The School and the Children

The school is a large wooden building with a thatched roof. It sits in a lovely shaded area which is great for keeping the head of the sun away from the kids however the down side is it also limits natural light and as the school has no electricity the teachers and children work in half light most of the time.

The children are amazing - they come from families who have next to nothing yet manage to turn up at 7am every day beautifully clean and in a fresh uniform - which gets washed outside and by hand every night. The children welcomed me in English - some sang songs. Each class has a mix of age groups - the class I am working with has children between 6-9 years - this is because some children get the opportunity to start school earlier than others. Even the 6 year old children speak approx three languages - English, their mother tongue dependent on their tribe or community and Swahili which I believe is the national language of Kenya.

Although School starts at 7am some kids don't arrive until 8am. This is as a result of them having to walk approx 4-miles to school and 4-miles back. This is no problem for them - they are just so happy to have the opportunity of an education.

I am officially Madame Jo-an - my name has been broken down into two syllables and pronounced the Kenyan way.

Time to go now as I need to get back to where I am staying before dark. Hope to be able to update again on Saturday.