Byw Yn Y Byd

S4C | 4 x 30minutes

Russell guides us to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital and to the Mbeere district of the country, then past Mt Kilimanjaro to Tanzania and the lands of the Maasai and Sonjo tribes.

During his tour he visited a number of charity funded projects that teach people how to live self sufficiently. The aim is to ensure people are better prepared to survive during long periods of drought. The special centres teach people how to grow their own vegetables and to keep and breed chickens and goats to eat and to sell. They also distribute special seeds designed to thrive in the dry conditions.
Adventure to Africa is an eye opener for Russell

Russell had only been abroad once before, and the people and country of Africa have left a great impression on him.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an amazing experience,” says Russell “Everyone was so friendly and happy even though things are very hard for them. In the Mbeere area of Kenya, they expected three months of rain, but they only got two days.”

Russell says the strong community spirit between the people he met in Africa has been lost in Wales.

“I liked seeing people out working on the land; friends would come to help with the work. It reminded me of when I was a child and the whole family would go to help my grandfather on his farm. That’s what everyone used to do, but you don’t see it so much now, only one man in a field on his tractor,” says Russell, who feels he has benefited greatly from the experience.

“It was a pity we only had three weeks there, but now I’m home I feel I have a second wind and I’m ready for the year ahead. The trip was an opportunity for me to gather fresh ideas and it has challenged me to work even harder this year. If the people I met in Africa manage to survive with the little they have, then I have no room to complain.”