Clare Bronfman

Throughout my childhood – I had the great fortune of traveling to many places and experiencing many cultures all of which shaped much of my life today. Over the next few weeks I will share the various places, cultures and how each of them moved me.

I would like to start with Kenya. My mother lived there when I was growing up and Sara and I used to visit her during our school holidays. It was incredible – driving through the game parks – seeing all of the animals, being a part of the ivory burnings, lead by Richard Leakey, an incredible man who was like a father during much of my life, and seeing a way of living that was completely foreign to me upon arrival. I think the most profound experience was when my mother sent my sister, Sara and I to live with a tribe for two weeks. Sara and I where the only “mzungu” (white) children the tribe had ever seen and I remember the children running to see us when we arrived – they were so curious; touching us and giggling! During those two weeks we lived very simply; in mud huts with no electricity, a hole for a toilet, and extremely simple food – however the way of life encompassed incredible richness. The drumming circles, the dancing, the warmth of the people and the way all of the children would gather together to play it was wonderful. I didn’t speak their language, but there was something beyond language; being a child, being human. I will never forget my time there – or all of the other memories of Kenya, and am ever grateful for my Mother’s choice to live there!!