2006.09.03: September 3, 2006: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Adventure: Service: AIDS: The Pilot: For the third time in four years, Kenya RPCV Michael Farley trekked 170 miles on what’s called a “proper walk,” one without a guarantee of survival, to raise money for African orphans
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2006.08.18: August 18, 2006: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Adventure: Service: AIDS: Richmond Times-Dispatch: Kenya RPCV Michael Farley completes “Proper Walks” in Kenya :
2006.09.03: September 3, 2006: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Adventure: Service: AIDS: The Pilot: For the third time in four years, Kenya RPCV Michael Farley trekked 170 miles on what’s called a “proper walk,” one without a guarantee of survival, to raise money for African orphans
For the third time in four years, Kenya RPCV Michael Farley trekked 170 miles on what’s called a “proper walk,” one without a guarantee of survival, to raise money for African orphans
On his 23rd birthday, Farley first stepped foot on Kenyan soil as a Peace Corps volunteer. Through the years, he’s returned to the country - 19 times in the past 19 years - to lend a hand. Now 51, Farley’s done small projects such as building a mission church and a water pump, and has served on the boards of two programs in Kenya, including one that brought inner-city Baltimore boys to the African nation.
For the third time in four years, Kenya RPCV Michael Farley trekked 170 miles on what’s called a “proper walk,” one without a guarantee of survival, to raise money for African orphans
Youth program director raises funds on Africa walk
By Liesel Nowak / Daily Progress staff writer
September 3, 2006
Kenya’s Northern Tier is a rugged place where riverbeds can flood with little warning and much of the landscape is covered by “thorn and thicket.”
At night, lions hunt. And water is a scarce commodity.
Even so, for the third time in four years, Michael Farley trekked 170 miles on what’s called a “proper walk,” one without a guarantee of survival, to raise money for African orphans.
“Everything bites and sticks, between the scorpions and the thorns and the acacia trees,” Farley said.
Over nearly 30 years, the Louisa County resident and executive director of the Elk Hill program for at-risk youth has spent a lot of time in Kenya. The country has helped shape Farley’s life and so he wants to give something in return.
On his 23rd birthday, Farley first stepped foot on Kenyan soil as a Peace Corps volunteer. Through the years, he’s returned to the country - 19 times in the past 19 years - to lend a hand.
Now 51, Farley’s done small projects such as building a mission church and a water pump, and has served on the boards of two programs in Kenya, including one that brought inner-city Baltimore boys to the African nation.
In the past five years, Farley has turned his focus to helping the children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic that has devastated Africa. One of the organizations he volunteers for is the Makindu Children’s Program, which provides education, healthcare and nutritional assistance to more than 200 children orphaned by AIDS.
“When I saw what the AIDS pandemic had done, I felt the need to give back,” Farley said. “I gained so much while I was there.”
He came up with the proper walk, in which those who raise $10,000 in donations hike through Kenya’s Rift Valley, a dream of his since he was a young man in the Peace Corps.
In 2002, Farley helped raise $43,000 with a walk in the Suguta Valley and $45,000 with a walk in Milgis River Valley.
Last month, Farley, five other Americans, one Australian, one Kenyan woman, six local camel herders and 16 camels traversed 170 miles in the Ewaso Nyiro River Valley, raising $70,000 so far. (Farley said the Makindu program is still accepting donations.)
The group started out at about 1,000 feet above sea level, hiking in the shadow of Mount Kenya (second in elevation only to Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro), and ended up at 7,000 feet above sea level.
They would start walking usually at 6 a.m., before the heat of the day set in. Farley said temperatures rose to between 105 and 100 degrees in the River Valley.
By 1:30 in the afternoon, the group would set up camp, relax and try to get a good night’s sleep before starting all over again. Farley said they would find lion tracks around the campsites.
“They were more interested in our camels than us,” Farley said, adding that the trip is not for tourists. “There’s an element of risk, too. It was physically and emotionally challenging. But there’s no comparison to the challenge that the [Makindu] children face every day.”
Now back at home with his wife on their farm near Mineral, Farley is thinking ahead to his next “proper walk.” He’s eyeing northern Kenya near Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world.
“Africa changed my life,” Farley said. “It gives me a perspective that I think most Americans don’t have, what’s important in life and what we stress over here and what we take for granted here.”
Contact Liesel Nowak at (434) 978-7274 or lnowak@dailyprogress.com.
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Story Source: The Pilot
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kenya; Adventure; Service; AIDS
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