Primary School Visits and the BWM

Since I’m already a week behind on posts (access to the Internet is not as easy as it sounded since I'm working all day), I think I’ll post a few separate blogs on what I have been doing. Paul, John, and I have been working as a team with the Better Water Maker. It’s been fun working together, but so far, it has mostly consisted of a lot of driving and many meetings. We’ve met with three primary schools in the Gilgil area. We have to meet with the headmaster of each, as well as the head teacher or project manager, which can take some time. It’s interesting to learn about the educational system here, and I’ve been asking a lot of questions. The poverty is so great in Kenya that one might think improvement in the educational system could help.

I’ve had a tour of each school, and the buildings are pretty similar. Most of the older buildings are made of wood, but the newer buildings are typically gray or brown brick, with dirt floors and very basic desks. Some have electricity. There is usually a playground of some sort, which is typically dirt and grass, and often shared with cows, chickens, or goats. Almost everything in the schools is purchased by the community or through some type of charity, many from the United Kingdom. The government is willing to put some money into teachers and the curriculum, but not the actual physical structure of the school, so community effort is imperative.

The classrooms can hold anywhere from 15-90 students… yes, 90! The government has actually set the limit at 50, but there is such a shortage of teachers, that they often need to combine classes for the students. Intermediate students stay longer than the primary students, who leave at around 2:00 each day. Most Kenyans learn three languages- the language of their tribe, Swahili, and English. Lessons in school are taught in English, except for math, which is taught in Swahili. While government schools are free for children, it is important for the students to do well on exams to be accepted into secondary school. 

Every time we enter school grounds, I feel like a movie star! Although there are white Kenyans here, when the kids see my white skin, they get very excited. They wave and crowd around me, welcoming me to their school. Each class formally greets me and then asks me to make an introduction. There is a school visitor’s book at each school to sign, and I have always been invited to come back to teach!

While the newer schools have roofs and drains that collect rainwater and fill large water tanks during the rainy seasons, they don’t have faucets, and there is often no water available during the dry seasons. Kids bring water from the rivers or dams, which are the same locations that washing and animal feeding is done.

In the mornings, I am reading some of my “work” books about technology in education and future-focused schools. In the daytime, I am working to provide clean water in schools. I am between two worlds right now. It’s hard to imagine how these kids will have a chance in a global society, when most of them don’t even have their basic needs met. 

from 7/6/2011

Today, I met my guide for the week, Paul, who works as a facilitator for an NGO called Skills Ventures. He is very helpful in knowing about the communities and groups within Gilgil that have the Better Water Maker and those who would like to have it. There were already five BWM’s out here, and I brought six more with me, a few miscellaneous parts, as well as water testing kits. While Paul and I were having our introductory meeting, I looked up, and there were four warthogs in the grass right by us. Of course, they all ran as soon as I stood up, so there wasn’t a chance for a picture, but Paul said it’s likely that I’ll see plenty more of them. He also pointed out a dik-dik in the bushes, which is a small gazelle-like animal that comes to about my knees.

There is a group of high school students from a boarding school in England who are staying at Malewa Bush Ventures this week. The school, Ardingly, has sent groups to Kenya for the past three years. They have approximately 25 students here who are building and improving two schools (Ndogo and the future Lengalenga secondary school) as well as teaching lessons to the students. I’ll be eating breakfast and dinner with them each day while they are here and then will be cooking on my own next week. The students come from many different countries and the staff members are very welcoming. The kids are very mature and want to know all about our school system. It’s nice to have a bit of company on my first day in Kenya.

After my meeting with Paul, Christine (the owner of Bush Ventures) asked if I could help one of the kitchen staff to prepare her handmade goods be sold to the student group. Most of the Kenyan women over a certain age are often referred to as “Mama”… so I helped Mama Jane wrap and label her aloe soaps and lotions for the students. I had noticed the aloe plants here earlier today- they are huge!

 When I headed up the hill to my cottage tonight, I turned on my flashlight, and there were about 10 dik-diks right in front of me! I’m bundled up for bedtime, as it gets really cold here in the evenings- it is winter in Kenya right now and July is supposedly the coldest month. Off to bed for me!