Feb 11, 2009

A Circus of Learning by Seeing, Doing, Experiencing

Life in Nairobi has suddenly picked up the pace for me! The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind, sorry for the infrequent posts!

First- to the most inspiring story at hand. The Form 4 boys have successfully entered into their second week of school. They keep calling me to tell me little details- one got his uniform pants, but they were too short so he has to wait until the Headmaster goes into "town" (downtown Nairobi, an amusement park of people, bikes and cars); another tells me he is so happy to be in school, he doesn't mind that he has to go on Sunday to catch up with all the missed work from January; yet another calls to ask if I'm back in Nairobi- "We miss you, Kellee!" Needless to say, they are happy and doing well as they try to get up to speed with the rest of the class. I know they'll be successful, they are all very bright and dedicated boys. I'll try to get a pic of all of them at school in their unis when they all have long enough pants!

Also, this past weekend, Sud Academy's school administration, a couple teachers, a representative they call "Mama Mary" from the PTA, and myself interviewed 4 applicants to be Headmaster at Sud Academy. It was a long day with many questions, and several languages being spoken- Swahili, English and Mama's native Dinka- but it went well and we selected a candidate who seems to be eager to help Sud Academy and also extremely capable of understanding the complex issues that face it. Since he hasn't yet signed the contract, but seems happy that we have offered him the position, I don't want to give you his name and jinx the process... I will post an update when everything is official. I am looking forward to Sud Academy getting back on it's feet.

When I was back in Canada and talking to Jane Roy of Canadian Aid for Southern Sudan, she told me about a newspaper that serves Southern Sudan by writing articles from their perspective, as opposed to all other papers in Sudan that mostly have a Northern point of view. This paper is called the Sudan Mirror and is published right around the corner from my house in Nairobi. Jane put me in touch with the colourful owner and columnist, former priest from Ireland, Dan Eiffe. Over the past few weeks I have met with him to discuss many issues facing Southern Sudan and also the Sudanese refugees that have fled their homes. I've decided to volunteer there to help edit some of the articles, and also write- I was told on Monday- for my own column on Education and related issues. Wednesday is deadline day and I managed to write an article on what questions need to be considered before a system of education is committed to in the South. As it stands, there is no formal education and the population is extremely illiterate, second in the world only to Afghanistan. I am waiting for it to be edited and then go to print- when that's been done I will post it on here for anyone interested to read.

In addition to all these new things, I visited an orphanage and clinic that is funded by the Canadian branch of an organization called Caring Partners Global, out of Kitchener, Ontario. The 8 hour bus ride through the Kenyan country side was beautiful, and I even saw a bunch of Zebras! But the work that is being done in this remote area in Western Kenya is amazing, and successful. The orphans, who mostly lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, seemed to shine with happiness. The mother's who came to the clinic to inoculate their babies and receive family planning methods seemed grateful and willing to participate in the healthy upbringing of a new generation. It was inspiring to see that so much good work is being done with the help of people from around the world.

I also moved in this time period, at the beginning of February... it isn't exciting so I won't write about it, but I have indeed been super super busy!

Thanks for reading everyone, I know some of you have contributed in your own way to the some causes you read about here- you're generousity encourages me to continue contributing in my own small way. Stay warm Canucks!

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