandpaper from Menlo to Hidden Hope as a contribution and appreciation for being so welcoming. After saying our goodbyes, we got surprised with a trip to a pizza place. We enjoyed the surprise meal with our buddies and friends before we headed to the market. At our last visit at the Karatu market, we purchased snacks and jerseys, along with some last gifts for our homestay families. We headed back to Banjika to finish our day off with a big soccer game with the students of Banjika against the Menlo students with our homestay buddies. It was an intense game that finished with penalty kicks and a victory for Menlo! After the game, everyone headed to their homes for their second to last dinner with their families, and many students having neighborhood dinners with other homestays. 

-Sajni















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