Saturday, February 12, 2011
Last Hour In Eldoret
Friday, February 11, 2011
Last Days...
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday were exam days at Neema School. A typical testing session for the older students was 9:00 - 11:20. Students recorded answers on skinny strips of graph paper. They shifted around in their creaky wooden bench desks, but were not excused until the ending time. Afterwards all the teachers headed to the "staff room" and pored over the test papers with red pens. Students are engaged in "downtime" for the rest of the day - hanging out in their classrooms leisurely chatting and waiting for the delivery of their exam grades. The teachers took a break for lunch, then continued to grade. Even though they finished long before the school day ended - the teachers continued to stay in the staff room while the the children carried on with their "work". I visited all the classrooms effusing compliments of how well they were they behaving. It was a great time to pass out the silly bands.
I had 2 goals after visiting my first day at Neema...
1. Unpack the books from our fund drive (that were still in boxes and had been in the staff room since October)
2. Have students work outside their "exercise books"
I had 2 goals after visiting my first day at Neema...
1. Unpack the books from our fund drive (that were still in boxes and had been in the staff room since October)
2. Have students work outside their "exercise books"
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
A Greener Shade of Green - A Trip To The Tea Fields & Sugar Factory
An hour and a half drive from Eldoret in a northern direction can bring you to the Nandi Hills home to some expansive tea estates. The tea leaves are the most delicate color green. Tea plants take about 3 - 4 years to mature. All the tea is handpicked - 2 leaves and a bud at a time.
The baskets will hold about 20 pounds of tea leaves.
A picker with the field foreman.
We continued on our trip and lunched at the chairman (CEO) of the Chemelil Sugar Company's home. Chairmen are government appointed and oftentimes have another full time job. Simeon is also head of the immunology department at Moi University. The first stop was his office (with plush leather walls) for talk and donning of white coats and helmets. The latter was purely for show - it was painfully obvious no one else at the factory wore anything like this! The factory itself could have been a movie set for the old Willy Wonka movie complete with all the sounds. It was built in 1967 and no updates have been made. The tour we went on would not have been allowed in the United States. We were stepping over hissing hoses, dashing from sparks and ducking under boiling hot pipes. We saw the whole process from the line up of tractors and wagons jammed with sugar cane (sometimes in line for 6 hours waiting to be weighed) all the way to the bagging with lots of juicing and centrifuging in between. Many pictures were taken of us "mazoongas" - (swahili for white face) for public relations.
The baskets will hold about 20 pounds of tea leaves.
We continued on our trip and lunched at the chairman (CEO) of the Chemelil Sugar Company's home. Chairmen are government appointed and oftentimes have another full time job. Simeon is also head of the immunology department at Moi University. The first stop was his office (with plush leather walls) for talk and donning of white coats and helmets. The latter was purely for show - it was painfully obvious no one else at the factory wore anything like this! The factory itself could have been a movie set for the old Willy Wonka movie complete with all the sounds. It was built in 1967 and no updates have been made. The tour we went on would not have been allowed in the United States. We were stepping over hissing hoses, dashing from sparks and ducking under boiling hot pipes. We saw the whole process from the line up of tractors and wagons jammed with sugar cane (sometimes in line for 6 hours waiting to be weighed) all the way to the bagging with lots of juicing and centrifuging in between. Many pictures were taken of us "mazoongas" - (swahili for white face) for public relations.
Monday, February 7, 2011
A Sobering Side of Kenya
On the way back from Nukuru National Park we stpped at a Internall Displaced Victims tent camp. These Kenyan citizens have been living in these tents since the uprisings during the Kenyan elections of 2008. When we parked our car - children appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Luckily we had a bag of cookies that we could share. In moments they had been gobbled up. They all said thank you and with their eyes pleaded for more. Our driver says the Kenyan government makes token visits and food distributions, but only when it serve a political purpose. There are no current plans to move these citizens out of this sad sad place.
