Fifty people under a tree
Our volunteer literacy programme with Kenya Connect today is for a group of parents with children from 0 to 5 years old, together with unaccompanied children from pre-primary classes. We’re expecting a small group. How naive we are. There are fifty people waiting for us under the shade of the trees.
I’m happy to join in as well as observe the session leaders as they run a wonderful set of welcome songs, storytelling, singing, talk time and goodbye songs. Sitting amongst the Kenyan people here is hilarious. I suddenly realise that several of the very young children have never seen a white person before. They are horrified. My thin nose, pale eyes and ghostly white skin seem to be seriously off-putting for them.
Here’s a child eyeing me with what seems to be a mixture of mild upset and suspicion. I wave but that seems to make it worse. Their mother smiles while her neighbour gives me a sympathetic look.
Luckily Kenton has no such response to my colleague Liz:
I’m not sure about Promise, though. It’s great for me to be experiencing the strangeness other people feel about me coming from a different culture and looking visibly different.
I’m already in love with the sense of style and the joy of pattern and colour in materials here, and this mother and child sum up all that is wonderful about that celebration.
One of the most encouraging things is the number of fathers here. Jobs are difficult to get, being without work is a real problem, and long hours and long journeys to make a living are common. Their commitment to being here to further their children’s chances is wonderful. There are smart men in beautiful suits, smart shirts and ties; there are trendy young men in baseball caps. All are here to learn how best to improve the life-chances of their babies and young children. Many have walked a long way. Some have interrupted their working day.
It’s inspiring, and we have so much to learn from their commitment.
If you would like to help Kenya Connect you can visit them here and donate here. They have an Amazon Wishlist for the basics of paper, pencils, and books. Please support them if you can. Even a small purchase makes a huge difference to children who have very little. Thank you.
More adventures in Kenya
A gorgeous Three-Banded Plover and a Lilac-Breasted Roller We're in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. I think it's an indestructible Toyota Land Cruiser. Gladys is our local Kenyan guide for… read more
On safari in the Masai Mara The twelve of us who have been volunteering in Kenya for Kenya Connect for the past eight days have been… read more
The rooftop retirement party and the revelation of my Spirit Animal It's been a hectic week volunteering on a literacy programme in Kenya for Kenya Connect. I've had little time to… read more
Muthoki Country Lodge and a Grey-Headed Kingfisher Muthoki Country Lodge has been our home in Wamunyu for the week, with luxurious tents and fabulous food. We have… read more
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, the National Bank of Kenya, and the Reading Road Rally We're out in Kenya Connect's Institution Bus on a road trip for the Reading Road Rally. It's part of my… read more
The boy who would only play with sand Before I came to Kenya, my colleague Liz told me she had been to a special school on her last… read more
The water carriers To many of the children here, being a superhero means carrying heavy jerrycans of water back to their home to… read more
Birds in the garden of Kenya Connect While we are volunteering in rural Kenyan schools we return to the headquarters of Kenya Connect each day for lunch.… read more
An early bus ride into rural Kenya The morning starts with an early Institution Bus ride to Kenya Connect's headquarters and we transfer to a four-wheel drive… read more
Common Bulbul calling “doctor-quick doctor-quick be-quick be-quick” There's just time before sundown to visit the lake a few hundred metres from my tent. One of the most… read more
The goat-sellers of Wamunyu market We're heading to Wamunyu Market on our way back to Kenya Connect's headquarters building. It's clearly an experience our Kenyan… read more
African Woolly-Necked Storks at the lake It's the evening after a busy day volunteering in Kenyan schools for Kenya Connect. We have dinner together at Muthoki… read more