Nieuwsbrief Lea - Mei, 2011

So, my last days in Kenya! It has gone by so fast! Last week the kids had school holidays for Easter. Now they are back at school, but on the first day back we had a surprise. The head teacher hadn´t paid rent for the month of April so the land owner of the school changed the lock on the door. This meant that we couldn´t get into the school until the rent is paid. The children have still been coming to school everyday and spending the day outside. This means they still get food everyday. For me and the other volunteer we had to think about what to do with the children. Most of the days this week were spent playing with them more than teaching. We played counting games with stones and reading with letters we wrote on pieces of paper. All of the books and pencils we use for teaching were locked inside the school so we had to make the most of what we have with us. Although we were working with all the children in the school together it was a really enjoyable time. The children are so excited by little things like running after them or picking them up. After week of being outside, the landlord finally opened the school on my last day. Thanks to a generous sponsor paying the rent, the children were smiling, laughing and jumping around as they went back into the school. It was a nice way to end the time in Kenya.

 

At the beginning of my time in Kenya, I focused on teaching the children and learning how to discipline them. Now that my time is over I realise that the most important thing is to have fun with them. In two months it is not possible to teach them everything. Maybe some learn how to count or write a bit better. They maybe learn the alphabet more. The main thing I think is to give them attention. To make jokes with them and give them the feeling that they are worthwile. A good time that they will remember and will make their childhood experience a bit better. I am not sure what kind of homes they come from. (In the last few days a boy's mother died while giving birth. She was the fourth wife of a man and we are not sure if the other wives will look after her children.) Some come from homes where they do not get so many things that are 'special'or that they can be proud of. I am also not sure how much food they get at home. The school is a place where they not only learn, they also get food and there are volunteers who play with them and make them enjoy the time.   
I want to thank WPRG and Vink vleeswaren so much for giving me the opportunity to be here. Thanks to their support I have had the opportunity to have an amazing experience in Kenya. The most important thing of course has been the volunteering. Learning how to deal with a Kenyan school and the children. Getting to know the children and having the chance to make them smile and enjoy their days at school. Seeing their faces me realise how much it means for them to have volunteers. So from me and the children of El-Roi Kindergarten and Primary School, THANK YOU!!