Project Kenya
The aim of the project is to build a school for the deaf children in the local area. Currently many of the children do not or are not allowed to go to school as their parents hide them away, or if they do, have to travel a long way or board away from home.
This is the story of what we achieved!
We arrived in Nairobi and had two days at the Kenya Voluntary District Association (KVDA) were we had some orientation training, a visit to the slums and met our fellow volunteers from around Europe and local ones from Kenya. (18 in total)
We then had a 7hr coach journey to the town of Isabenia, in Migori County near to the Tanzanian border which was where the primary school that we were staying at is located and where the new school for the Deaf will be built.
We then walked down the road to the school and were met by around 400-500 children and local villagers who all wanted to shake our hands. We then were shown to our rooms, mine was a store room which I shared with a chap from Belgium and the ladies was a classroom. The mosquito nets were set up and the beds made. Next we were all taken to a clearing and a formal welcoming ceremony was held.
The next day we had a group meeting to set up the work teams and the various duties, like kitchen duty which was, up at 05.00 collect firewood, water from river and make the tea, or clean the rooms and the toilets. As well as the duties we also set up teams who were responsible for the things like health and well-being of the volunteers.
When we had done this we then went for a run with one of the youths as we had taken our Halterworth Harrier’s club kit with us and then went down to look at the site where the school for the Deaf would be built. The foundations were started but that was all, so we set about digging out the rest of the foundations.
Come 1.00pm it is too hot to work so we went for lunch and to discuss what to do the rest of the day. The consensus was to construct a shower out of some existing walls and we all set about that task, resulting in a class shower.
The river/stream was where a natural well was and that is where the washing was done and where the water was collected for cooking and drinking (You had to sterilise the water).
I spotted that the school had a volleyball net so I went and played my favourite game with some of the older children and then also with the headmaster and some of the teachers.
At the weekend we all went on a trip to Tanzania, which for Eleanor was a new experience as she had not been on a motor bike before let alone three on one bike. We crossed the border and had some lunch, tried the local beer and did some shopping.
When we got back we all helped to get dinner and sat around the campsite singing songs and watching shooting stars as the sky was so clear. On the Sunday we all went to visit a home of one of the local volunteers and then went for a walk.
On the Monday Eleanor, I and two other volunteers went to meet the Director of Education for the County who had heard what we were doing at the school and how we had collected donations from our wedding for the school. He is responsible for 60,000 children so it was very interesting to hear how he manages his area.
On the way back we stopped for some lunch which was a bit of a challenge for Eleanor as she is a vegetarian and the meat was extremely fresh when we got there.
Female Genital Mutilation awareness day was at a local school, where more than 2000 girls attended and listened to many different speakers on the issues that occur to many young girls, with regards to female genital mutilation, what happens to them and what can be done to prevent it. It is illegal, but is still practised in many parts of the country due to family pressures, and how the practice can be stopped.
The next day was when the first lot of rocks that we had paid for arrived, followed by some more help to make some bricks. It soon became obvious that the bricks would take a long time to make so we went to find out if we could buy some. There were some bricks that were not far from the school entrance, so all the children were asked to help bring the bricks to the site, some of them with 3 or 4 on their heads; it was like a long line of ants at work.
The following weekend we all went on a visit to Kisumu which was about 3 hrs. away and the journey was Kenya style which meant 20 people in a 14 passenger minivan with all the luggage on the top, this did result in a flat tyre.We then all piled into Tuc Tucs for the trip into town.
We then went on a boat trip to Lake Victoria (the carwash was there, they literally drove into the Lake and washed them)where we saw Hippos in their natural habitat went to a rain forest and saw monkeys and Baboons followed by a trip into town that night for a beer and to go to a local club.
We went to visit the home of one of the deaf & dumb children who will be benefiting by going to the school when it is completed. Currently the children use a church hall with a student who is training to become a teacher, and is hoping to get funding to finish his education. We met his father and gave him one of the Kenya sign language sheets that we had had made up and brought with us from home, his father was really pleased as he is now be able to communicate with his son.
Before going home we were invited to Father Joseph’s 25th Anniversary celebrations, so we packed all out kit up, had a goodbye ceremony and travelled in typical Kenyan style (18 people and luggage in a 14 seater minivan) to the Father’s house, hopeful of 5 star facilities and treatment.
The festival was a very lively event with the archbishop of the county attending, a large choir singing gospel songs to a great beat, to a visit from the local Massi Warriors who I certainly would not want to argue with. This event went on most of the day and was a fantastic occasion to be part of.
Up early the next day and off to catch the 7hr coach journey back to Nairobi.
The mood was mixed as some of the volunteers were going on to other places and work camps. The end of the work period and the building partly completed by the group of volunteers and local helpers.
Ourselves, well we caught the 11.00pm flight to Heathrow, landed at 6.00am, taxi home, shower, dress, eat and Jon was straight to work, whereas Eleanor had the day off to start the mountain of washing.
May the project continue and end up a success!
We will go back and are still funding some of the work on the building, the weather has been very wet and not a lot of work has been done on the building. We do need to generate some more funds to get the roof on asap.
We will be going back there in 2015 and hope to go back with more funds.
Thank you.
