I'm in Kericho now, at a Cyber because Emmanuel had to replace the car's brake pads and didn't want me to be bored waiting (though there's no way I would've gotten bored, with Kenyan newspapers to read, blogs to pre-write, "Into the Wild" to start reading, etc.) This one is much less annoying, though I still wouldn't call it high-speed. Anyway, onto the rambling!
I've decided to organize my blogs topically rather than chronologically because it would get tedious for writer and reader.
First on my mind is yesterday's last day with the Sirua Aulo Academy.
On Saturdays, all students and staff attend school to complete standardized testing, then gather to learn the scores. Each teacher takes turns telling who the top three scorers of their classes were, who come to the front to receive a star on their forehead and applause from the students. This weekend, after the scores were presented, a couple teachers gave speeches of thanks to me and the people who donated the items, then asked me to speak a few words. Which I promise I did NOT record on video so you won't get to hear it hahaha... Hey, you weren't there, so you don't get a say on what gets recorded or not :-) I basically thanked them for their welcoming me, the teachers for their time, reminded the students to study hard b/c a good education is the key to their future, and that when I return in October I expect to see the donated books worn down from overuse. Then I officially presented the items from the suitcase to the Headmistress, even though we had been using them all week. Teachers again gave thanks and then we gathered the whole school for a picture outside the classrooms. Then students were dismissed.
Earlier in the day, two parents brought two new kids to the school at my request. They are kids who were hidden in the homes over the years because they had nowhere to go, not being accepted by public schools or by the community. One was a 10 year old girl named Naeku Nkilasi. Mom said she had a normal birth but delayed milestones. Mom realized she was different when she was about 2. She had seizures which lasted only a few minutes at a time, but they were infrequent- she could go 4 months without it, and she hasn't had another since she was 7. Mom estimates she functions more like a 4 year old, though she only knows about 10 words in Swahili. She can do all regular chores and properly wash herself. When asked, Mom's biggest concern with her is that she has not gone to school.
Another child is named Nathaen Parningo. He is 7 years old and has a twin brother. He began nursery school with his brother but after that year was over, the Intro (e.g., kindergarten) and other subsequent teachers wouldn't let him into the class and now his brother is in Class 2 without him. He also had a normal birth and actually has had normal milestones and "understands everything" ... He just has a "heavy tongue" and doesn't talk. Or, when he does, it's inaudible. He can eat and swallow fine, for the SLPs among us. From my observation, he is normal in all aspects. Because of the time constraints, language barrier, decreased socialization, and intimidating aspect of a mzungu asking random questions, I wasn't able to diagnose much else on him. When asked, Mom said her biggest concern is that he has not attended school.
Notice a recurring theme?
I suggested we put Naeku into the Nursery class and Nathaen into the Intro that day to see how the kids themselves respond to each other. The new kids were shy at first, but since they were so warmly welcomed by the other students, they fit in well. They will both do well in school, especially Nathaen, whose story just makes me mad like hell. I expect him to excel quickly and hopefully catch up to his brother in a couple years based on the quality of Sirua Aulo's teachers compared to the public education Kenya has 'offered' where his brother is. My only concern was overloading the already overloaded Brenda who teaches this combined Nursery/Intro group (there were already 20 bouncy kids from 3-7 years old). I suggested (er... strongly recommended) to Emmanuel that he hires an assistant for Brenda if he were to accept these new kids into Sirua Aulo.
Well, there was no question for him, no moment of hesitation that these kids should come to Sirua Aulo or that Brenda will get an assistant if I suggested it. I said I'll try to find sponsors for these kids by October so that when I return, they can attend school and I can train the teachers on how to integrate them. Emmanuel being who he is, said he'll actually start them Monday because he's sure I'll find sponsors for them.
!!!
While the teachers were scoring the tests, the kids were free to play (many were enamoured with the jumprope and inflated ball I took from Emmanuel's home which his wife had been using as decorations on the wall and ceiling hehehe... this is what happens when volunteers bring foreign toys from the U.S. and don't explain what they are or how to use them!!) Nathaen immediatly was invited to play soccer (that is, kick the ball up and down the massive rocky hill the school is on) with the other boys. Emmanuel and I invited Naeku to play with the inflated ball and taught the 3-5 year old kids to take turns tossing it back and forth with her.
The Moms watched and were pleased beyond words. Eventually they went home because there were older students on whom we could rely to walk the two new pupils home safely.
This was a tough day for me, to have to say goodbye to the 70+ kids who have become accustomed to running up to Emmanuel's car saying "Hi Linda! Hi Linda! Hi Linda!" each morning. I spent time in each of the classrooms, with each of the teachers and all the students. My focus was on literacy, as I said, and introduced books into all the classes. The children LOVED them. Even the 3rd graders enjoyed lifting the flaps of a donated Sesame Street book. All new stuff to them.
This trip has been immensly satisfying, personally and professionally. I received the greatest compliments on Saturday during a debriefing meeting with the teachers. Mostly they said they learned to be more patient with the kids like me, because they watched the kids learning a lot from me being more patient with them and giving the ones who make mistakes at the blackboard a chance to fix and learn from their mistakes. Sorry that last sentence isn't coherent -- I was just told that we have to go soon and don't want to spend time editing now. I'll edit and add pictures, like I said, when I'm back in the States. Let me just mention that when I asked the teachers to share their thoughts and requests, they all said "bring your friends! and bring more books!"
