School Visits

Feb. 24, 2017

This week gave us another opportunity to spend a day in one of the Districts, this one not far from Kakamega. As part of our visit, the District Officers (DO's) accompanied us to two schools. One was a large Girls School for grades 8-12 (known here as Form 1 - Form 4). This school has an excellent reputation. The students are performing well in their exams, thus the enrollment is increasing. Of the nearly 500 girls attending the school, 450 are boarding. We've come to understand the benefit of boarding schools. School administrators explain that for many students, this environment is better than what they have at home. "The simple meals we provide (mostly maize and beans and some vegetables) is better than no meals at home" the principal says. There may be other family struggles as well so boarding can actually provide a safer and healthier life.

The classrooms in this school are pretty bare and there are not enough of them. Some classes happen outside, which will be a challenge during the rainy season. The Form 3 class uses the Corps Hall next door. Like many schools, the classes are very large.  One of the challenges in this school is that on the same grounds as the High School is a Primary and Nursery School of about 450 young children. We were watching many of the girls write exams outside while trying not to be distracted by the younger children playing in the school yard or inside singing and making their child like noises. The administration has been eager for a long time to have more classrooms constructed but, as goes the common problem, there is no money and no government funding available. They rely mostly on support from parents through school fees and whether the school sponsor can help. This is a huge challenge for The Salvation Army with over 900 schools in the Territory.  We were taken to a site to see that a skeleton of a structure for more classes has commenced. There was a construction crew on hand making small strides to put up brick walls, all manual labor of course - no machines in site. Safety standards are a little different. The crew were all wearing sandals with bare feet. We smiled!

We saw the dormitory where the girls sleep. There are 40-50 bunks in each room with barely enough space to walk between the bunks. A small box locker holding their belongings sits at the foot of most of the bunks. (Very different from what I've seen teen age girls bring to camp in Canada). Everything is kept very clean and tidy here, that was impressive. Water is a challenge too on these grounds, so the girls have a common area to bathe in.

 Form 3 Class using the corps building

From the Girls boarding school, we visited a smaller Special School for children who are deaf and hearing impaired. There are 91 children ranging from 3 - 20 years. The principal explains that getting children to come to this school only happens when the staff go out into the community and look for children who need this facility. There is a stigma for children with any kind of disability (including hearing impairment) that they can't learn so why send them to school. The staff have been diligent in trying to reach and educate families on the value of having their children enrolled here. Some of the children have other disabilities as well, yet the environment is a very happy one. One of the classes communicated their names to us through sign language. It was heart warming to hear names like Purity, Handsome, and Defender. They also signed our names which was fun! Their sign language curriculum is one adapted from American Sign Language and designed specifically for Kenya.

The classes are structured from Pre-primary to Class 8. They also provide some vocational training. There is a tailoring class where the students learn to sew and even make their own school uniforms. Unfortunately there are only four sewing machines operational right now so only three of the students can enroll in this class, one machine is for the instructor. They are hoping for some donations to purchase more sewing machines.

This is another residential school and one of their challenges is sufficient space to house a wing for boys and a separate one for girls. They are also struggling with water issues and need a new water tank.

The end of the day brings Morris and I both joy and heart ache.  Education is so important. The next generation needs opportunity to grow and develop so they can contribute to their world. The obstacles facing the schools are great but they put one foot in front of the other, smile and sing, and live with hope that tomorrow may be a better day.

Mingling with the children in the Special School while they have their lunch.

Some of the Grade 8 students who were signing for us.