September 03, 2009
Bowling
Green, Ky. - After the first few weeks of living as an international student in Kasigau, Western Kentucky
University junior Lindsey Filiatreau had hiked nearly 1,000 vertical meters during her adventure to reach the peak of Mt. Kasigau, took an unforgettable safari trip to Masai Mara where she came face to face with lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs along with a variety of other animals and is eager for her upcoming basket weaving lessons with the Women’s Basket Weaving Guild in the Rukanga Village.
Filiatreau, a biology and chemistry major and Honors College student from Bardstown, has teamed up with the Global Leadership Scholars Program which is offered by the Leadership Studies office at WKU and designed to train students to be leaders in their respective field and on an international level.
“When I first got a call about the possible opportunity to serve as a guinea pig in this new Global Leadership Scholars Program I was speechless,” she said. “After we are selected to participate in the program we are then expected to choose a destination abroad and travel there for two consecutive years.”
For the past five years members of the WKU community have been traveling to the region of Kasigau in Kenya.
“I’m very passionate about working on social justice issues, issues which are generally very significant in many parts of the African continent and became very interested in the work WKU students had been doing there,” Filiatreau said.
WKU biology professor Dr. Michael Stokes has been making the trip every year and brings a group of students and a few other professors or administrators from WKU each visit. These groups have accomplished several community development projects in the area and collected research on issues such as human wildlife conflict, wildlife ecology and business enterprise.
“My freshman year I had an Honors Colloquium course with Dr. Stokes and Dr. Jerry Daday (WKU advisor for Americans for Informed Democracy) about socio-ecological conservation in the Kasigau area and became very interested in the work they had been doing there. I immediately began to talk with them about the possibility of me making the trip to Kenya,” Filiatreau said.
The program recommends that students stay around a month before returning home to plan their project. However Filiatreau’s plans were a little different.
“I was only planning to stay in Kasigau for around three weeks but the group I am involved in, Americans for Informed Democracy, began to focus on our efforts in creating a partnership with the people of Kasigau,” she said. “We had several meetings with a visiting professor from the University of Nairobi about the immediate needs of the people of Kasigau and decided to raise money to purchase grain for the villagers, who were, and are still, experiencing severe droughts and food shortages.”
After meeting with several WKU and international professors, Filiatreau realized the potential project opportunities within the trip and the long time-span that might be needed to complete her project ideas.
The first visit is the initial planning stage of the program where the student gets accustomed to the culture and explores the various problematic issues experienced in the region. After returning home, the student begins designing a project that people in the foreign region could benefit from and that the student could carry out during a second trip abroad. After establishing a project, the student shares ideas and experiences and anticipated results with the WKU community. In the last step, the student returns for a second visit and implements the project.
“I thought about my longtime interest in traveling and desire to fully immerse myself in another culture,” she said. “I came to the only logical conclusion, to stay in Kasigau for the fall semester.”
Many health problems can arise during an extended stay in Africa, but this barrier did not place a damper on her plans.
“I don’t usually get home sick and am quite the adventurous type, I think my mom was more worried than I,” she said.
“It’s great to have students like Lindsey, who combine a sense of adventure with a passion to make the world a better place,” Dr. Stokes said. “We’re fortunate to have access to this area in Kenya for research, and to partner with University of Nairobi and others, as this gives our students with the ambition for adventure rare and exciting opportunities for significant, important, focused international experiences.”
Currently, the country of Kenya is experiencing a severe drought and water shortages and the loss of water is the cause of health problems throughout the country.
“The first project I want to implement focuses on rainwater harvesting because in Kasigau multiple water collection points have been shut down because the reserves have run dry,” she said.
People in the area are walking as far as 20 kilometers to retrieve water for the day and rations are also placed on the amount of water available for each family.
“You must have community support when attempting to implement a project such as this, and with such overwhelming support, if positive results are seen, the popularity of rainwater catchment systems should catch like a wildfire,” she said.
The overall goal of the project is to convince the people of Kasigau that rainwater catchment systems can help alleviate water scarcity and making life easier during the early weeks of the dry season. The project, which she is approaching as a research program, will form her Honors thesis.
At WKU she worked as a peer tutor at the Learning Center, helping students in math, chemistry and biology. While in Kasigau, she wants to continue helping the students who are struggling in certain subjects.
“There is a high school located just down the road from the home that I am staying in and would be a great place to put my teaching skills to work and an excellent opportunity to improve my Kiswshili speaking skills,” she said.
While in Kasigau, Filiatreau stays with Ezra Mdam, a local community organizer who has been serving as the community liaison between the University of Nairobi, WKU and the Kasigau community for the past several years.
“He has been kind enough to offer me a room to stay in at his home,” she said.
The culture within Kasigau differs greatly from the American’s. She explained how their lifestyles are much more relaxed with a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.
“In the U.S., material goods seem to be the most important aspect of every person’s life, while here, people focus their efforts on basic essential needs like water and food,” she said. “Everyone is so nice; people I pass on the street greet me in the friendliest manner and seem happy to see a new face. When a group of women are together and I travel with Ezra to speak to them about my project they sing fantastic greeting songs and welcome me into their organizations, it’s amazing!”
Filiatreau’s international experience has been very beneficial. She has gained insight into the people of another cultures, witnessed the true hardships they face like not knowing if they will have access to water for the day and overcome the task of adapting to a life very different than her usual routine.
“Stepping outside one’s realm of comfort is always a worthwhile experience and even still, I believe there are greater benefits of my travels yet to come,” she said.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Michael Stokes at (270) 745-6009.
Photo caption: Lindsey Filiatreau learns to weave a basket with assistance from two residents of Kiteghe, Kenya. (Photo by Cheryl Kirby-Stokes)
-WKU-
"A leading American university with international reach"
Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu