Wow, first of all I can’t
believe that it is already April. There are times I can’t believe how long I’ve
been here, and other times when it seems like I just showed up yesterday. But
anyways, I wanted to share a little bit about a project I did with the school on
my compound.
When I first came to site,
there were no children, no buildings, and no inkling of a school. However, due
to one of the sister’s tireless work, a donation came in to begin the building
of a brand new school on the compound, which will eventually encompass a full
primary, have a library, resource center and administrative block. (Currently
two of the classroom buildings are up, which is what there was money for.) Over
the first few months of being here, a crew of men came in, took down trees,
cleared land, and worked every day to have these two concrete structures built
within a couple of months. The school, Our Lady of Chebukaka Primary School,
was able to open for first term this past January. This was right after our in
service training, where we had been given a manual full of places where we may
be able to find small grants. I was perusing it one fine day in January and
came across the Darien Book Aid Plan, Inc Grant. It was a simple process, and
they have an easy application specifically for Peace Corps Volunteers. My
fellow volunteer, Breezie, had done the same grant last year and encouraged me
to do it. So I filled out the grant, emailed it in, and didn’t expect to hear
much for several months. However, come mid-February I received an email that my
storybooks had been shipped and to email when I received them! And luckily for
me, and the kids at the school, it only took one month for the books to make it
to me in rural Kenya!
A sampling of some of the books that I got in the mail for the school!!
I brought the books back to
my compound from the post office, and couldn’t wait to present them to the
kids! I decided to talk to the sister who is the head teacher of the school,
and we set up a simple library system with the books, so that the children
could sign them out for a week if they would like to take them home. Once all
the books were recorded and stamped I gave them out to the kids! They were so
excited to have all the new reading materials and the teachers were really
grateful. The school is so new that there is little money to afford books,
school supplies, desks, or even shutters on the windows. But now thanks to
Darien Book Aid, my kiddos have a little something! So a big big thank you to
them and all their hard work, Chebukaka really appreciates it! Small things
like this bring joy and hope to the community, and I was happy to be a part of
it! And it was so fun to give the children something that would help their
education, and get to read and play with them. =)
This little one was so cute! I wasn't even trying to pose her, and she was just holding it up like this! And I remember reading this book as a kid! Might be a little bit too advanced English for her right now, but now there will be something for her to read in the future!
Entertainment wise, I’ve
been watching some Modern Family, and I finished reading Zeitoun. I haven’t started a new book, but I think I’ll be starting
Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern soon.
Stay well, and I hope for
all of you that celebrate Easter, that you had a wonderful and Happy Easter
yesterday!
Love and Sunshine,
Lindsey Rae
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