Nairobi, Kenya – Jessie Brenden didn’t spend late December celebrating the end of 2007. Instead, the University of Wisconsin-Madison student studying abroad in Kenya holed up in a home until New Year’s Day, watching post-election violence unfold and listening to gunshots outside.
UW-Madison student Ryan Miller (left) and Marvin, whose last name is unknown, perform skits and conduct discussions about social issues in Kisumu, Kenya, through the Tuungane Youth Project. Miller has lived with host families on both ends of the political spectrum.
However, at a restaurant days later, all seems back to normal in Brenden’s life – the nursing major is about to start her internship at a hospital and she’s looking forward to celebrating her 21st birthday Saturday.