26 May 2010 21:38
All sorts of news today!
As it was to be Tina’s last day here we were invited to be present at “parade” at 08:00 to present the two library prefects with their badges. It’s lovely to see that such things are a source of pleasure for the youngsters.
We managed to squeeze in a session with the parachute to show the pupils some of the games that can be played with it. It was a great success, and I can see that it will be well-used in the games sessions after school and that the boarders will enjoy it at weekends.
Parachute Games
On our way back to the school we stopped off to see a lad who had collapsed at school early this morning and had been rushed off to hospital. He has been diagnosed with malaria and had been admitted to stay overnight. In fact, the incidence of malaria has been reduced dramatically since we bought the latest bch of mosquito nets so he has been unlucky.
The scenes at the hospital were amazing with a mass of long, low buildings in a gridiron pattern squeezed into the compound. The whole place was heavily populated, with people appearing from around every corner in masses. When we finally arrived at the correct ward, which was about six metres by seven metres, there was hardly room to enter. The six beds were all occupied by children, each of whom seemed to have four or five family members or friends sitting on or standing beside the bed. I would have liked to have taken a photograph to show the scene but it would have been inappropriate.
The image here doesn’t give anything like the right impression of the hospital but it does give an example of the exterior walls of the wards. These have the prices of various treatments and tests painted neatly on them, in addition to lists of the service expected from the staff employed there.
Jean
25 May 2010 22:01
Another day of hard work in library and the girls who come along to help are just pleased to be given a job. As the days have passed, they have become more talkative and we have quite a lot of laughter amongst the work. Maureen is probably the one with the biggest smile and readiest laugh. She has made me realise just how often I say “Whoops” as she finds it very amusing and copies me!
Having failed to get outside with the sports equipment yesterday because of the rain, we arranged to meet the sports mistress and master at lunchtime today.with the idea of setting up the badminton net and stands outside and showing the pupils how to play. Well, when we arrived, the net was erected and four boys were playing (one of whom had only his left arm). A motley crowd of pupils was milling around hoping to get a game, but just content to have something different to do. Well, actually, not for long, as a cloudburst sent us scuttling for cover in the resource centre. Initially, we showed the staff some games the pupils can play with the parachute, and then I moved on to the dining room, where we put two tables together and some lads played table tennis. No matter that we lacked a net or genuine ping pong balls- the boys thoroughly enjoyed their knock around. Tina, meanwhile, chatted with Esther about cricket and gave her he basic rules she’d written up last night.
There’s a wonderful, large avocado tree in the school grounds, which has a bumper crop at the moment. I asked whether the fruit is used to supplement the meals here but was told that some of the pupils harvest them too early and eat them, so they never actually ripen for consumption by all.
Tina should be flying out from the airstrip here in Kitale tomorrow on her way to Dar to see some friends, so we hope for the best after the Linda and Chris’s problems last week!
Jean