I sit right now in a small internet cafe unlike any in the USA. Out of the 8 computers only about 4 or 5 work and mine already had to be restarted once so hopefully I’ll be able to post this.
Yesterday, I worked with the toddlers at ICC (the church), and the toddlers are 3-5 yr olds. I noticed 2 main things: kenyan children are much more disciplined than american children (when told once they do it immediately) and teachers use basically no physical touch….only high-fives. Yesterday, Sunday, prepared me for today when I taught about 20 3-6 yr olds at a school in Eastleigh. On the way there we passed huge slums, and I was speechless. There is no real dumster system so trash pills next to roads and shacks for miles and miles. Walking into the school felt like I was walking back in time. It was dark, no lights or electricity of any sort, and children from 3-12yrs old were all in the same room. All were in uniform dawning adorable dark red sweaters and blue skirts (shorts for the boys). Together, we sang songs and had some of the older children act out the Bible story of how Jesus heals the lame and sick as it was a Christian school. The smell of smoke filled the room as they were burning trash outside. Then, we broke up into 4 groups based on age. I wrote with chalk on a blackboard the abcs and 1-10 so the children could practice writing english. They all spoke swahili and a little english so I learned many swahili words. It was time to go to the bathroom after a while which consisted of a concrete gutter room that all the boys went into first then all the girls. The smell was overwhelming, but the worst part was they were cooking chapoti (like a tortilla) for lunch right next to the bathroom. We served lunch, and the leaders were given chapoti and a banana! I haven’t had a piece of fruit in about 1.5 weeks. Oh it tasted so good. Two little 4-yr old girls stole my heart: Maggie & Hillary. They had very short hair, and both were super spunky. Hillary did not always enjoy doing her writing, but she did enjoy sitting in my lap and playing with my hair and watch. She kept wanting to take off her shoes too. It was emotionally hard when one little girl was trying to put her shoe back on, and because her shoe was too small we had to cram her toes inside. Their “notebooks” consisted of 5 sheets of notebook paper covered by newspaper. American schools are so wealthy. I hope to post pictures soon, but I left my connecting cord for my camera at the hostel where we are staying.
The hostel is working well. We celebrate when the toilets flush or we don’t run out of water for the showers. Bucket baths are a way of life here definitely. Today, hopefully, we will be able to hand wash our clothes. I was super grateful to get to the internet to tell you guys what all has been going on. Please pray that as we are going into the slums this week and into the school that we can influence these children/adults in a positive way.
Much love,
Sarah
