Week Nine – already?

Well – the 24th of May weekend has come and gone for you all in Canada – I guess that means summer is officially with you!  Here it is still the rainy season but it feels like it is getting warmer and the rain seems to be less each day – or maybe it is just wishful thinking…

Life continues here day by day.  I continue to teach at King David school – I will be there until the end of the month.  The manager here has asked me to help train his teachers, beginning with those who teach the preschoolers  – aged 3 to 6.  I was happy to be of help – as an outsider I have had a chance to see what goes on each day and I did think of a couple of things they could try.  But it is a challenge.  Each child – 30 or 35 in each of the three preschool rooms – has a notebook and a pencil.  The classroom has a blackboard and a few alphabet and number charts on the wall.  That is the sum total of the supplies in each room.  No books, no toys, no paper….no space, no lights, no quiet.  The list goes on…

But – when I was with the refugee learning team during the first two weeks of my trip – it seems like ages ago now – we often asked people we met what the ‘assets’ were of their community.  It was a way to focus and build on the positive things they do have, rather than dwelling on what they don’t.. So I have been using the same approach here in Kisii.  So – assets of the school?  Loving and dedicated teachers who are motivated to try their best (they’re definitely not motivated by the pay – about 3000 shillings a month or $40!), parents who ensure the children do their homework, a wealth of rhymes and songs and children who are motivated to learn.

In addition to focusing on assets, I have been trying to share skills.  Sharing concrete materials (like chalk, crayons or paper) is a wonderful gift but only a short-term solution – eventually all those things will run out again and then what?  Instead, I have really been trying to help them make use of the things they do have and help them use them in new ways.  An example is a box of donated American textbooks and old readers.  Donations are wonderful – but only if the skill of how to use them is also included with donation!

So – have I been able to help?  Maybe a bit.  But together we are trying to think in new ways.  I won’t bore you with the details – I’ll save that for a blog entry that would only be of interest to my teacher friends!  Regardless, my presence at the school has served as an encouragement to the staff – they are so happy to have me and tell me over and over how pleased they are that I am spending time with them.  Call it the ‘ministry of presence’….my new motto!

A few highlights of the week.  On Friday we had visitors from Kids Alive – an international charity that operates five orphanages in Kenya.  I had connected with their Canadian office before coming here, part of our Canadian board’s search for long-term support both for us as a Canadian charity and for Edina as the director.  We feel that being part of a larger organization would give her – and us! – much-needed support and resources.  The Kenyan director and the Kids Alive director for Africa were here for the afternoon.  It was a great visit and we all hope it was just the beginning of a relationship that will benefit both us and them.  Matt and Purity asked great questions; our staff had many questions of their own!  Both parties were pleased.  The Kids Alive people certainly got off to a good start with us – they didn’t arrive empty handed but stopped enroute from Nairobi to purchase much-needed groceries for the storeroom.  Always a welcome gift!!

Sunday we worshipped at a nearby church where Pastor Opin has a connection.  Twenty of us and ten of them made for a small congregation but it was a pleasure to be there.  Their singing, their prayers and their welcome were heartfelt.  As the preacher I received a lovely thank you gift – a bottle of cold coke and two loaves of bread!  (OIA – Only in Africa!)

The rest of the week filled with the ‘usual’ – not usual for Canada but usual for here.  Maxwell’s cousin died so he was away fo rseveral days, Edina’s typhoid returned (she never really recovered the last time), a new boy was dropped off (literally!) by the children’s department, the staff spent much time searching for affordable firewood (the price goes up when it rains – which is every day!), and the rabbits the children keep as a small business had babies.  Like I say, ‘usual’ for here – likely not for you in Canada!

I wonder what next week will bring?  Time will tell!!.

Until the next time,
Cathy