I visited a boys drop in shelter yesterday afternoon. These are all boys that live on the streets. This center offers them a respite from the toughness they must exude every minute just to survive. Their families live in extreme poverty and this has pushed them to make their own life as best they can. This center offers them a porridge breakfast, hot water (heated over a fire) bathing, basic classes in math, science, english, kiswahili and lifeskills. They can earn points for articles of clothing by attending the classes, staying for a skype session with an Indiana elementary school, playing Xbox and leaving the glue bottles that they sniff at the gate of the center. It is certainly a bright spot in an otherwise tough and brutal life. It is the goal of this center to try to enroll these boys in a regular public school. Out of the approximate 60 - 80 boys that come every Mon., Wed., and Friday - 6 boys are on the pathway of entering real school.
This is the outside fire pit that heats the water for the boys baths
Tent camp children
Drop in center
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Nukuru National Park
White Rhino
Nukuru National Park is about 2 hours from Eldoret. Here a few highlights...
Friday, February 4, 2011
Another Adventurous Day in Africa
In the late afternoon I traveled to a traditional mud home. Simply amazing how different people's lives can be.
I'm excited for a possible shower with hot water.
Signing off for now...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday at Neema
After a brisk 30 minute walk on clay roads passing by goats, I arrived for assembly timeat 8:00 which they have everyday. It's a combination of songs, prayers and discussion of moral behavior. With the "Babies - age 3", "Middles - age 4" and "Top" - what we would call kindergarten they need to show they have hankies in their pockets and they also need to show off their clean fingernails.
I am first attending Teacher Miriam's 7th & 8th grade math class. She is the "deputy principal" for all the teachers. (Joshua the creator of the children's home and school appears to have many pots on the fire, so the day to day running of the school and scheduling falls on Miriam.)
After a long conversation with Miriam yesterday, she recognizes how the split classes might work better being taught together rather than one grade is waiting while the ther grade is being taught. All the teachers at the school teach a variety of levels and subjects, rather than one 1 teacher teaching the same class all subjects. She relishes teaching the same subject to the same group of students each year - although her schedule this year does not reflect that. Even though on the surface it appears she would have the power to make that kind of decision - it comes down to the equality and fairness and number of students in the classroom. (ie - 6th grade only has 2 students - as opposed to 8th grade that has 8 students...)
I watched and helped grade (in their exercise books - a whole different topic) . Sticks are used as counters.
Then Miriam had a 3rd grade reading class. It is so loud from all of the other classrooms - I invited the class to come under a tree and read a George and Martha book. Then back in the classroom they were given a piece of paper (a big deal! they never have extra paper) and asked to write and draw their favorite part of the story and why. They all knew their favorite part of the story but they did not write about why. We hope to revisit that tomorrow and then hang their work up - there really is no student work hanging up in the school.
Then there is a Tea Break for students and teachers - wonderful chai tea and roll are brought down from the house kitchen and for 30 minutes teachers come and drink tea and the children (unattended - theme I will address later) have a little free time.
After the tea break I was in one classroom that one side had 8th grade religion class - topic 7 days of creation and on the other side Kiswhili - sort of like a language Arts for us in their native language.
Lunchtime is at 1:00 - a whole delicious hour - again all the students watching over themselves for that entire time. The teachers are provided lunch and it definitely a Kenyan diet. The first day I was set up to eat what they thought to be an "american lunch" in Joshua's home which is adjacent to the school. I said I wanted to eat with the teachers and I did today - they are a quiet bunch unless I start conversation.
After lunch I watched an 8th grade science class that was learning about HIV and Aids. The 3 rules for the students were 1. abstain from sex
2. Be married and be faithful
3. If you can't be faithful in marriage use a condom
Then I went to the primary classroom and read Curiuos George - only because as the teacher was checking 2 students exercise booklets at a time - the rest of the 4 year olds were just sitting in their chairs - really just sitting and I asked if I could read a book while she was working with students and she welcomed the idea. It was a crowd pleaser and the teacher came over as well and translated in Swahili.
