So many people has said, "you really need to blog." I agree, the problem, finding time. When you are a two person organization trying to take care of over 1,000 students you really do not have much time to do any creative writing. By creative writing I mean something you might find interesting or even better useful! Enough complaining, ah maybe not complaining just trying to be realistic!
Today's bit of information....
Most of you know that we work in Kenya. For a number of years now, Kenya has been publicizing a policy of "free" education. When you and I think of free education we think of an education system similar to what we are blessed with here in the United States.
Let me breakdown what "free" primary education means in Kenya:
You buy your own textbooks.
Often you must supply your own desk and chair.
You buy your own uniform.
You pay to take exams.
You buy all your own school supplies.
You pay to ride the bus.
If you cannot pay for all these items then you do not attend school. For many families this is just not possible. What happens to these children...that is for tomorrow's blog!
Thank you for caring!
--Debra
Monday, February 17, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
First, I am very sorry that we could not post while we were in Kenya. Much of the time we did not have access to Wi-Fi and when we did is was unreliable.
We had a different routing on this trip. Normally we pass through Amsterdam. On this trip it was Paris. Took us a bit longer but it was nice to see a new airport!
Outside of having sporadic internet service the trip was the best we have had in a long time. All the students attending university or mid-level colleges are doing well. One of our students received the highest scores, in the country, on his accounting exams last semester. Quite an achievement considering this student, under the Kenyan school system, would not have been able to attend high school. More proof our model is the way of the future!
The first few days of the trip were rough on Kelsey (senior from Bellingham High School). We landed on January 1st, in the evening, and left the next day for Ngomano. It was wonderful to see green landscape even though it was VERY hot!!
We had a wonderful visit with all of our "family" in Ngomano, bought kiondos, and agreed on a way to move forward with projects for the village. All very exciting! After staying in Wote for a couple of days we left for Nakuru.
Much is happening for us in Nakuru as Childcare decided to sell the building that housed our college. As a result we have been scrambling to find a new location. Not easy to do but we are praying to have a plan by the end of this month. Never a dull moment!
Much more to share tomorrow!
Thank you all for your support!
--Debra
We had a different routing on this trip. Normally we pass through Amsterdam. On this trip it was Paris. Took us a bit longer but it was nice to see a new airport!
Outside of having sporadic internet service the trip was the best we have had in a long time. All the students attending university or mid-level colleges are doing well. One of our students received the highest scores, in the country, on his accounting exams last semester. Quite an achievement considering this student, under the Kenyan school system, would not have been able to attend high school. More proof our model is the way of the future!
The first few days of the trip were rough on Kelsey (senior from Bellingham High School). We landed on January 1st, in the evening, and left the next day for Ngomano. It was wonderful to see green landscape even though it was VERY hot!!
We had a wonderful visit with all of our "family" in Ngomano, bought kiondos, and agreed on a way to move forward with projects for the village. All very exciting! After staying in Wote for a couple of days we left for Nakuru.
Much is happening for us in Nakuru as Childcare decided to sell the building that housed our college. As a result we have been scrambling to find a new location. Not easy to do but we are praying to have a plan by the end of this month. Never a dull moment!
Much more to share tomorrow!
Thank you all for your support!
--Debra
Monday, December 30, 2013
On our way to Kenya!
It is 7:00 in Seattle. Jeana, Kelsey, Brianna and I are getting ready for our morning flight to Kenya. It is a new route for us so we are excited about seeing new airports.
This trip is very different for us. We are, as always scheduled to the last minute, but we are also looking at ways to improve how we provide services and evaluating the work that has already been done to know how to improve our methods. Continual process improvement!
Thank you for taking time to read our updates!!!
--Debra
This trip is very different for us. We are, as always scheduled to the last minute, but we are also looking at ways to improve how we provide services and evaluating the work that has already been done to know how to improve our methods. Continual process improvement!
Thank you for taking time to read our updates!!!
--Debra
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
HELLO.
Welcome to the blog of Tembo Trading Education Project.
Though Tembo Trading has been operating for over two years (and its co-founders have been doing humanitarian work much longer), this is its first introduction to the blogging world! And we couldn’t be more excited.
Tembo Trading Education Project is a small nonprofit, focusing on education and economic development in Kenya. Its co-founders, Debra and Jeana, are two incredible ladies who love fiercely and think large. After working in Kenya for over 10 years, they’ve encountered tremendous challenges in intercultural relations and rural development. But they’ve learned a lot along the way, and they’re eager to share stories of their humanitarian work.
Here, on the blog, we want to keep you in the loop about what we’re doing in Kenya and give you updates on the wonderful people we partner with. We also want to talk about other things too. Like the stifled questions that no one talks about. Questions like, “Are the West’s multi-billion dollar campaigns promising to end world poverty/hunger/AIDS doing anything?” Or, “How can I figure out if my charity organization is actually following through on their promises?”
They’re not popular or comfortable questions.
But our generation can handle it. I say this because I believe that the minds of this generation, more than any before, are searchers. We’re problem solvers. We try for the impossible, even when others tell us it can’t be done. We’re also deeply connected to each other, and that’s what makes us so effective in bringing change.
And our world desperately needs change. No matter how slight.
I’m hopeful.
So this is the start of a very real (and hopefully enlightening!) discussion about poverty and humanitarian assistance. We also want it to be a valuable resource to you. At the end of the day, we sincerely hope you (and families around the world) will be better for the conversations we start here.
