Education
Dismas Owino helps to build our water tank
Here’s a brief update on one of our youth members, Dismas Owino . He recently finished a welding course with Honours and is now apprenticing with Daniel at his shop on Ngong Rd close to the project. Yesterday he was busy welding a steel frame that will support our 10,000 litre water tank. Thanks to our friends at WATERCAN and KWAHO through whom we sourced the tank, and the generous funding of KLM – WINGS OF SUPPORT, our kids will now have a water source in the compound (no more jerry cans by wheel barrow from the local bore hole) and better still , will be able to have a proper shower. More about this project shortly when it’s finished.
Introducing evening studies at HHFL
Written by Michael Habib Mkanda
With the concept that diligent work goes a long way in positioning one to achieve their destiny, we started the after- school program to help teach the kids the place of diligent work in a person’s life. The program runs after school each day for 3 hours from Monday to Friday and the students will seat an assessment test on Saturdays to weigh their progress. Having started yesterday the kids are really enthusiastic about the program and yesterday’s classes were a success thanks to the kids and Teacher Duncan for his assistance.
We are also thankful to the rest of the staff for agreeing to work with us in our schedule. Most importantly I would like to thank Mother Hanne and Father Ted for the opportunity to undertake this program with the kids and facilitating it.We hope that it will bring a positive change in the pupils’ academic performance and even life. Also Computer Literacy classes are an important part of the program and they are mandatory.We hope the program will be a success and we pray for the best.
—-
Hanne and I are very impressed with the good work that Michael is doing with the children. About 3 weeks ago, Michael appeared in our compound to volunteer. He is a top graduate of Lenana Boys School, a top ranked national school located within a 1/4 mile of our project. He is now enrolled in Nairobi University and intent on a law degree. I have gotten to know and admire Michael’s people skills, smarts and social conscience. I have spent several hours engaged in conversation with him and have watched how Michael interacts with our youth. He is selfless and inspirational. The kids are very eager and willing to spend 3 hours after school each day working on their syllabus subjects under his guidance. Michael thoroughly enjoys it too. It’s a win win !!
Ted
| Michael leading a Class 7 group in Swahili |
 |
| Grade 8 students working on a map quiz under the supervision of Teacher Duncan |
 |
| Teachers Susan and Ngina working with the class 5 and 6. |
 |
Back to school!
Written by Kennedy Otieno
Monday morning and all the students were finally prepared to return to their different schools. Mother Hanne and the staff had been a very busy time getting all the books, uniforms and supplies organized. Transport problems with the matatus on strike delayed the departure on Monday. On the second day (Tuesday), all of the students paraded with their uniforms and belongings. We took a group photo with the high school students in the morning because they were leaving for different schools located in diverse locations around the country. The primary school students from boarding school in Kilgoris Academy paraded in the afternoon with all their belongings, trunks, mattresses and their shopping. Daniel and Esther were very excited because they were joining boarding school in Kilgoris for the very first time. Daniel was running around very excited, just waiting for the departure for school.
During the day, they bound their new books bought by mother Hanne. All of them were very happy to go back but with something in their minds “Hard Work.” Everyone knows that good grades will mean more opportunity for a better future. Now we look forward to seeing them during the April holiday.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Celebrating our first graduates!
Dismas and Kennedy set an example for our children
Well, it appears that our collective efforts are paying off because we recently celebrated our first two graduates and we could not be more proud of them. Dismas Owino graduated with Honours from technical school in Welding and Kennedy Otieno is our first high school graduate.
It is not common place for slum children to have these kinds of educational opportunities. But these two accomplishments prove that our kids are just as capable of and committed to reaching their full potential given the chance.
Like all of our children, Dismas comes from a disadvantaged background but it became apparent early on that he was very talented and extremely good with his hands. I noticed that he was always eager to stay close to the carpentry work being done on the HHF compound and developed a passion for making things. I decided to send him to a local vocational school in Welding to see what he could accomplish. His strong work ethic and commitment to self improvement have been a joy to watch. Dismas will start looking for work locally and we feel confident that, with our help, he will carve a career path that will take him places in his lifetime. He loves his new trade.
Kennedy is another extremely talented and bright boy who recently graduated from high school. Ted and I made the decision to bring him on the HHFL volunteer staff team as a trainee in the hope that he will develop his skills in administration and management. He wants to go to Business School in 2010. I think he would make an excellent candidate as he is smart, committed and good with computers. Not to mention very charming!
Both kids are setting a wonderful example for our younger children and we hope that they will continue to bring inspiration to our group of kids and a tangible sense for what is possible with the right attitude.
This is proving that we can achieve a lot together.
Asante sana! Hanne
Lights, Action, Computers!
We are excited to announce that we have recently installed power in the compound for the first time ever!
The kids now have lights for studying when darkness arrives in the slum as well as power to run our 2 laptops.
