Hey Mazungo, Hawa Yu?

So now it’s Wednesday and I have had three days at Hope Steams, the school where I am working. On Monday I sat in on the classes and my Tuesday I was teaching! So, let me tell you a little about my school J

Hope Streams began in 2005 and was founded by a group of community members who saw a need and wanted to do something about it. All of the administrators are volunteers who pay out of their own pocket for the school to operate. What started with one classroom is now seven, including grades 1 to 4, and three pre-school classes. The land was recently purchased with the help of a donor, but the buildings themselves are still temporary. Helping to fundraise for a permanent structure is one of the things I will be helping with, in addition to teaching.

The teachers at the school are paid, but minimally. Most are untrained, though they do an admirable job regardless. The school operates very different than schools is Canada, due to a shortage of supplies and a difference of culture. The children simply have one notebook per subject (some not even then) and a few pencils and a ruler. There is one textbook for each class for the teacher to use, one blackboard and some chalk. The students must write out everything they learn, because they cannot simply look it up in the textbook. This makes for a lot of note taking, even for the younger grades. I am hoping to add in a few activities where I can, but time is always short. The subjects are Math, Science, English, Swahili, Christian Religious Education and Social Studies.

I am teaching level 4 science and level three science and math. The math is much more flexible to teach, because they don’t have to write as many notes, just the examples on the board. Science is more limited in the sense, because time spent doing an activity is time without notes to remember later. I would, however, like to see the kids learning more by discovery than being told everything. I think it will help them to develop problem solving. Right now, I find that if I ask how or why questions, they struggle, while “regurgitation” questions are not a problem.

The kids themselves are really sweet. They all come from the slums of Karen, on the outskirts of the city where we are. Some are orphans and for many the only food they get all day is the lunch provided at school. One the first day they were VERY shy. When I asked a question, I could barely hear their answer. By the second day, however, they were shooting up their hands and yelling out the answers. So much so, in fact, that I am having trouble keeping them quiet and sitting down! Disciplining them is not something I am good at, haha. And most of them are very bright, picking up concepts quickly. Yesterday, they even asked me for MORE homework! That being said, there are a few students who are very obviously struggling. Unfortunately, these tend to be the kids with poor English, so my efforts to help and explain are not always fruitful.

I would love to have the chance to teach them a bit about Canada and some games or songs, but I’ll have to see if we have extra time.

The school coordinator is Patrick (ironic, eh?) and yesterday he invited me to his home for lunch. It was really nice of him and while we were there he told me about his life. I don’t think I should broadcast it over the Internet, but needless to say he has been through a lot of challenges. He founded Hope Streams because he feels that a lack of education limited him his whole life, and wants the kids of Karen to have more opportunities.

I have been walking to the school own my own the last couple days. I have not felt at all unsafe, but I am definitely noticed. The small children call out to me as I pass “Mazungo, mazungo, howa yu?” Mazung is, as I am sure you’ve guessed, “white person” and howa yu is how they pronounce “How are you?” which for some reason is the standard thing to ask a Mazungo. If I answer and ask how they are, though, they just laugh and blush. Adults sometimes say hello to me, or “Jambo” in Swahili, but it is the children that I can’t escape! Everyone is very friendly though, and often say “Karibu” which means “welcome”.

Today I left the school a little early to meet Sylvia and travel to Daystar University. It’s a bit out in the boonies, about an hour outside the city. Really, it shouldn’t be an hour, but the road (if you can call it that) is ridiculously bad. There are a lot of big trucks and buses, because it is also the road to Mombasa and other cities. The campus itself if fairly new and quite modern. I met with many of the member of AIESEC Daystar and went to their general assembly. I was able to introduce myself and share a bit of my AIESEC experience with them. They are a nice bunch and I have been invited to the LC elections next weekend.

On the way back on the bus I saw… Giraffes!! Yes and Impalas as well. The campus is on the edge of Nairobi National Park.

I took a Matatu back to the house after the bus dropped us off, and it was an interesting ride! There was a lot of traffic, so the Matatu driver drove up onto the sidewalk! We drove with two wheels up and two wheels down for quite a while, until there was a bridge and we had to merge.

Next time, I will try to remember to talk more about food. *Note to self*

Thursday addon: Today we went outside and played sports with the kids and it was great! Plus, today our classrooms got floors! Woo!