Day 3 (Friday) - First Day in Kitale

Our first day in kitale started with an unexpected visit to His Excellency the governor for Transnzoia county. He invited us all to come and talk about our project and how we are supporting education in his county. He stood and spoke about all the things you'd want to hear about he tackling of corruption, the need to improve society through education and the travesty of teenage pregnancy that has exploded during and since COVID pandemic. He also invited us to go to the Masai Mara so we are hoping this is something that we can work out.

We were late for this morning's meeting but we were running on Kenyan time. So we were late and strangely this meant we had missed our slot, or the previous meeting was also running over.

There is always a protocol to follow and following a set plan together with prayers said to open and close the meeting. This isn't something that I am totally comfortable with and I have to ensure I don't gabble or waffle both of which I am really good at.

Once the photos were done we set off for our first school. Ereng primary school, where they were all out on the playing field to greet us. It was an electric atmosphere as the kids flocked our students and we're desperate to touch their skin, stoke their hair, and hold hands etc. Our students did themselves proud.

Speaches continued in the usual protocol with various members of the school community thanking us and God for the building of more classrooms for their school. The principal said in her words that they are so grateful for our sacrifices but had nothing to give in return. I reassured her and her students that the opportunity to learn from eachother, a change to understand our cultures and share our experiences with each other. We all joined in some singing and then the students spent the next half hour paying games, singing and getting to know each other. A perfect first experience for us.

Our second school was a deaf school in the city centre of Kitale. This was my first experience of a deaf school. Nothing really prepares you for your first experience of a deaf school. They have built a school supporting kids that in some cases were hidden by their families in their homes and kept away from society due to the shame of having a disabled or handicapped child. I'm really interested to learn more about this school and the work they are doing.

Our third school was a huge primary school, They greeted us with singing right from the gates. It was another different welcoming with plenty.of the usual speaches but with entertainment from the kids including poetry about the importance of education, and more singing. Again I had to say a few words, about our students sacrifice and their journey to fund their place on the trip.

The kids carried on entertaining us with singing and dancing, which our students, with very little encouragement, managed to get up and dance.

After he welcoming protocols were over we then enjoyed the company of our students and teacher who showed us around he school.

They were explaining the massive overcrowded classrooms, 1500 students in 14 classrooms and only 30 teachers. I couldn't imagine having to teach nearly 100 kids in a lesson in a single classroom.