Pole raficki yango

Sorry my friends!

I am sorry it has taken so long to write - have been away from computers for a while. I am as happy as ever and still truly enjoying every moment. Work is progressing nicely and I am feeling like a part of this small village. (right - downtown Tak when school lets out)

The sponsor communication packet for the students of Vutakaka is coming along and will be a great thing that I can leave behind. I am working with two girls from Holland who are studying medicine to evaluate all of the students' health. This basic evaluation will be included in their file and they will leave behind a system for regular check ups and records to be kept. (below - Vutakaka* students)

Liz, Adam, and I have been meeting with our favorite person here - Mohammed Ngazi. He is the teacher of the after-school program that we have been working with. He is an amazing man who has devoted the later half of his life to helping to educate students in Takaungu and the surrounding area that are too poor to afford school. He built his own school near his home where he teaches students for free and then he runs the after school program. He watches out for the children as if they were his own and has been a major influence in so many of their lives here. We meet with him and talk about his life, poverty, politics, religion, the horrible state of education in Takaungu and what can be done. He is a true inspiration.

We are going to leave him with an English and Math curriculum that will enable others to help him teach the after school program when people are willing to volunteer. We are also creating a system of evaluating the progress of the students who attend the classes after school so that the EAC can prove that it is a valuable program and get more funding for it. Upon returning to New York, I am going to apply for grants for the program and possibly sponsor one of his students so that they can attend Vutakaka.
(right - some of the after-school kids)

Since I have been here, I have realized the importance of games for youth. Not only does it keep them from being idle and build confidence, etc., it also gives them a space to be young. Here they have many adult responsibilities. Fathers are often gone working in Mombasa or another city, if at all. Kids pick up the slack and have much work to do. They face sickness and death in their family and have experienced a harshness in life that children should be protected from. I try to play with them as much as possible and have been enjoying playing volleyball so much!! We are also getting together a team of adult players made up of volunteers, teachers, motorcycle drivers and older students from the public school.

Finally, the drama club will be performing the two 'skits' that Liz, Adam, and I wrote for them next Wednesday at the close of school day. I am also choreographing a dance routine for the volunteers to perform for the students on this day. The kids will really love seeing us all make fools out of ourselves for them.

It has been hard for me to process the issues here with poverty and development. Each day I learn more and see more and realize I know so little. It is like I am taking it all in and just holding it, waiting for the right time to really work through it and situate myself within these issues; what can I do? What kind of influence do I want to be and what is possible? One of the most major problems is with education. The public schools are horrible and students aren't even given the opportunity to get an education that would allow them to attend college. They see that they are stuck in a cycle and have no way to pull themselves out. With the help of some of the Vutakaka teachers and Mr. Ngazi, I am hoping to understand the depth of these problems better, maybe find a way to help out even just a little. We will see.

This weekend I walked out to Vuma, another village nearby and sat at the rocky coast line there - it is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and I can't believe it is right here! It is going to be my new spot and I will get some pictures up here asap. I also took my groups of kids to the Takaungu beach and treasure my time with them. Saturday night we laid out a sleeping bag and watched the stars fall.

* I don't know if I have explained this yet or not but the East African Center (EAC) has two major programs in Takaungu. One is a health clinic and another a school - Vutakaka. About 185 students go to school at Vutakaka. The school is a private one and $300 covers their fees for the year including their uniform and lunchs. The students who go there are sponsored by donors, usually from the States and wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. Right now, the classes are only Kindergarden through Primary levels and then they have to go to public secondary school, but the EAC is planning on offering another level of school each year until they can take students through all of their schooling. Vutakaka is the best chance kids in Takaungu have at ever attending college.

showing a little knee. Sarah left and Elizabeth on the right.

At the Tak beach with Wyclif (a kid who had to quit school and move back to the Rift Valley because his drunken brother who is a teacher at the public school was showing up drunk to school and might have been involved in an attempt to set fire to the building was transferred. Not fired mind you, just transferred.) Jacob(a teacher at Vutakaka) and Adam (Elizabeth's really funny boyfriend)

Me stuffing my face at a volunteer party the other weekend









Me at South Coast Beach Diani in Mombasa a couple of weeks ago








There is a new post below - check it out