I just want to share what an amazing community our family lives in. In December 2018, our family welcomed 19-year-old Brian Siara to St. Albert from a rural Maasai tribe outside Nairobi.
Brian has been overjoyed to enjoy the many amenities of St. Albert. In contrast to life in his Maasai community, Brian is in awe of all that we as St. Albertans, Albertans and Canadians enjoy.
In the last two months, Brian has had access to our outdoor rinks, our restaurants, our grocery stores, our health-care system, our many entertainment opportunities, our churches, Servus Credit Union Place and our reliable St. Albert transit as he travels to Grant MacEwan University, where he is studying for his science degree. He turns on our taps and enjoys clean drinking water, hot showers and a warm home.
The luxuries that we consider basic and everyday necessities are not part of his world back home in Kenya. In the dry season, Brian’s family has an 11-kilometre trip to access clean water. Health care is costly and not easily accessible, proper nutrition is difficult, jobs are scarce and education is a luxury that not all children enjoy. All of these facts are unfathomable to us!
As we have watched Brian adapt to our cold climate and our life in Canada, we can’t help but be thankful for all that we have. The little things that we at times take for granted.
St. Albert is such an amazing community and we are honoured to share it with Brian.
The Shykowski family, St. Albert
