UPEI cancels students’ trip to Kenya

By Ryan Ross

It’s disappointing the violence in Kenya forced UPEI to cancel teaching practicums in that country, says one UPEI student.
Alecia Barlow, in her second year of the education program, was one five students who were supposed to leave for Kenya in March to work in schools alongside Farmers Helping Farmers.
Barlow was disappointed to hear the trip was cancelled because when she decided to do the specialization in international education, Kenya was the country she thought of from the beginning, she said.
“It was really crushing.”
With the outbreak of violence after the country’s election in late December, the Government of Canada issued a travel advisory for Kenya.
The most recent advisory warns against non-essential travel to the country, which has seen renewed violence, including the killing of two members of Parliament.
Barlow said she knew there was a pending election and kept up with the news so she would know what was happening.
“I kind of was second-guessing that we might not be going.”
And although the university made the decision for the students, Teresa Mellish of Farmers Helping Farmers said their group decided not to go when they saw the first travel advisory.
Mellish said the violence is not in the area where they would have been working but that didn’t affect their decision.
“All it did was sort of muddy the waters.
Farmers Helping Farmers has worked with UPEI since 2004 and they are delighted with the co-operation from the school, she said.
“We are really disappointed that the situation in Kenya is such that we aren’t able to go this year.”
Mellish said two or three students from past years have joined Farmers Helping Farmers after their internships and the students are received very well in Kenya.
“That’s why we keep on doing it.”
Barlow is still on, but her destination has changed.
She had hoped to go to Japan or Spain instead but they fell through, too, so now she is going to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“That was basically the only one.”
Barlow said she went to all the Farmers Helping Farmers meetings, did all the research and built herself up to go to Kenya.
“I was confident I was going.”