Hello!
We arrived at Wema with suitcases full of soccer balls, 2 laptop computers, clothing, tennis balls, crayons, and colored pencils (see picture). The children were very excited to see us, and many of them remembered my name! They were also especially excited about the soccer balls. They usually make their own soccer balls out of plastic bags and netting, so having real soccer balls brought ecstatic screams of joy! Within two days of constant play, one of our soccer balls was popped and had to be taken into the village to be fixed. Because budgets barely have enough money for notebooks and pencils, the kids don't get much of a chance for arts and crafts, so we are excited to do some art projects with them later in the week.
I have been constantly impressed by the drive, determination, and passion for learning here. The students in Form 4, the equivalent of high school here in America, get to school at 5 am and stay often until 10 pm. We watched the students passionately debate Kenyan politics and the whether the two ICC candidates, who are suspect of being involved in the 2007 election violence should be allowed to participate in the presidential election. I was incredibly impressed how much the students got into the debate, cheering for their side, hands waving and feet stomping. It is rainy season here, and I was even more impressed when the rain began pouring down on the roof so hard I could hardly hear anything, and still the students sat in their seats, yelled over the rain, and continued to stay focused on the debate at hand. I know that kind of attention certainly wouldn't have happened in my high school.
Speaking of the weather, I have been quite impressed by the ferocity of the storms here. It is usually sunny during the day, and then it pours in the evening, with booming thunder and flashes of lighting that illuminate the whole campus. With these storms come random power outages that come often at quite comical times, from trying to pour water into my small glass from a giant water jug, to during showers, to finding ourselves eating in complete darkness and feeling around the table to find the rice.
One income generating project the Wema has been working on has had impressive success. Last year, the directors planted a tree farm, and when we were there most of the trees were only a few inches high. The 2nd photo shows Teresa showing us the tree farm last year. The trees are eucalyptus, and are incredibly fast growing and drought resistant. They are used for telephone polls, firewood, and timber for building. In just a bit over a year, the trees have grown to over 15 feet tall! The third photo shows us standing in the forest of one year old trees, the tops towering above us, and this amazing progress was made in one of the worst drought years in recent history. I was incredibly impressed to say the least, and I am very excited to continue to invest in this project. In 2 years the whole forest will be old enough to turn a profit and be used to help construct more dormitories.
We are also really excited about helping Wema establish a computer lab. They already have a computer room set up with two computers. The idea is to use the computer lab to teach computer literacy and to generate income by using the computer lab as a cyber cafe, but the computers are very old and hardly function, making it very hard to use them for anything. However, the prospects for the project are compelling. The computer lab has already been functioning as a cyber cafe on a small scale, and there is someone in the community who is willing to run the cafe if we can make improve it to the point where it will be a real business opportunity. We brought 2 laptops with us, but we will need to bring many more for this project to be successful. Thus, if you have any old laptops you would be willing to donate, hundreds of kids and their community would be incredibly thankful.
The other big news is that Wema now has a basic medical clinic, stocked with medicines for basic care, from deworming to pain relievers and fever reduces, to bandages and fungal cream. Two volunteers from University of Southern California, Erica Patel and Amanda Spoto, got a grant to work here and brought suitcases of medicine to start the clinic. They, then went into town to find out where to get these medicines locally, so that when supplies run out they will be able to be restocked from local pharmacies. The medicines are all incredibly inexpensive here, and thus the costs to maintain the clinic once now that it is started are well within Wema's means. In addition, a women who worked for a chemist will come to Wema one day a week to staff the health clinic and attend to the children's health needs.
Spending time in the girls' dormitories in the evening was also a very special experience. Over 50 girls crowded around us, begging to touch my hair and giggling at its different texture. I touched their hair too, and then we sang songs. Everyone grew completely quiet as I sang the Hokey Pokey (dance moves and all) and then cheered wildly. Then, other girls came forward and sang. All the girls wanted hugs, and I have begun to hear some of their incredible life stories. This area has one of the highest HIV/AIDs rates in East Africa, and nearby areas were heavily affected by the 2007/2008 election violence, and these issues have left many children orphaned or without financial means. One girl told us about how she hid in her house for a month to avoid the 2007 election violence, and in the morning she would find that neighbors had been killed. I want to get to know as many of the children as possible and listen to their incredible stories.
It is beautiful here, and it is wonderful to see all the progress Wema is making. When I first met Teresa and Steven in 2010, they had just recently started Wema and were worried that the project would not succeed, but seeing the progress now is one of the most inspirational things I have ever seen. For my senior thesis I am making a documentary about Wema and the work we are doing here, and I have already taken almost 2 hours of footage.
Here are some photos :)
Talk to you all soon!
