TP_051718

tinleyjunction.com Life & ARts
The tinley junction | May 17, 2018 | 27
Tinley Park’s Pajeau going on second humanitarian mission
Rochelle McAuliffe,
Freelance Reporter
Bethsaida Children’s
Home is a non-profit organization
located just outside of
Nairobi, Kenya. The home
is a permanent residence for
20 kids, and there are 78 kids
of both Bethsaida and the
neighboring slum who attend
the K-8 school there.
Last July, Sarah Pajeau
traveled to Kenya to volunteer
at Bethsaida Children’s
Home as a childcare volunteer
for a month and is returning
for her second time at the
end of the month. When she
returns, she hopes to make a
difference in the lives of the
children at the home through
monetary and physical donated
at the Bowling for
Bethsaida event on Sunday,
May 6, at the Mokena Thunder
Bowl. The event featured
a raffle, a bake sale, basket
giveaways, and dolly grams
to send to Kenya.
Pajeau has spent much of
her life traveling and doing
study abroad programs, but
when she told her mother
Chris Pajeau that she wanted
to volunteer, Chris was surprised.
“She always thought that
she wanted to travel extensively,
but last summer, she
said she wanted to travel and
volunteer, but I would have
never guessed in a million
years this is where her path
would have taken her. She
met those kids, and those
kids are [essentially] hers.”
After searching online for
a non-religion affiliated volunteer
organization, she was
able to find International Volunteer
Headquarters. While
there were over 30 countries
for her to choose from, she
already knew she was destined
for Kenya. When she
applied, she was immediately
accepted, and thus began her
preparation process.
While Sarah had been previously
traveled to developing
nations, to prepare for this
trip, she had to take additional
precautions before departing
such as taking malaria pills
and getting a vaccine for yellow
fever. Thinking that she
wouldn’t be able to shower,
she packed lots of Wet Wipes
and was grateful she did. After
she arrived, she saw the
scarcity of feminine hygiene
products available to women
and their price when they are
available, and she was happy
she packed enough to share
some, but aims to take more
her next trip.
Juliah Wangari and her
husband, Hika Kamau, are
the leaders of the orphanage,
who must rely heavily
on donation from others to
help meet their needs. Sarah
aims to raise enough money
to provide the basic necessities
such as food and water,
school supplies and clothing.
Additionally, money will be
allocated towards transportation,
building updates and
medical related costs.
While the cost of one ticket
to bowl was $25 for the evening,
80 percent of money
raised was going to directly
to help children living in extreme
poverty while the rest
went to cover facility costs.
“It’s $25 for a ticket for my
event and $20 is going to go
to get food for a week. That’s
a lot that somebody’s actually
giving. It doesn’t seem like a
lot of money but it’s so much
more for the people who are
actually receiving it,” said
Sarah.
For Sarah’s parents, her
humanitarianism was just a
change they needed to adjust
to, but they couldn’t be more
proud that her daughter is a
global force of change.
“I think that we’ve come
to terms with the fact that not
that we’re necessarily going
to lose her, but I think this
is part of her trajectory. This
is her passion. It’s​Just who
she is, And. I’m okay with
that,” said Chris. “All it takes
Sarah Pajeau, a Lincoln-Way North alumna, shows her photo book from her trip last year to her 8th gram math teacher
from Summit Hill Jr. High, Ryan Hagen. PHOTOS BY ROCHELLE MCAULIFFE/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
somebody to care and show
interest. ​I mean, she’s 22
years old. She’s making the
difference in the lives of kids
who have absolutely nothing.
I hope that it starts this
domino effect because if she
can do this, my gosh.”
“I think it shows you that
you can also do it, she just
like picked this up and did it
on her own and it shows that
anyone can do something,”
said Peter Judge, a friend
of Sarah’s who came to the
event to help raise money and
support her cause.
Sarah will be returning to
Kenya for her second trip
May 30. She will be helping
to teach, cook, clean and
even build a well with the
same children at Bethsaida.
If you would like to help
donate to Sarah before she
leaves, please contact her at
sarah.r.pajeau@gmail.com.
Attendees of Bowling for Bethsaida were able to knock a few pins while raising money for
children living in extreme poverty in Kenya at the Thunder Bowl on May 6.