January 2015
On Tuesday
morning, around 8, we left for Ngomano. It was a typical Nairobi morning…hours
to move blocks! We were finally able to make it to the Mombasa Highway and on
the road to Ngomano. The drive was hot and long. We arrived in Ngomano around
2:30. The ladies were all waiting for us to arrive. They greeted Daniel, our
documentarian, with traditional dancing and singing. It was wonderful to watch
his reaction to their warm welcome to the village.
The children from
Ngomano Primary followed the ladies in welcoming us all to their school. Not
many dry eyes…
We left Ngomano around
5:30 with over 50 kiondos and many requests for help. An hour later we arrived
at the Acacia Resort in Wote. The power was on/off most of the evening and we
are certain mosquitos were nesting in our room! Daniel was shocked when he
tried to take a shower as the electricity is not grounded…the food was great so
we went to bed with full stomachs.
Wednesday morning
we got up and had breakfast with the birds and bugs. We stopped at the hardware
store before leaving Wote. The week before, we had requested a quote on a 2500
liter water tank. We stopped to pick up the quote and order the tank.
Unfortunately the information was not available so we are once again in a holding
pattern. From here we traveled back to Nairobi to drop off the kiondos to have
the handles put on them and then onto Nakuru…11.5 hours on the road! Arrived in
Nakuru safely but exhausted!
February 2015
It
is wonderful to be able to communicate once again!!
Let
me start with our work in Kendu Bay. On Saturday, January 31st,
Jeana, Daniel, Rebecca and Paul traveled to Kanjira Primary School. The school
is close to Kendu Bay which is located on Lake Victoria. We knew it was going
to be hot but we had no idea just how hot! The temperature, even at night, was
90 degrees. It was so hot the rubber portion of my eyelash curler melted!!! The
mosquitos were also very busy!
We
have been working with the students and teachers at Kanjira for the past 18
months. There are approximately 350 students in grades 1-8 and 100 students in
pre-primary, ages 3-5. Until last week the school had no power or running
water. We now have power and hope to have water by the end of the year.
When
we started with the school they had the lowest scores in the district. We are
pleased to say that at the end of 2014 the school had moved to the number one
position!!! Yes, we are very happy!!!
We
spent the week establishing a computer lab. The lab contains a new computer
system we are working on for rural schools. The use of the computer prototypes
will allow children in the rural areas to compete on a level footing with the
students who attend large well equipped schools in the more metropolitan areas.
There
is much more to do at the school but we are taking it one step at a time. Just
trying to get curtains made was a trial. We went to the tailoring shop and
ordered 5 curtains. They were to be ready in 3 days. We went to pick them up
and he had made 3 not 5 and one was the wrong size. We explained we needed 5
and he said he would have the other two ready by Friday. Then we needed
computer counters made. The carpenter was to arrive on Tuesday….he arrived on Thursday
and we needed the counters completed by Friday. The painter never did show up!
We
opened the lab for the school on Friday. Honorable Rege, the Assistant District
Chief, parents and school board all attended the opening. It was a wonderful
day with much excitement and appreciation. What will remain in my mind forever
is a little boy coming to the window, after everyone had left, saying “please
teach me, I want to learn, please teach me.” That pretty much says it all for
me!
We
traveled from Kendu Bay to Nakuru on Saturday, February 7th and on
Sunday we traveled to Nairobi for a noon meeting. We have been asked to
introduce our model of education at a private school in Nairobi. More on that
project when we return home. We are picking up about 60 kiondos, some new style
bracelets and a few other items from the ladies in Ngong.
Daniel,
the documentarian, took at least 1000 pictures and hours of video. It will take
almost a year for him to produce the documentary.
Tuesday
we leave for home. It has been a wonderful trip. The legislation we have been
working on is in parliament, the computer lab is working, the new computer
system is running, the president wants to see the computer prototype, our
students are doing well! All this with NO
diet coke…seems the country cannot keep up with the demand!!!
Thank
you all for all you have done to make this happen! Talk with you soon.
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