Kenya - Day 8

Thursday, June 14

We woke up in Kapenguria and it was just as beautiful and peaceful as the previous evening.  As I have been processing the trip and working through this travel journal it has been almost depressing to arrive at this day - day 8 - as it was the last days we would really get to interact with a large group of Kenyans.  Nevertheless, the day was a tremendous blessing - especially because we spent it all in one place and with the same group.

A little ways north of Kapenguria is the Udom Rescue Center which is right down the road from the Chepareria Primary School (K-8).  We began at the school of almost 1,000 students.  The day we were visiting happened to be a testing day, but the principal and teachers were still gracious enough to let us invade their campus and interrupt their classes.  Our group broke into pairs and we were allowed into the classes to see what was going on. I was able to see both seventh grade classes, talk with the students a little, and have an extended conversation with their teacher.  At every school we visited, the students were always very respectful. Our presence did make them giggly and they would watch us through the winow an explode into sound when we left. But they always stood when we walked in and greeted us as a group. Even if the teacher was not in the room, they remained on task studying or working through lessons independently.  We had a couple American teachers with us on the trip and they were extremely impressed with the classroom behavior that was observed as well as relayed by the teachers. I also was able to spend some time in on of the two 5th grade classrooms. Each 5th grade section had over 70 kids and once again mass chaos was the furthest thing from reality.  The class was studying for a Swahili exam in the afternoon so instead of completely distracting them from their work I let them teach me some Swahili and I shared with them what little Swahili I know.  There was lots of laughter - but it was still educational (OK, more so for me than for them).  After our class visits, we were able to present the teachers and principals with a large amount of school supplies that had been gathered in the US and packed in our luggage.  The school was a public school, but we consistently heard of the numerous fees and costs associated with even the youngest grades of public education.  If students are unable to pay the fees or costs for things like uniforms, supplies, sometimes even their own desk then they are not able to attend the school.  Teachers and principals do what they can do ensure every student has the opportunity to continue their education, but resources are almost always scarce and there is a great deal of government corruption that also works against their efforts.  Before they departed for the lunch break, all of the students gathered in the center yard of the school where the principal and then someone from our group addressed them all - all 950 plus of them. And they stood and the listened with no need of a bullhorn to speak over them and no need of teachers to keep them in line.  Everyday they gather like that; in order according to grade they stand outside and listen to announcements, sing a song, pray, and then continue on to their classroom.  Everywhere we went and everyone we talked to was a constant reminder of how much we could learn from the Kenyans and how we can't just say life is better in the US. We need each other - the Kenyans and the Americans do - and I am so grateful I had even this short time as a guest in their country to learn so much from them. 

During the students' lunch break we walked back down the road the the Rescue Center. We were given a tour of the site which includes a kitchen and dining hall, two dorms - one for boys and one for girls, and a church that is under construction but stalled at the point of getting he roof on. The Rescue Center currently gives shelter and care to about 60 youth. I remember walking through the dorms an being struck by the fact that each child had a little foot locker stacked between the bunk beds and everything that they owned/possessed/had could fit into something that is not much bigger than most microwaves and as I think about it smaller than most of the suitcases we took with us on the trip. As was the usual routine, we were fed a delicious meal and then sang to by the children and addressed by various church officials. We then presented the rescue center youth with some gifts - candy, jump ropes, volleyball and soccerball - and then we were able to just play with the kids.  I joined in a circle with Americans and Kenyans and we laughed and had fun and enjoyed one another's company as we bumped, set, and sometimes even spiked the volleyball among one another.  It was so so hard to leave that afternoon and another unforgettable moment as the students sent us off with a song - even following the vans partially down the road as they sang. The emotion was deepened as our driver translated what the orphans were singing: "Goodbye our beloved visitors; come back soon, you are welcome back anytime."