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| Dallin with his sisters and Anthony Yama at the school he built in Dzivani, Kenya |
Dallin responded to a questionnaire I sent him, giving a little more detail about his stay in Kenya.
Name: Dallin Frampton
Age: 20 years old
Hometown: Holladay, UT
Work Experience: I did construction all through high school, it definitely helped me when I got to Kenya so I at least had a bit of a base to work off of when we really got to work on the school in Dzivani
Duration of Stay: 5 months
How did you learn about Koins for Kenya? I learned about Koins through this girl that went to East High named Tara Tolbert, she is awesome and she is really the reason why I got hooked up with Bret and Koins in the first place
What were your primary responsibilities as a volunteer? I built a school in the village of Dzivani primarily, and then went from there to building a kitchen and repairing the water cistern at the Koins Community Center, as well as building two more primary schools at Mwache and Miguneni,
What did you learn about Koins for Kenya while in Kenya? Koins has given countless numbers of Kenyans, ranging from all ages, hope and opportunities in their lives to excel where as before, they would have fallen victim to the blockade of poverty and lack of resources which would in the end, halt them from succeeding in life whatsoever. Koins has also given jobs to about ten individuals, all of which are some of my best friends in the world, and Koins has helped to establish a few micro-businesses that charge cell phones and car batteries for people to run radios or other simple electronics off of.
What surprised you the most about volunteering for Koins? I was mostly surprised about the unreal amounts of joy I felt while living over in Kenya. I had nothing, I lived as a native in Dzivani and I had the time of my life. Volunteering with Koins for the 5 months I was there helped me to gain some of the best friendships I have ever had in my life and it instilled an undying love in my soul for the people in Duruma land. Just to see the joy on children's faces after completing a project in the Koins area basically brought me to tears every time and I had never felt like that before I left to go live there.
What surprised you most about living in Kenya? I was expecting to live as a native, but it is definitely a night and day difference between just saying it, and actually living it. It blew me away how easy we have it in the USA and how we take every little thing for granted, it really is mind blowing. I lived in a mud hut and it was the best time of my life, having no plumbing of any kind, dirt floors and a gas stove to cook all my food. The joy that living in Kenya brought me is unmeasurable, being able to live as a Kenyan, with Kenyans and having them accept me as an actual Duruma, not an American was amazing. I didn't hear my name 'Dallin' for 5 months, everybody called me 'Ruwa', the name they gave me when I first got to Kenya and it was so much fun being able to be accepted into the village as one of them and being able to work alongside these people day after day
What do you plan to do upon your return to the USA? I am at school right now up at the U of U, just trying to get my generals out of the way and I am planning on going to medical school to hopefully become a surgeon or something along those lines. I am also working part time doing construction and landscaping with my neighbor.
Any piece of advice for future volunteers? I would say to anybody planning on going to just dive in and work harder than you ever have, it will be rewarding in so many ways and make as many friends as you can, Kenyans are amazing people and they will teach you much more about hard work and happiness more than you could ever teach them. Also, don't go swimming in rivers. My legs are covered in parasites and crap cause I kind of have a problem listening to rules, but I am proof that you will be miserable if you do.
What has been your favorite part of volunteering in Kenya? My favorite part of the trip was of course being able to construct so many different projects from the ground breaking all the way up until we are putting the roof on and making final touches, but I also kind of fell into a weird situation where I got stuck with a pet monkey which ended up to be one of the funner parts of my stay in Kenya. He was pretty much my side kick and we got a lot of work done together, him mostly just hanging on my head all day while I was plastering walls or something. I miss that little man bad, but he is good hands with our girl Kendy who is teaching school down there right now.
THE FUN STUFF:
Favorite movie: The Town
Favorite book: Born to Run
What was your favorite musical group when you were in junior high? Less Than Jake
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? Kenya! best place in the world, I want to live there so bad
Who is the person you respect the most and why? Probably Jimi Hendrix, I love music and it took him a long time to reach the top and he owned it once he got there
What do you think is the secret to a good life? service and selflessness is definitely what I think is how we can be happy. Plus in my opinion, the less we have the happier we are, so as long as we don't get caught up in what this crazy world tells us we need, we will love our lives
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| Dallin's Kenyan home, a mud hut he helped build |
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