Staying with friends
At the age of 17 or 18, young people are open to new encounters and still young and receptive enough to absorb the experience of a completely different world so deeply that imprints and values can change as a result.
Travel and intercultural exchange can be a form of youth initiation, as was found in many ancient cultures on the threshold of adulthood, especially through:
• being on your own – with peers, but without adults
• being wide awake and present, opening yourself up to the unknown
• putting aside the many desires and sensitivities of the ego
• handling your own fears
To face life in the informal settlements responsibly, to deal with the diverse, extreme impressions and to be able to meet the hosts adequately in their hard living conditions, the young people prepare for their trip for two years. Criteria for this are the interest and consistency in the support of the partner schools and the independent preparation of the trip in conversation with nyendo alumni, the nyendo team and local friends.
Since 2015
have spent two weeks with our friends in Kenya and another week traveling in the country.
„It was my most beautiful and impressive experience I have had so far and probably ever will have. I see it as an incredible opportunity that was given to me…“
„The people were so open and friendly and welcomed us warmly in a way I had never experienced before… …It was very interesting for me to see how these people live…as it is almost impossible to imagine these circumstances without having been there. I am so grateful for this experience. I would have thought that it would be hard to endure the circumstances there. But it wasn’t … and it made you appreciate our standard of living again.“
How do our partners in Kenya experience the visits of the students?
Our cooperation since 2012, with its financial donations, interactive projects, and international guests, is experienced – especially by our African partners – as a great enrichment and help.
„… but the best of all was how the nyendo youth from Germany interacted with our children, lived with them and got personally involved!!! This opened not only hearts, but also horizons and new worlds for countless children and adults.“
Who is responsible?
The existential need of the people in the informal settlements is so great that even in gentle and peace-loving people criminal survival energy awakens when they must deal with “whites”. Aware of such a danger, we have developed a framework that enables our young people to be warmly welcomed as guests thanks to our friends in the informal settlements. “We felt so safe,” Sophie reported, “they became our second family.”
The parents are in charge. The trip is organized privately.