-Laura
We arrived at Wema with suitcases full of soccer balls, 2 laptop computers, clothing, tennis balls, crayons, and colored pencils (see picture). The children were very excited to see us, and many of them remembered my name! They were also especially excited about the soccer balls. They usually make their own soccer balls out of plastic bags and netting, so having real soccer balls brought ecstatic screams of joy! Within two days of constant play, one of our soccer balls was popped and had to be taken into the village to be fixed. Because budgets barely have enough money for notebooks and pencils, the kids don't get much of a chance for arts and crafts, so we are excited to do some art projects with them later in the week.
I have been constantly impressed by the drive, determination, and passion for learning here. The students in Form 4, the equivalent of high school here in America, get to school at 5 am and stay often until 10 pm. We watched the students passionately debate Kenyan politics and the whether the two ICC candidates, who are suspect of being involved in the 2007 election violence should be allowed to participate in the presidential election. I was incredibly impressed how much the students got into the debate, cheering for their side, hands waving and feet stomping. It is rainy season here, and I was even more impressed when the rain began pouring down on the roof so hard I could hardly hear anything, and still the students sat in their seats, yelled over the rain, and continued to stay focused on the debate at hand. I know that kind of attention certainly wouldn't have happened in my high school.
Speaking of the weather, I have been quite impressed by the ferocity of the storms here. It is usually sunny during the day, and then it pours in the evening, with booming thunder and flashes of lighting that illuminate the whole campus. With these storms come random power outages that come often at quite comical times, from trying to pour water into my small glass from a giant water jug, to during showers, to finding ourselves eating in complete darkness and feeling around the table to find the rice.
One income generating project the Wema has been working on has had impressive success. Last year, the directors planted a tree farm, and when we were there most of the trees were only a few inches high. The 2nd photo shows Teresa showing us the tree farm last year. The trees are eucalyptus, and are incredibly fast growing and drought resistant. They are used for telephone polls, firewood, and timber for building. In just a bit over a year, the trees have grown to over 15 feet tall! The third photo shows us standing in the forest of one year old trees, the tops towering above us, and this amazing progress was made in one of the worst drought years in recent history. I was incredibly impressed to say the least, and I am very excited to continue to invest in this project. In 2 years the whole forest will be old enough to turn a profit and be used to help construct more dormitories.
We are also really excited about helping Wema establish a computer lab. They already have a computer room set up with two computers. The idea is to use the computer lab to teach computer literacy and to generate income by using the computer lab as a cyber cafe, but the computers are very old and hardly function, making it very hard to use them for anything. However, the prospects for the project are compelling. The computer lab has already been functioning as a cyber cafe on a small scale, and there is someone in the community who is willing to run the cafe if we can make improve it to the point where it will be a real business opportunity. We brought 2 laptops with us, but we will need to bring many more for this project to be successful. Thus, if you have any old laptops you would be willing to donate, hundreds of kids and their community would be incredibly thankful.
The other big news is that Wema now has a basic medical clinic, stocked with medicines for basic care, from deworming to pain relievers and fever reduces, to bandages and fungal cream. Two volunteers from University of Southern California, Erica Patel and Amanda Spoto, got a grant to work here and brought suitcases of medicine to start the clinic. They, then went into town to find out where to get these medicines locally, so that when supplies run out they will be able to be restocked from local pharmacies. The medicines are all incredibly inexpensive here, and thus the costs to maintain the clinic once now that it is started are well within Wema's means. In addition, a women who worked for a chemist will come to Wema one day a week to staff the health clinic and attend to the children's health needs.
Spending time in the girls' dormitories in the evening was also a very special experience. Over 50 girls crowded around us, begging to touch my hair and giggling at its different texture. I touched their hair too, and then we sang songs. Everyone grew completely quiet as I sang the Hokey Pokey (dance moves and all) and then cheered wildly. Then, other girls came forward and sang. All the girls wanted hugs, and I have begun to hear some of their incredible life stories. This area has one of the highest HIV/AIDs rates in East Africa, and nearby areas were heavily affected by the 2007/2008 election violence, and these issues have left many children orphaned or without financial means. One girl told us about how she hid in her house for a month to avoid the 2007 election violence, and in the morning she would find that neighbors had been killed. I want to get to know as many of the children as possible and listen to their incredible stories.
It is beautiful here, and it is wonderful to see all the progress Wema is making. When I first met Teresa and Steven in 2010, they had just recently started Wema and were worried that the project would not succeed, but seeing the progress now is one of the most inspirational things I have ever seen. For my senior thesis I am making a documentary about Wema and the work we are doing here, and I have already taken almost 2 hours of footage.
Here are some photos :)
Talk to you all soon!
-Laura
These pictures are amazing! I'm particularly impressed by the growth of those trees after just a year. I could use a growth spurt like that! You know, to stop Sar's relentless short jokes, and all. Enjoy yourself, and remember, stay classy.
ReplyDeleteI can just see you dancing/singing the Hokey Pokey to a spellbound audience, and then to wild applause. I love it.
ReplyDelete