Trustees Visit 2007

Jean and Tina left the U.K. on March 30th and stayed overnight in Nairobi. After a very early start, they flew to Eldoret, where they were met by Alfred Kivisya (the Chairman), Josphat Shaduma (the Director) and Cory Shaduma, (Josphat’s daughter), from where they were driven to Kitale.


	Being met at Eldoret Airport

The first week in Kenya was spent in Kitale

Visiting the school
Looking at the progress made on building the boys’ dormitory
Meeting the pupils and staff
Planting two trees
Attending a ceremony to mark the end of term
Depositing money for the school in the bank
Buying two sewing machines, and some other equipment/supplies
Meeting the Municipal Education Officer

The charity has been funding the construction of a new dormitory for the boys to replace the rather old existing one, so it was really good to be able to see the new building with our own eyes, especially as it is almost complete.


Two new classrooms have been started

Two classrooms are also being built as replacements for some of the old patched up rooms. This is not being funded by the charity, but it is good to see that the learning environment is being improved for the pupils. Clearly more replacement classrooms will be needed in the future, and it may be possible for the charity to contribute to these.


Front view of present classrooms	Patched up exterior wall of classroom

The physiotherapist’s salary is being paid by the charity, and he works with many of the children with disabilities. He has a tiny room in which to work, and one of the future projects involves the construction of a block, including a larger room for physiotherapy and more equipment, a clinic and some rooms for small-group work with special needs children. Find out more…
	George, the physiotherapist, at work with Erick Wambulwa

The room being used for tailoring at present is small and very cramped. Nevertheless, the seamstress, Ann, has been doing an excellent job in the few hours she has been employed in this capacity every week. The charity has been able to provide much-needed support to develop this important vocational teaching within the school. Find out more…
	Ann, the seamstress, and two pupils, with an old sewing machine

	Tina and Jean were guests at the end of term ceremony and were very moved by the experience. They were both given the honour of planting saplings outside the dormitory that will grow into “umbrella” trees, providing shade for pupils when they wish to sit outside.
Jean plants tree with George’s help		Tina gets down to the job


Baby class singing Welcome	Newton performs with Baby class	Classes 7 and 8 performing a song about AIDS

The pupils performed some songs, dances and poems, and were beautifully behaved, despite having to sit in the hot sun for a long time.


Classes 3 to 6 with traditional song and dance	Movie 1 The Welcome song, by pupils in Baby class	Movie 2 Pupils with a song and dance about AIDS

We were told that official visitors to the school are expected to attend an appointment with the Municipal Education Officer. Josphat had arranged us to meet the MEO and the local Inspector early one morning. Josphat explained our role and the mission of the school, and we backed up his inclusive policy and our commitment to support the school. The Inspector pointed out that some of the school buildings were not up to standard, but he was pleased to see recent improvements, and emphasised that the physical environment, as well as the learning environment, needed to be good.

Other typical images of life at the school are:


Washing Clothes	Ugi or porridge over the fire	Jimmy drawing water

Other glimpses of our visit have been captured too. We ate local dishes most of the time including the staple, ugali
	Preparing to eat the ugali and vegetables	Mm! That’s good

The markets were busy places with a whole variety of goods. Here is a small sample.
	Fruit is very cheap and plentiful in the market	Empty plastic cartons that people buy to transport water