Busy Days in Kenya
Submitted by Meredith Cameron
UPEI Pre-Service Teacher
Tuesday, April 3, 2006
Over the past week we were fortunate to have seen what life is like through the eyes of some Kenyan students. On Monday, Shauna, Jessica H and I were accompanied by Jackson (a teacher from Mwati) to James Mwanti's home near Mwati Primary. We were greeted by James' father and sipped on some tea while James was preparing for the school day. We were led through his five acre family farm, across a rickety bridge, and up through a forest before coming to the dirt road which leads to the school. James, who is a student in standard 8, was documented on video throughout parts of the day and we were happy see what life is like through his eyes. On Thursday, Nora and Jessica B trekked through the mud around the bottom of Mt Kenya with Edith, en route to Kihuti Secondary, a 45 minute walk to school. The trio was accompanied by the head teacher, David Othongo, who acted as the translator for the visit to the family home. The girls went onto document Edith throughout the day and learned more about the obstacles that some students face in Kenya.
On Saturday of last week we attempted to learn how to plant the Kenyan way. Standard 7 students from Gathukimundu who are twinned with Miscouche Consolidated were eager to show us how to plant nappier grass. The grass is tended by students from standard 4 - 8 and is then sold to local families which is used for animal feed. The money collected goes towards funding for the school.
On Tuesday, we were greeted by Mama Paul a.k.a Grace, Gerald Kariuki's wife, at their family farm. With PEI beans and some maize in hand, we were put straight to work, learning how to properly use pangas and jambas. After a morning's work, Grace took us on a tour of the local community where we were greeted by local students and teachers, and some friendly neighbors too! After a two hour tour our bellies were filled with delicious Kenyan cuisine...chapatis, rice, stew, and of course, mangoes and pineapple. We were sad to leave but hope to return soon.
This past weekend marked the halfway point of our time here in Kenya. We celebrated by going on a safari at two different locations. On Friday, we arrived at Mountain Lodge where we overlooked a watering hole. We saw water buffalo, impalas, antelope, hyenas, baboons, and a wart hog. The next morning we woke up at 6:00 am to get a good view of Mt Kenya, and then we were on our way to our second destination...Sweetwaters.
When we arrived we were excited to see we would be sleeping in tents,but these were not normal tents, they were better, with fully functional showers and toilets. Our tents were nice, but the safari drive was better. In two hours we saw zebras, gazelles, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and the unexpected...lioness. We stopped off at the chimpanzee sanctuary and were informed of the tragic lives from which the chimps were rescued. The camp was founded by Jane Goodall.
When we returned to our tents we had a late supper at 8:00 (usual supper time here in Kenya) while we watched a massive giraffe stroll up a few meters away to have a drink at the local watering hole. I don't think we will ever come that close to a wild giraffe ever again...just a few arms lengths away! That night we slept to the roar of what sounded to be lions in the distance.
The weekend getaway was nice but we are happy to be back in Mukurwe-ini and see our students again. This week the schools are preparing for their national exams before Easter break. Students here have about a month off so we will not see them be before we head back to Canada. However, we still have three more weeks here, so stay tuned for more details!
UPEI Pre-Service Teacher
Tuesday, April 3, 2006
Over the past week we were fortunate to have seen what life is like through the eyes of some Kenyan students. On Monday, Shauna, Jessica H and I were accompanied by Jackson (a teacher from Mwati) to James Mwanti's home near Mwati Primary. We were greeted by James' father and sipped on some tea while James was preparing for the school day. We were led through his five acre family farm, across a rickety bridge, and up through a forest before coming to the dirt road which leads to the school. James, who is a student in standard 8, was documented on video throughout parts of the day and we were happy see what life is like through his eyes. On Thursday, Nora and Jessica B trekked through the mud around the bottom of Mt Kenya with Edith, en route to Kihuti Secondary, a 45 minute walk to school. The trio was accompanied by the head teacher, David Othongo, who acted as the translator for the visit to the family home. The girls went onto document Edith throughout the day and learned more about the obstacles that some students face in Kenya.On Saturday of last week we attempted to learn how to plant the Kenyan way. Standard 7 students from Gathukimundu who are twinned with Miscouche Consolidated were eager to show us how to plant nappier grass. The grass is tended by students from standard 4 - 8 and is then sold to local families which is used for animal feed. The money collected goes towards funding for the school.
On Tuesday, we were greeted by Mama Paul a.k.a Grace, Gerald Kariuki's wife, at their family farm. With PEI beans and some maize in hand, we were put straight to work, learning how to properly use pangas and jambas. After a morning's work, Grace took us on a tour of the local community where we were greeted by local students and teachers, and some friendly neighbors too! After a two hour tour our bellies were filled with delicious Kenyan cuisine...chapatis, rice, stew, and of course, mangoes and pineapple. We were sad to leave but hope to return soon.
This past weekend marked the halfway point of our time here in Kenya. We celebrated by going on a safari at two different locations. On Friday, we arrived at Mountain Lodge where we overlooked a watering hole. We saw water buffalo, impalas, antelope, hyenas, baboons, and a wart hog. The next morning we woke up at 6:00 am to get a good view of Mt Kenya, and then we were on our way to our second destination...Sweetwaters.
When we arrived we were excited to see we would be sleeping in tents,but these were not normal tents, they were better, with fully functional showers and toilets. Our tents were nice, but the safari drive was better. In two hours we saw zebras, gazelles, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and the unexpected...lioness. We stopped off at the chimpanzee sanctuary and were informed of the tragic lives from which the chimps were rescued. The camp was founded by Jane Goodall.
When we returned to our tents we had a late supper at 8:00 (usual supper time here in Kenya) while we watched a massive giraffe stroll up a few meters away to have a drink at the local watering hole. I don't think we will ever come that close to a wild giraffe ever again...just a few arms lengths away! That night we slept to the roar of what sounded to be lions in the distance.The weekend getaway was nice but we are happy to be back in Mukurwe-ini and see our students again. This week the schools are preparing for their national exams before Easter break. Students here have about a month off so we will not see them be before we head back to Canada. However, we still have three more weeks here, so stay tuned for more details!
posted by Admin at 6:04 PM
1 Comments:
Hallo meradith am Anthony who was your driver whe u visited kenya in mukurweini ,driving u n other teacher avery morning to kihuti sec school,mwati and gathuki mundu primary school hope u remember ,how is u did u get job? I left kenya to middle east now am working in Qatar doha,what about other girls hope they r well in price edward island .my emai is gachuruanto@gmail.com
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