One of the teachers was so sick they left for the hospital in the morning and his 7th grade class with no adults held the class and quizzed each other with no trouble - pretty amazing.
When the teachers need to have a meeting - the designated boy and giirl leader from the 8th grade are in charge of all the students on the field (playground) again amazing - I was telling teacher how we can nevr leave our students unattended...
I am first attending Teacher Miriam's 7th & 8th grade math class. She is the "deputy principal" for all the teachers. (Joshua the creator of the children's home and school appears to have many pots on the fire, so the day to day running of the school and scheduling falls on Miriam.)
After a long conversation with Miriam yesterday, she recognizes how the split classes might work better being taught together rather than one grade is waiting while the ther grade is being taught. All the teachers at the school teach a variety of levels and subjects, rather than one 1 teacher teaching the same class all subjects. She relishes teaching the same subject to the same group of students each year - although her schedule this year does not reflect that. Even though on the surface it appears she would have the power to make that kind of decision - it comes down to the equality and fairness and number of students in the classroom. (ie - 6th grade only has 2 students - as opposed to 8th grade that has 8 students...)
I watched and helped grade (in their exercise books - a whole different topic) . Sticks are used as counters.
Then Miriam had a 3rd grade reading class. It is so loud from all of the other classrooms - I invited the class to come under a tree and read a George and Martha book. Then back in the classroom they were given a piece of paper (a big deal! they never have extra paper) and asked to write and draw their favorite part of the story and why. They all knew their favorite part of the story but they did not write about why. We hope to revisit that tomorrow and then hang their work up - there really is no student work hanging up in the school.
Then there is a Tea Break for students and teachers - wonderful chai tea and roll are brought down from the house kitchen and for 30 minutes teachers come and drink tea and the children (unattended - theme I will address later) have a little free time.
After the tea break I was in one classroom that one side had 8th grade religion class - topic 7 days of creation and on the other side Kiswhili - sort of like a language Arts for us in their native language.
Lunchtime is at 1:00 - a whole delicious hour - again all the students watching over themselves for that entire time. The teachers are provided lunch and it definitely a Kenyan diet. The first day I was set up to eat what they thought to be an "american lunch" in Joshua's home which is adjacent to the school. I said I wanted to eat with the teachers and I did today - they are a quiet bunch unless I start conversation.
After lunch I watched an 8th grade science class that was learning about HIV and Aids. The 3 rules for the students were 1. abstain from sex
2. Be married and be faithful
3. If you can't be faithful in marriage use a condom
Then I went to the primary classroom and read Curiuos George - only because as the teacher was checking 2 students exercise booklets at a time - the rest of the 4 year olds were just sitting in their chairs - really just sitting and I asked if I could read a book while she was working with students and she welcomed the idea. It was a crowd pleaser and the teacher came over as well and translated in Swahili.
One of the teachers was so sick they left for the hospital in the morning and his 7th grade class with no adults held the class and quizzed each other with no trouble - pretty amazing.
When the teachers need to have a meeting - the designated boy and giirl leader from the 8th grade are in charge of all the students on the field (playground) again amazing - I was telling teacher how we can nevr leave our students unattended...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Stop Off at a Woman's Shelter and the rest of the day at Neema School
 |
| Ruby Bridges in the women's shelter |
On the way to Neema School
Kindergarten Classroom
 |
| 4th - 5th grade class...notice she is teaching to right hand side (4th) while the 5th graders patiently wait(about 25 minutes) I am getting to know all the teachers. Theyare all very nice and very dedicated. Many certified teachers (not like our certification) cannot find jobs, so they are happy to be at Neema School. I know them by name but not by class. They really mix things up...one teacher might teaching 8th grade math, 1st grade science & PE, and 5th grade Kiswahili. Lots to learn - keep you posted. |
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Second Full Day In Kenya
I am doing way too many duplicating e-mails - a blog seems to be the way to go. This is a test run and I will write more later today!
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