Education
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.
Benson’s story
My name is Benson Onyango Odima and I am Chairman of HanneHowardFund/Lenana. I was born and brought up in Lenana, one of the slums of Nairobi. In 1984, I joined Ngong Forest Primary School, which is about 1km from Lenana slum for my primary education. Life was tough but ok, until I reached class eight. Reality cropped in that I would not join high school due to poverty unless a miracle happened. My dear mum knew I was bright and that I might pass! She hated the idea of her kids staying home and not getting a proper education. Therefore, she started asking around and got wind of Starehe Boys Centre and School, a well known and respected National secondary school in Nairobi.
As a formality, I filled the application forms. I was told all I had to do was pass my exams really well and I could join Starehe Boys Centre! With hope provided, I worked so hard and passed really well. I got the sponsorship not only to Starehe and but also through college where I earned two diplomas in computer Engineering and Network administration, plus several certificates in Information Technology.
I met Hanne and Ted three years ago when I got a call to look at their computers. That’s how I learned about the work of HHF in the Lenana slum. I went through a system which helped bright students from poor backgrounds achieve a good education and career. Realizing that HHF had a lot of HIV orphans and other needy children that could benefit from my experiences, I joined as a volunteer and became a mentor and role model to the children in the HHF project. I am honored to have recently been appointed the Chairman of Hannehowardfund/Lenana, the community based organization, which manages all of the programs funded by HHF and other donors.
Education is the key to many things, so I encourage the HHF children to make the best use of the educational and other opportunities provided them. I believe that you cannot dream yourself a character, but you must hammer and forge yourself one!
One year later, and so much has changed…for the better!
Last week, I came back from my third annual visit to Nairobi. I went to see Hanne and Ted and all my special friends at our project in Lenana. I could not believe my eyes – what tremendous change has taken place in little over a year! Our project has been moved from the dilapidated church/community center to the outskirts of the slum where now a neatly painted row of corregated shacks are standing on one side and a cleaned-up yard and two toilets on the other!
A happy mother Margaret is cooking in a kitchen this time with a roof, gas stove, storage space and a small hatch in the wall where the kids pick up their meal time plates. The yard now has a fence and a gate so the kids are now able to play, eat and attend classes freely while the teachers can keep a close eye on what’s going on.
I arrived at the end of a long summer break and so we had to prepare the children to go back to school, particularly the elder ones who are attending boarding school and high school. We helped to organize them with new uniforms, books, mattresses, blankets and a chest for their personal stuff. What happy faces everywhere!
I watched as Hanne trained the teachers to line up the children in rows for a daily grooming inspection. The teachers checked that the girl’s hair is braided, boy’s heads are shaved and the uniforms are clean and shirts are tucked in. Not always easy! All in all, there was a real sense of discipline this year and a lot of credit goes to Hanne who has moved mountains to get where she is today.
I want to close my blog entry by thanking all the children that participated in an unforgettable farewell afternoon before I left for Amsterdam. The scouts were in full uniform performing their allegiance; James, who had trained several boys to show their acrobats; a real play about tribal kings and wild game; and of course Nancy with her drum had us all on our feet swaying our hips and clapping our hands! I had tears in my eyes to see all of them so happy, knowing that when they leave Lenana at night the ‘other life’ sets in again.
Thanks to everyone who is supporting this worthwhile project. I hope I can rely on your continued support in order to keep these kids in school while having a good chance to get out of that slum into a new, better life!
Cheers, Marianne Florijn
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.
A documentary in the making…
Riyad, the Director, who is currently based in the UK, came out to Kenya last year to see our project. He was so inspired that he went home, assembled his film crew, raised the necessary funds and returned to Nairobi for a month to shoot a 1 hour documentary on Lenana and the project called “Kenya’s Path”.
We flew out of nearby Wilson airport late Wednesday afternoon this week in a Cessna 206 to do about a half hour of low level filming of the Lenana slum and our compound. A 3 man film crew, all graduates of the same film school in Australia, were on board with me and a pilot friend of mine.
The flight was a blast! The rear doors of the 206 were removed. Diego, the Brazilian cameraman, wearing a special safety harness shot some great footage as we orbited over the slum. The kids in the compound were ecstatic –waving wildly—jumping up and down— never seen anything like this! The afternoon light was perfect and our French pilot, himself an experienced photographer, banked the plane perfectly in repeated circles to enable Diego to do some great work.
Back on the ground, with this footage and lots of other stories captured and in the works, the finished product, after editing in Brazil, with sound track added, should be ready for release later this year.
Check out their progress on “Kenya’s Path” blog – http://kenyaspath.com/category/blog/. Exciting stuff!!
