Becky's Journey
A young woman’s impulsive nature led her to test her strengths and push the limits when she took a trip of a life time to join a charity trek to Kenya.
Becky Lowen-Kirk, aged 21, from Eyres Monsell in Leicester, has worked at Leicestershire Constabulary headquarters as a recorder receiver, taking calls from victims of crime, for over three years. Becky, the youngest of five siblings, loves life and enjoys making spontaneous decisions. Just two years ago Becky did a parachute jump for Loros charity and raised around £300.
After reading an ad on the intranet at work last January about a charity trek to India, she decided to do some research. Searching the internet at home Becky was intrigued by the Marie Curie trek to Kenya because it included some community work, which involved painting a school. Sending off the application form and receiving a guidance pack Becky suddenly realised what she had done.
She said: “Then I realised I had signed up for a trek. I don’t make many decisions in life but when I do, I do it on a whim. I thought it looked like something that I would never do or get the chance to do otherwise.
“I got a supportive response from my mum and I thought I could make her proud by doing this. My dad was never negative about it but he was worried for me. Everybody else saw it as another one of my whims that I wouldn’t follow through.”
The first challenge for Becky came when she had to raise £3,500 to pay partly for the trip and the rest for the charity. As well as her full time job, Becky is a Virgin Cosmetics representative, which is similar to an Avon rep but she also offers makeovers, massages, manicures and pedicures. She utilised her skills to offer these services to raise money and also took on peoples ironing for donations. Becky held a non-uniform day at her work place and also organised a wine and cheese night in a local village hall. She also got her friends and family to sponsor her and even received random donations from people at work who had seen her struggle to collect the money.
She said: “I was so stressed out it was desperately hard. I thought I was never going to raise enough money. It almost disheartened me at times. I went through lots of ups and downs. I was excited when I collected the money in but when I totted up the total I would realise I still didn’t have enough.
“But through blood, sweat and tears I managed to raise the money.”
The next hurdle to overcome was a training weekend with the other 19 people who were going on the trek. As Becky struggled to muster up the physical strength she needed to walk the distance she contemplated giving it all up. Becky said: “My boyfriend told me it wasn’t me to give up on things and my parents told me I could do it and encouraged me to continue.”
By the end of August this year Becky had less than two months to go before the 12 day trek in Kenya. With all the money collected in she began to put the trip to the back of her mind. Soon it was middle October and the night before the nine hour flight from Heathrow to Kenya.
She said: “Terrified. Absolutely terrified. There was not an ounce of excitement in me. I genuinely did not think I was going to come back. I envisioned being eaten by a lion after months of people making a joke of it.
“My boyfriend gave me his t-shirt and it hit me I was going on the trip tomorrow. I was sobbing because I was so scared.”
Arriving in the warm air of Kenya at 6am Becky got a new sense of freedom and excitement. The 12 day trek would include a 3,000 feet climb to the crater of Mount Logonot, firstly trekking through the Rift Valley, where they stopped and camped at Mount Suswa for four days to help paint the school. She said: “The school was surreal. When we walked in the kids were being taught. The children kept grabbing my arm and picked the dried paint off and smelling me.”
With the paint fumes highly potent Becky’s asthma started to worsen. She spent some time in the tent back at base trying to recuperate. Becky and the other trekkers managed to build 40 desks and paint three rooms within the four days that they were there.
Carrying on forward towards Mount Logonot they passed through Hell’s Gate national park, which is where the movie Born Free was filmed. Becky said: “Hell’s Gate was the best day by far. The sight was unusual not a very well trodden path. The scenery was just incredible with the massive gauge carved out by the stream.”
A quick tourist stop at Lake Navaisha to see the hippos and fields of roses before the dreaded climb up towards the crater.
As the youngest on the trek Becky found it hard to make close connections with the other trekkers but managed to strike a friendship with most of the leaders. Becky found the last few steps up the steep slope the hardest. After suffering from an asthma attack halfway up the climb Becky could not imagine finishing the trek. With full encouragement and support from the leaders Becky made the final steps into the crater of Mount Logonot. One last night, this time at a hotel, Becky was delighted to be treated to a birthday cake to celebrate her 21st. She danced and sang the night away with thoughts of home at the forefront of her mind.
Back home and Becky had mixed feelings about her return. She said: “Back in England I have everything I could want but I am bored. I want to be there camping in the outback. I would go back and do it all again. If I could I would drop everything and go live out there.
“They are people who have less than us but they are happier. They have freedom. They live by three rules, unity, respect and love. They asked me to tell people not to forget them.”
Becky returned with fresh insight into the world and a new love for its people. She hopes to continue to follow her impulsive nature because she enjoys the excitement of new adventures and the prospect of finding inspiration through the people she meets.
