The Journey: Work Series

I learnt today that a group of photographs is called a "series". I wanted to share a series of pictures today touching on various aspects of life at our school Msingi Bora- Kiswahili for Quality Foundation.

Here we have a group photo taken by a section of the staff at Acres of Mercy sometime in June this year. These are the people who make education happen at Msingi Bora. From left to right- Class two teacher , Eunice, Pre School teacher- Celestine, Class Four teacher- Anthony, iServe apprentice- Hilda, Class One teacher- Hellen., Hidden from view is Immaculate as she prepares to give a section of Msingi Bora students some donated clothes

L-R: Teachers Eunice, Celestine, Anthony, Hilda and Hellen

In these next two series we have some of the items donated by friends from iServe Africa and Kileleshwa Community Church in August. They mobilized some gently used clothes and a collection of bible story books, children comics, textbooks for both primary level and secondary level. It is amazing how timely the textbook donations were as one of the students we are supporting through secondary school had a great need for them to enable her catch up with studies. 

Donated text books and children story books 

Donated gently used clothes

We try to make learning at Msingi Bora effective, fun and collaborative. We believe in the benefits of cooperative learning. These series of photos show various learning stances we take at the school and include field trips, group discussions and peer learning. It makes our school one of the best learning environments within our entire zone. Kids just love our school. Take a look.

Students discussing a problem

This here is one of the field trips with the older children. Notice the lush Nguluni landscape. This only happens when it rains. Its beautiful and we want to help students truly enjoy nature studies.

Msingi Bora Students enjoy a field trip

Then we have agri-business learning experience. The tomatoes in the green house in this next picture was jointly done by staff, members of a local group  and a section of class six and class five students. The results look good. We teach students that all hard work bears fruit- much fruit.

Tomato fruits

These young leaders in the picture are engaged in peer learning. This is partner reading.in a trio. The pink and yellow cards have words they are learning to read and spell. It looks like they are truly learning. You should hear them lead each other in a reading class. I am sure they can spell and read the word EXCELLENT. Teacher Eunice does a great job with them.

Trio Learning Spelling

And finally the team's group photo taken immediately after our 2012 Annual General meeting held on 27th July. These ladies and gentlemen give of themselves to change our community through their individual investment of time and energy in the lives of the students. We could run out of space talking about all they do. Anthony is teacher in charge of class four, Rhoda is in charge of class five, Hellen is in charge of class one, Celestine is in charge of Pre-School, Immaculate- squatting- is the head teacher and in charge of sports,  as well as class six. Eunice is in charge of class two and our Handwriting Program, Agnes is in charge of class three and our pastoral program instruction, Hilda is the school's counselling psychologist and social worker, Jimmy, behind is the team leader.

L-R: Anthony, Rhoda, Hellen, Celestine, Eunice, Agnes, Hilda
Back: Jimmy; Front Squatting, Immaculate

And so the journey continues...

Their part of the  journey...

Thank You

A special note of thanksgiving to all you who have made it with us through this journey this far.

If you could only see the smiles 

cross the children's faces

as they play cheerfully during break

If you could see families hugely proud

because their sons and daughters

can read aloud or say ABC

And how about us?

knowing our burden to serve is shared

by caring people like you

And I haven't told you much yet

the recovering child, or mother

the older girl in high school not missing class

Their expressions of gratitude 

I now pass on, try to imagine them

together with mine, here expressed

Is Life this Bitter?

My day started quite in the usual. Our daughter Rehema has gone to school, she is in Class Four. That means it is 7AM and I am still contemplating waking up. Our three year old daughter is awake and she is partly the reason I cannot go back to sleep. Though I am robbed of sleep, it is nothing compared to what I come face to face with at Acres of Mercy. This kind of robbery is not acceptable. Why rob an innocent girl of her joy and freedom after promising to provide this same joy and freedom? But I am getting ahead of myself.

One of the women from the community has just come in with her step daughter. The girl lets call her Marah aged about 15 years is an orphan. The father had two wives. The first wife passed on and later the dad also passed away leaving her with her step mother. As is sometimes the custom, Marah's maternal aunts took her in to take care of her soon after she completed her primary school education at class 8.

It was rather the opposite that turned out to be true. Marah was taking care of her aunts. She was forced to do all sorts of household chores beyond what a responsible child ought to do. At times she was physically abused. As we speak I notice nail marks on her face. She has scratch marks on her left hand probably sustained when she tried to cover herself from a stick blow. Her left hand is swollen right around the wrist.

I hold back my tears as I hear her narrate her ordeal in the hands of her aunts. My heart cries for justice...and my prayer is that justice is done quickly but yet the bigger question is how fast can she heal from her wounds, not just the physical wounds but the wounds of rejection and emotional hurts she has had to take. To help her know that life is not all bitter but there is something much better. We must do much more. For us it begins with ensuring new start for Marah. We will need to take her to another school.

We are reporting the matter to the authorities, we are encoraging Marah to attend counselling sessions and we are offering  a place of refuge and a new start. so she can build a future for herself and family when the right time comes. No! Her life should not bear the marks of bitterness but the marks of love. She deserves it . She deserves to know life is not all that bitter. My hope and I pray it is a shared hope is that Marah will enjoy the freedom to be a child much like our daughters enjoy their childhood freedoms..