Kenya and the nostalgia for a more authentic way of living

My name is Alessandro, I’m 25 years old, and I work as a freelance chef for private events at people’s homes. It’s a job that gives me a lot, it has helped me grow and made me more responsible… but at the same time it takes a lot from me: time with family, relationships, real moments.

A couple of months ago, I returned from three months in Africa, in Kenya.

I left with two reasons in my heart. The first was personal: I needed to put my daily life into perspective. When you work a lot, run constantly, and chase goals, you risk losing the meaning of things. I felt the need to stop and refocus on what truly matters.

The second reason was simpler but greater: I wanted to be there for those who need it most.

I was in Kenya, between Nairobi and the villages north of the city. With our association, we supported some schools: one in a simpler but dignified village, another in a nearby slum, where poverty is truly absolute. Two realities just a few kilometers apart, yet with enormous differences.

My days were made up of simple things: playing with children, helping them with math and English homework, trying to learn a few words of Swahili. At first, I thought I was going there to “teach” something. Then I realized that I was the one learning the most.

I learned that a smile can be born even when you have nothing.

I learned that everything can be shared, even when you have very little.

I learned that joy does not depend on what you own, but on how you live what you have.

Later, I spent two weeks in a rehabilitation center for people with drug and alcohol addictions. It was an incredibly intense experience. I chose to live as they did: without a phone, with a very structured routine. Wake-up at six, rosary, Mass, breakfast, work in the fields, lunch, rest during the heat, then work again with the animals, shower, dinner, and finally a moment of sharing about the day.

At the beginning, it was difficult. The silence, the detachment, the physical effort. But right there I encountered an incredible strength: men who had hit rock bottom and had a deep desire to be reborn. I saw what it means to fight every day to change your life. I saw what it means to truly entrust yourself.

Before leaving, I was afraid. Afraid of not fitting in, of feeling alone, of not being enough. Today, instead, I can say that “Africa sickness” truly exists. It’s not an exotic nostalgia. It’s the nostalgia for a more authentic way of living.

Africa did not teach me that people there are poorer. It taught me that sometimes we are poorer in relationships.

With little, they know how to live in the present. They know how to enjoy every moment. They still know how to maintain authentic, deep, communal human relationships. Here, we often have everything, but we rush, we are distracted, we are alone among many things.

This experience did not change me because I did something extraordinary. It changed me because it made me understand that the mission is not “going far away.” The mission is learning to look at the people beside you.

Today I have returned to my work, cooking and organizing events. But I do it with a different perspective. I try to value time, people, and presence. I try not to take anything for granted anymore.

If I have to leave a message, especially to young people like me, it is this:

do not be afraid to leave. Not to escape, but to encounter. Not to feel like heroes, but to allow yourselves to be changed. Because in the end, you leave thinking you will give… and you return having received much more. 

Alessandro Attardo