Romona's Kids: Teens to Kenya

CLEVELAND -- While the world?s athletes make the trip to Italy, a group of teens will prepare for a trip of a lifetime.

Next week, they will make a journey to Africa.

For these Romona?s Kids, it?s a chance to experience a culture most only learn about in textbooks.

These teens from Cleveland?s Hough neighborhood already know a lot about black history through their studies and a trip to Detroit?s African American History Museum.

?I learned why Harriet Tubman always wore a scarf,? said one teen said. ?It was because she would disobey her masters and have scars on her neck.?

Now they are preparing for another lesson, but this one is almost 8,000 miles away in Kenya.

?I learned that Swahili is one language spoken there and that English is their national language,? James Cook explained.

The teens will be traveling with the International Partners in Mission, a local program that leads immersion trips to countries all over the world.

Photos of wildlife in Kenya the Cleveland boys will be exposed to the country?s beauty - as well as hardships.

The teens recently learned about the children there, particularly the girls.

?The girls there have arranged marriages where they are forced to get married to an older man,? said Julian Hurt.

They will visit the Bride Rescue Project for girls as young as 8, rescued from forced marriages.

During my visit, the teens and I also learned how Kenyan children value education:

?When they hear our education system is free, it shocks them,? one explained. ?And when they hear we have drop outs and that kids who don?t want to be in school, they?re amazed. They can?t believe that people don?t want to be in school, because for them it?s a real privilege to go to school.?

Life will be different after Kenya. The young men in this room already know it and they?re ready to embrace it.

I hope it changes me and lets me know how fortunate I am to have a life like this,? another teen said.

The trip is organized by the International Partners in Mission and the Fatima Family Center. A $30,000 grant is helping pay their way.

If you?d like to learn more about the International Partners in Mission and other trips they organize, click on the related link.