It’s quite common for schools in the area to have only a few textbooks for class, which the teacher then copies from onto the classroom.  Truth be told, in the beginning days of FKLA, we used this method.  However, due to a bighearted donation, we were able to purchase a full set of textbooks for each FKLA pupil.  We are so grateful for the generosity of our supporters – you are all providing such excellent opportunities to the children of Flying Kites.

Isaac came in and saw Auntie Dorothy and Auntie Bettina covering the books.  When they told him he would have 6 books of his own to use, the smile on his face was priceless.  I told him that a boy as hardworking and smart as he is deserves his own set of books.  He’s thrilled.

My favorite part of the day was when we drove to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the lake, called “Baboon Cliff.”  True to its name, it was inhabited by a group of very unafraid baboons that terrified Rahab and stole food from tourists.  One of the baboons jumped into a tourist’s car!

A special thank you to Auntie Bettina and Auntie Marie for making the day possible.  It was really special for the kids, and I am so glad they were able to see some of the wildlife their country is famous for.

The Kids at Baboon Cliff

The poorest families in Njabini don’t have the large plots of land required for grazing animals; therefore the cattle rearing programs that have been successfully initiated in other developing countries aren’t practical. For that reason, the rabbit rearing project is much more realistic; rabbits can be bred very quickly and when grown can be sold for fur and meat. They can also feed the families if necessary.

The program will begin with one initial breeding hut (located on the managing partner’s land) in which the first male and female rabbits will live. As they breed – like rabbits – over the next three months, the group will accumulate enough rabbits to distribute to the member families. To ensure all members are financially invested in this commitment, they will be responsible for purchasing the male rabbit; the SWORD Group will offer a repayment plan for those families who are not able to produce the funds required for the purchase.

The beauty of the rabbit-rearing project is that there is such quick turnover. Once member families begin breeding their rabbit pair, within three months the first group of rabbits will be mature enough for sale. As profits begin to accrue, families can continue breeding and building their rabbit herd. While the amount of money each family can expect to bring in initially will vary (depending on the agreed upon repayment plan for the male rabbit), the results will be measurable for all.

The SWORD Group will maintain 100 rabbits in the initial hutch to breed and sell to cover operating costs and raise funds for reinvestment. The group will also provide donors with periodic updates on the project’s progress; updates will be relayed during scheduled meetings with Flying Kites’ in-country Magnet Effect coordinator. The SWORD Group will have total control over future investments made with profits of the rabbit project; the group has already begun planning for a goat-rearing project and a bio-gas venture with cattle. The SWORD Group’s two-year goal is to open a centre for disabled children; many children with disabilities in rural Kenya are turned out on the street or locked away, viewed as a disgrace to the family. Since the SWORD Group was founded in part to help the plight of the disabled in South Kinangop district, raising the funds necessary to open such a centre would bring them closer to fulfilling their mission.  The credibility along with the profits the SWORD Group obtains through the success of their first venture will enable the organization to receive larger grants in the future to fund these promising projects.

** Hannah Wesley, who has been volunteering with Flying Kites since November 2009, was initially interested in assisting the SWORD Group and was able to contribute half of the money for the project; fellow volunteers Reuben Hartwell and Bettina ­­­­­­Kjergaard Lange were also inspired to donate. Additionally, Torben Drauschke, a friend of Bettina’s, was so moved by an e-mail she had written that he also asked to contribute; Jim McPherson, a colleague of Hannah’s father in Massachusetts also contributed funding for the project. The money was donated in memory of Jim’s late brother, Peter V. McPherson, from a Foundation established in his honor.

- Lucy Obama, directed towards me.  My cue to take a bucket shower.

- Miriam, in response to Isaac misbehaving.

It was the perfect day – while it had been raining for about three weeks straight, the skies cleared up and we had a sunny day for our groundbreaking ceremony.

Flying Kites invited our school children, their parents, and Njabini community leaders to help us celebrate this new beginning on our beautiful new site.   We can’t wait to invite them back for the school’s grand opening this summer!  I’ll keep you all posted on construction.

Although we were saddened by this development, Flying Kites has moved into a beautiful new house in Njabini.  We have much more space, and we will be able to expand or program to admit new children this spring.  The Kenyan government and local leaders have been so supportive during this transition, and I am excited – I think our new locale will better allow Flying Kites to provide the excellent care we have pledged to our children.

Our Beautiful New Home

Girls’ Dorm

Spacious New Classroom

The Kids

Alex is thankful for his sisters and brothers.

Daniel is thankful for lions.

Rahab is thankful for flowers.

Cepha (Kevin) is thankful for football.

Lucy is thankful for family.

Martha is thankful for the queen. (??)

