Hello , my name is Aryan and I’m 11 years old. In this blog, I am going to tell you about how I went to Kenya, by myself for 2 weeks for work experience.
This unique experience came about because of my mum’s friend, Shabbar Jagani. He owns UNEECO Paper Products LTD. A factory that processes paper, labels and thermal rolls using machines.
For this once -in -a -lifetime- opportunity, I settled at my Ani Masi’s (auntie’s) house for my time. My Masi was a truly kind and hospitable person and she was basically my mother whilst I was there.
When I said ‘I went by myself’ I mean I went by myself on the plane! I felt quite independent as I got to choose what movies I watched, what time I went to bed and what I ate and drank. Heaven!!
Did you know I worked from 08:00am till 6:00pm
Which meant, I had to leave home at 7:30am and I got back at 6:30pm!
My “work colleagues” work from Monday till a half day on Saturday and I was working from Monday till Friday. Although I managed it, I honestly don’t think that in the future I would be able to work those long hours. I asked some of the workers and they have an hour and a half long drive each way.
The worst bit of this trip for me, was the traffic. Did you know that in Kenya they don’t have lines on the road like we do. That’s VERY dangerous because I saw 4 accidents when driving to and from work.
But what made sitting in traffic worthwhile was me getting to play football and cricket with my Masi’s neighbours’ children after work. And also, whilst I was stuck in traffic I was thinking about getting to speak to my family every day when I got home.
At the factory, there are 5 warehouse departments:
Flexo -is the production of making labels. This is where you peel off a blank label from a sheet of paper and apply ink using rollers. Rollers was a machine that rolled on the ink onto the label. After that, labels were package in sheets of cylinders which were then sold.
Production – This department cuts paper using machines to the specific requirements of the client. Production is my favourite department, because I liked operating the machines. They had 3 machines, which all did the same job:
Shin chyi (made in 2013), Meltog (made in 2004) and Atlas (made in 1994). Did you know if a machine didn’t work, they would have to fix it, but this wouldn’t stop the entire process because there were 2 other machines. The moral of having three machines is that it makes production a lot more efficient because if one of the machines isn’t working, there are always be 2 more. The production continues all the time as and when it is needed.
I also helped with machine set up – it needed strength. Lots of strength!!!
Inks and Chemicals – was by far the most dangerous department. Because of all the dangerous chemicals that can kill you in an instant. One time, it got so dangerous I had to get out of there.
However, I found it brilliant to mix, it was basically what I dreamed chemistry was like – mixing potions. Did you know they have over 400 shades of blue? Who would think that!? This to me was incredibly phenomenal.
Stores Administration Department – is where they keep all the inventory. This department in my opinion is the most complex. This is because, you have these things called bin cards, and when you do a stock take you have to count all the items. In addition, it has to match the number on the card to the item that you’re counting. Also, you have to regularly update it when you receive new stock or when a client buys something.
And get this: there is about 1000 different items so there is nearly a 1000 bin cards!!!
Also, a stock take happens once every 4 months. Did you know all the staff of the WHOLE factory come together and count in the stock take!!!
It is an amazing thing to be a part of and to witness. Plus, the 5 departments worked together well like a team.
Dispatch – is the process of loading the goods onto the truck and sending it off. Sometimes, they would use a fork lift to carry the heavy loads. I also helped prepare delivery notes and learnt how to serialise them and how to verify orders for dispatch. When we needed to load the truck sometimes, I would help by lifting the materials. Also, I understood how the whole process works from cutting paper all the way through to delivery of this to the clients.
My boss was called Mr Azhar and he was a kind boss who taught me several different things. He gets everyone to listen to him because he is a kind and caring boss and he is a good negotiator.
Every morning, he would say good morning to me, even if he was in the middle of a meeting, that shows compassion. He was very caring and determined to make my experience enjoyable. Daily he would ask me what department I worked on and if I enjoyed my time there.
Apart from the Monday to Friday work days, on the weekends I went to do something fun… I went to stay at my cousin Meerna’s house. We went to village market. Did you know that village market alone has over 150 retail shops!!!!! It was fun and when we came back, I swam in their pool.
I know right. THEY HAVE A POOL!!!!! It was freezing but I didn’t care. After that, my two masis’s, Meenal Masi and Shital Masi, who by the way were very very nice to me, went to dinner with me. We went to an Indian restaurant called Slush, where we sat on a beautiful terrace in the fresh air. I also got introduced to crispy Kenyan Maru bhajias. This is my new favourite dish!
Over my experience in Kenya, there were a few memories that will stay with me forever:
1) How to drive a forklift. It was exciting and I’m a very quick learner so I got the hang of it really easily.
2) Everyone I met in Kenya, including my work colleagues were very friendly. My work colleagues were really welcoming to me from day one. An example of this is that they made me my own personalised dust coat and overalls. I felt very special. And they all introduced themselves to me pleasantly. Another sign that they were kind, to me is that on my last day they made a cake for me!!! That was so cool.
3) Another thing that I learnt about myself is that I can handle long days but I can’t sit in the traffic for too long. I felt very angry most days. I need to get better at staying calm and patient. My mum’s the best at this; I need to learn more from her.
4) The most important discovery I made about myself was that I can stay away from home for a long time. 2 weeks is a LONG time away from my parents and brothers. On the first day I felt as if it was going to last forever.
But I did it and I had fun.
So that tells me, that yes, I will miss my family, but I will be able to do it.
In conclusion, my time in Kenya was interesting and intriguing to me and I really enjoyed my stay in a hot and welcoming country. And just like that my time in Kenya flew by like sugar dissolves in tea.
Thank you for reading this blog and I hope you enjoyed it.