This past month, several of our high school youth have been learning to keyboard under the watchful eye of Patrick, our volunteer computer teacher. The computers are in hot demand and often we see small groups of youth huddled around one laptop in utter amazement! We are looking for more laptops, so if you would like to donate some of your old stock, please let us know.
We have new uniforms, shoes and textbooks…what a thrill!
Getting all our kids outfitted and ready for school was not an easy thing to achieve. Hanne came back from Canada with the good news that each and every child in high school are going to be issued two uniforms, new shoes and text books. So far they never have had this luxury which made things like studying, tidiness and hygiene very difficult and standard enforcement a huge problem.
Our entire staff got into gear, Hanne included. Without ‘Landie” (Ted’s landrover) the whole exercise would have been doubly difficult if not altogether impossible. Text books for over 60 kids is bulky and extremely heavy stuff! We mobilized staff and trustworthy guardian/volunteers and between us we managed to get it all done in 10 days.
We distributed all the goodies on January 22. The excitement was palpable as our kids had never before received such a bounty. They had to sign a contract and recite the Scouts Honor Oath promising to take very good care of all these new goodies before receiving them. It was very moving to see with how much enthusiasm they executed this requirement. Their smiles and happiness touched our hearts!
Since that day, I am happy to report that the standard and the kids self-esteem in our project has risen by 100%. Wilberforce, our School Warden keeps a watchful eye making sure that our new rules are adhered too by all.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Hanne was hoping to go with me to Mercy’s parent teacher interview Thursday morning this week but had to deal with another matter in the slum.
Hanne and I and Marianne Florijn, one of our board members and avid project supporters, had visited Mercy’s school recently to meet with the Assistant Head and to see first hand how Mercy and her older sister, Alice, were getting along. I was happy to go back as her parent for the interview.
Mercy is in Form 2. Her sister, Alice is in Form 3 and her brother, Kennedy is in Form 4. They are three of our Aids orphans. They live in our hostel at the compound when they are home from their respective boarding schools.
I arrived at Nembu Girls School and met with Mercy and Mr. Omondi, her math and chemistry teacher. We reviewed her progress. She is a bright, outgoing and enthusiastic young woman who achieves A-B level grades. She was in the process of selecting 1 optional course in each of 2 categories. Once chosen, she would then be committed to that course for the next 3 years. Importantly, this optional course selection would also determine what career paths she would be able to pursue after high school. Needless to say, this was an important decision. To give you the flavor of the selection, she could choose Business, Computers, Agriculture or Home Science. Mercy had been thinking Agriculture. When her teacher and I discussed the ramifications of that choice with her in light of her future plans to study either Law, Accounting or Medicine, it became apparent that Agriculture would not fit the plan. We explained the Business course option, the doors that it would open for her and how it would fit her plans. The light went on. By the way, computer study /keyboarding is available after school hours at the school–she can and will pick up those vital skills without limiting her choice of Business.
The relief and satisfaction I felt about being there for her on that day is hard to explain. She has a very bright future and with this kind of hands on mentoring and our love and continued support, she and the rest of our kids will become the best they can be—which after all, is why we are here and what we are helping them to become.
Students are eager to learn
Education is among the key goals of the HHFL project. During the early years, the children study at the HHFL Tiny Tots School, which combines the Waldorf system and the Kenyan 8-4-4 systems. After here the children are integrated into the Government school though in some special cases some are enrolled in to private schools.
One of our very big challenges is that all our children come from very desperate home situations. A good number lives with guardians who do not value education and who at times prefer the children to engage in casual jobs and take something home in the evening rather than ‘waste a whole day in school’. We therefore have a roll call in the morning during breakfast time just to make sure that everyone is present.
This year we had six candidates sitting for grade eight exams. These teenagers have shown a lot of enthusiasm. They are much aware of the fact that they have to work hard in school if they ever dream of having a chance to a better life in the future.
Life for them however has not been too sweet. The school day starts with a cup of Insta in the morning and then they proceed to school. In the evening after classes they rush home to change and wash their uniforms. They don’t have the prestige of having pairs of uniforms so they have to wash every evening and hang the clothes to dry during the night. After washing the uniforms they run to the project, quickly take porridge snacks and fruits then proceed for tuition. The children live in tiny, over populated houses, with no electricity which makes it impossible for them to do their homework from home. So with the help of the HHFL tuition teacher they all finish their homework before heading home for the night.
I must admit that life in the slum is not anywhere near a bed of roses, the children need very close monitoring, counseling and love. One fact that is very encouraging and the driving force for those of us working for the children is, they are very talented and full of potential. All that they need is a helping hand.
Among our six candidates two are likely to achieve 80% and above in their exams. They will merit admission into any of the best high schools. The others will mostly score between 70% and 50%.