Monicah is thankful for flowers.

Joseph is thankful for airplanes.

Peter is thankful for his blue hat.

James is thankful for Kenya.

Hannah is thankful for flowers.

Moses is thankful for fish.

Miriam is thankful for her mother.

Benson is thankful for cars and Nairobi.

Isaac is thankful for airplanes.

Mach is thankful for the sun, birds, and his dog Nelson.

The matrons

Phoebe is thankful for peace and harmony.

Joyce is thankful for God allowing her to go as far as she has.

Rebecca is thankful for God keeping her in such great spirits.

Mary is thankful for the love of her family.

And the volunteers….

Ashwini is thankful that Teacher Kathy braided her hair, and that consequently she will not have to wash it for a month.

Reuben is thankful for Mary’s skill with beans.

Hannah is thankful that she gets to spend every day with 16 children who love her, for elusive generator time (electricity!), hot buckets of water, and Mary’s wonderful fires.

I am thankful for peanut butter, my headlamp (thanks, Marcia!), and getting to know Kenya – it’s a beautiful country.

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I now understand why people become teachers.  I get it.  I finally see the gratifying side of education.  I am teaching Class 3, which is made up of 9 children from the village.  I would estimate their age to be somewhere between 8 and 11.  It’s hard to judge their age because so many African children are petite as it is, and the poor, malnourished ones are even smaller.  I would say that these children are in the equivalent to the 3rd or 4th grade, with approximately a 1st or 2nd grade education.  Prior to coming to FKKCC for school this year, these children had no formal education whatsoever to speak of.

At one point, our teacher stepped out of the room, so I stepped up to the board and went over a math question with them.  Enter: the snowball effect.  The children were ecstatic that I had stepped up and taken over, and the teacher was just as happy to sit back and watch me sink or swim.  But really…math?  You’d think that me, an American History major, could have landed the Social Studies or English subject, but no…math.  Honestly, I don’t know how my teachers did it in elementary school.  Trying to teach something new to children is literally like running into a brick wall, over and over and over.  I keep racking my brains for the clever tricks my teachers used to teach long division and double multiplication (I.e., 33X54), but keep coming up blank.  I ended up making it through the day, and assigned homework (which they received quite eagerly – I’m not sure if it was the novelty of “Auntie Hannah” assigning it, or that they don’t get it on a regular basis), which they copied into their notebooks.  There is no copier up here, nor is there any sort of stockroom of dittos, so they make due by copying into their books.

The following morning, I graded their math homework while Teacher Francis went over their other subjects.  Oh. My. God, can you say abysmal? There were two children out of the 9 that got more than 4 out of 8 questions correct, and at least 4 of them didn’t get any right.  I felt as if everything I had laboriously taught the day before had gone in one ear and out the other.  It was frustrating, to say the least.  Remember those little gold, silver, blue and red stars that our teachers used to use on charts and homework?  Well I brought a batch of those over, and put a star on anyone’s paper who got at least ONE question right.   I felt bad for the children who didn’t get one, but come on, I can’t positively reinforce failure!!  I spent the next couple hours going over the problems from their homework and giving them new ones to do while I looked over their shoulder and monitored their progress.  I kept emphasizing that it was not the answer I was interested in seeing, rather, it was the work they did to get that answer.

I finished off the day and prepared questions for homework.  I decided to take a different approach this time; I noticed when I was grading the homework they had copied down from the board, that half of them had some of the numbers and symbols (-, +, X, /) written incorrectly, setting themselves up to fail.  I used some printer paper and handwrote 9 dittos with 10 questions each and handed them out to the children.  Again, utter awe and gratitude.  They were so excited that they didn’t have to copy down the homework, I swear it had something to do with the transformation.  That, and the stars.

I stopped in the next morning to grade their homework.  The first child got all 10 questions right, the second got 8 out of 10, and so on, until I had graded all 9 papers, none of which got lower than a 50%.  I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I sat there with tears in my eyes, putting multiple stars on every paper, realizing that not only did I, ME, Hannah the math dunce, impart my pearls of wisdom on these children, but they RETAINED the information, and were able to do it again without my support.  I ran into the classroom, interrupted Teacher Francis, and with tears threatening to spill over at any moment, congratulated the children on a job well done.  I couldn’t keep the huge grin off my face as I handed back their star-studded (literally) homework and repeated over and over how proud I was.  It was probably inappropriate and uncalled for, but I don‘t care – they earned the right to see their teacher jumping around like a blithering idiot.

Like I said, I finally get it.  I had one tiny little victory, but that little victory gives me the reassurance I need to know that it works.  I just have to hammer away little by little, but eventually, I’ll crack even the blankest of stares.