So please, talk back. Feel free to ask questions. Challenge us—and each other. Also, be sure to give us feedback on past posts and suggestions for future posts. Whether you’ve come to our blog by accident or on purpose, we’re really glad you’re here.
Though Tembo Trading has been operating for over two years (and its co-founders have been doing humanitarian work much longer), this is its first introduction to the blogging world! And we couldn’t be more excited.
Tembo Trading Education Project is a small nonprofit, focusing on education and economic development in Kenya. Its co-founders, Debra and Jeana, are two incredible ladies who love fiercely and think large. After working in Kenya for over 10 years, they’ve encountered tremendous challenges in intercultural relations and rural development. But they’ve learned a lot along the way, and they’re eager to share stories of their humanitarian work.
Here, on the blog, we want to keep you in the loop about what we’re doing in Kenya and give you updates on the wonderful people we partner with. We also want to talk about other things too. Like the stifled questions that no one talks about. Questions like, “Are the West’s multi-billion dollar campaigns promising to end world poverty/hunger/AIDS doing anything?” Or, “How can I figure out if my charity organization is actually following through on their promises?”
They’re not popular or comfortable questions.
But our generation can handle it. I say this because I believe that the minds of this generation, more than any before, are searchers. We’re problem solvers. We try for the impossible, even when others tell us it can’t be done. We’re also deeply connected to each other, and that’s what makes us so effective in bringing change.
And our world desperately needs change. No matter how slight.
I’m hopeful.
So this is the start of a very real (and hopefully enlightening!) discussion about poverty and humanitarian assistance. We also want it to be a valuable resource to you. At the end of the day, we sincerely hope you (and families around the world) will be better for the conversations we start here.
So please, talk back. Feel free to ask questions. Challenge us—and each other. Also, be sure to give us feedback on past posts and suggestions for future posts. Whether you’ve come to our blog by accident or on purpose, we’re really glad you’re here.
-- Jenae
A Tembo Trading volunteer with an appetite to learn and travel for eternity.
Welcome, from Debra
Welcome to our blog!
We hope the thoughts and discussions you find here will be interesting to you, but more importantly we hope it will inspire you to follow your own dreams.
Maybe you've been told you need to follow your dreams many times and the whole experience has been exasperating.
I hope that doesn't stop you from reading.
And there are many reasonable arguments for not pursuing your dreams. Arguments like:
The problem is the word reasonable though. Dreams are not reasonable. They seem impossible until someone makes them a reality. Please keep these thought in mind as we travel down the road of sharing with you how we made our dream come true.
In fact, Jeana and I are still dreaming!
For many years I have watched the faces of starving people and wondered why do we continue working in developing nations with no improvement? I am not talking about natural disasters needing immediate aid. I am talking about generational poverty. I am talking about the creation of an international welfare system -- created by the very people wanting to alleviate the poverty in which these people exist.
I thought maybe I was missing something. When a process is not working or has not shown appreciable results in 50 years, maybe... just maybe... it's time to look at approaching the problem in a different manner. But in the humanitarian world, doing things differently isn't the way things are usually done.
Something else to consider: If you solve the issue of poverty, who will lose their job? How many consultants will not receive a contract for yet another study about the poor? How many more people will die before we realize our job is to serve others and not ourselves?
We will post articles from others working in developing nations along with commentaries from the people we work with in Kenya. We're going to talk about alternative ways of addressing poverty which we believe is a condition, not a cause.
We would like to hear from you, and we'd like you to join in our conversation. Together we can make a difference and we hope, through these posts, you'll find the courage to embark on your own journey to make your dream a reality.
There is nothing better than a happy soul!
-Debra
We hope the thoughts and discussions you find here will be interesting to you, but more importantly we hope it will inspire you to follow your own dreams.
Maybe you've been told you need to follow your dreams many times and the whole experience has been exasperating.
I hope that doesn't stop you from reading.
And there are many reasonable arguments for not pursuing your dreams. Arguments like:
I don't know where to start... or ... I don't have the knowledge... or ...I don't have the money... or ... I don't have the "whatever" it is I do not have!
The problem is the word reasonable though. Dreams are not reasonable. They seem impossible until someone makes them a reality. Please keep these thought in mind as we travel down the road of sharing with you how we made our dream come true.
In fact, Jeana and I are still dreaming!
For many years I have watched the faces of starving people and wondered why do we continue working in developing nations with no improvement? I am not talking about natural disasters needing immediate aid. I am talking about generational poverty. I am talking about the creation of an international welfare system -- created by the very people wanting to alleviate the poverty in which these people exist.
I thought maybe I was missing something. When a process is not working or has not shown appreciable results in 50 years, maybe... just maybe... it's time to look at approaching the problem in a different manner. But in the humanitarian world, doing things differently isn't the way things are usually done.
Something else to consider: If you solve the issue of poverty, who will lose their job? How many consultants will not receive a contract for yet another study about the poor? How many more people will die before we realize our job is to serve others and not ourselves?
We will post articles from others working in developing nations along with commentaries from the people we work with in Kenya. We're going to talk about alternative ways of addressing poverty which we believe is a condition, not a cause.
We would like to hear from you, and we'd like you to join in our conversation. Together we can make a difference and we hope, through these posts, you'll find the courage to embark on your own journey to make your dream a reality.
There is nothing better than a happy soul!
-Debra
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