Last year I was in Kenya, visiting schools by invitation of the ROC, Amsterdam Gooi en Vechtstreek/NL (www.rocva.nl). Interns of the ROC and the Comenius College, Hilversum/the Netherlands. Five (5) students from these schools had been in Kisumu for 4 weeks, made possible through the Department of Foreign Affairs grant Xplore (www.xplore.nl). Ms. Okech, founding director of KEFEADO (www.kefeado.co.ke), was the host and introduced us at the various schools in the Migori region (between Kisimu and the Tanzania border).
Kenya, a fascinating country. Your plane lands and the heat envelopes you like a hot shower. You have just entered a different world. The friendly driver can show you around for the few hours you are spending in Nairobi. You see cars, cars, and more cars. A main road which carries more cars, vans and busses it can handle. People walking alongside the road, on the unpaved, never handled paths, full of holes, weeds, people and bicycles. We saw 1 traffic light and 1 traffic handler trying to deal with the masses. Needless to say that the 20 KM we had to go took us more than 3 hours.
People look well-groomed and friendly, even though there is a red dust all present because of the drought. The driver tells you that some people are walking 2-3 hours one way to get to work. What a dedication to get to your source of income.
Places of tourist interest are visited. The Giraffe house, elephant nursery, Wild Parks, a delight to see the animals close-up, maybe even receive a giraffe kiss, or a tiger hug, anything to attract the tourist.
Many schoolchildren are also visiting the parks as their fieldtrip. The kids queue up, listen carefully to the teachers and are looking at us, the white people, as much as they are viewing the animals. Every student wears a school uniform, some well taken care of, some not. Teachers are trying to keep them in line and moving forward without loosing one of their pupils.
That night we fly to Kisumu. Another city, another world. The plane debarks on the middle of the landing strip. Luggage is being brought on the tractor to the entrance gate; self-service. Ms. Okech, founding director of KEFEADO (www.kefeado.co.ke), awaits us with her friendly smile. Hugs and kisses all around. We all are loaded into cars and off it goes. It feels like the moon, some asphalt roads, some sand roads, most in some state of despair. A few street signs, no street lights, it feels overwhelming. The hotel is quite ok, people are friendly, all is clean and the rooms are generous. Our rooms overlook Lake Victoria, what a beauty.
After a day of leisure we meet up with the interns of Comenius College and ROC van Amsterdam Gooi en Vechtstreek/NL (www.rocva.nl) . The 5 teenagers have been in Kisumu for 4 weeks, made possible through the Department of Foreign Affairs grant Xplore (www.xplore.nl, as managed by the Dutch Institute for the youth). They spent their time going around visiting schools and teaching the students computer applications. Two of the interns are filming a documentary about daily and school life and the struggles the students have to go through. We drive to Migori, about 3 hours south of Kisumu. The world is even more different. Small huts are located all over the countryside. Cattle graze along the roadside, not being bothered by the traffic passing along. Bicycles are means of transportation from everything starting with the people (bicycle taxi), cans of water, wood, food, large pieces of tin to be used for roofs or walls and wares to sell.
You start looking with other eyes. The poverty is still there but you see the dignity of the people, how they are hard at work to make life bearable, to provide for their family and to keep their self-respect. Even the poorest little hut was swept and tidied up.
The schools showed us that kids are alike wherever you are in this world. Give them a balloon, a jumping rope, show them a computer and teach them to use word, Excel; they love it and are going for it. As the students from Comenius College had collected funding (and a private donation was added to it) we had bought schools books in Kisumu. Books for several reasons:
- bring something they can use (money might find different ways to achieve the desired purpose). The textbooks can be placed in the library and checked out by everyone
- support the local community
- bring something they desire
We visited the following schools: Manyatta High School (boys only), Manyatta Primary, Kanga Primary, Kitere Primary, Minenya High School (mixed), Obama Primary and the Komolorume school. At every school all the students were gathered, songs as a warm welcome were sung and a formal presentation of the books was given. An impressive look into the daily life of a student.
Many issues were brought to our attention as Ms. Okech explained (in no specific order):
- The issue of equality of students
- The issue of HIV positive and Aids ( a major shift in cultural awareness)
- The requirements for hygienic facilities to be separate for boys and girls because of cultural issues (sometimes there were no facilities at all)
- Dropouts
- The canning of students if needed, even though prohibited by law
- The need for electricity, water and sanitation facilities in most of the schools
- The need to keep girls in school as they often turn out to become the family provider
- The shortage of teachers
- A breakfast program as many orphans had to go to school without anything to eat
- An ROC type of school as students are academically prepared for the future but someone with capabilities to be a carpenter, an electrician, an ICT expert are extremely important to provide for the up keeping of facilities and equipment and
- A change in mindset, as currently the students are prepared to accept a job somewhere (and mostly not in the area they are currently living). If they can realize their own capabilities and dream their own dreams, a new kind of adult can emerge; the store owner, the ICT expert, the electrician etc.
As we returned from the schools visited we all looked at this fascinating country with different eyes. The students are eager, willing and open to learn. Let us support the issues at hand but at the terms of the receiving party. Let them decide about the what, the where and the when. Let us open the minds, answer to the immediate needs and allow them to build their own future.
Visiting Kenya were: Ms. Aaltje Veen, director Productive Learning project; Mrs Cora S., mother of one of the interns and Herma-Joze Blaauwgeers, founder ThePeaceBrokers Inc (www.thepeacebrokers.org) |
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