TUMAINI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTRE!
This is one of the projects I'm working on here in westren Kenya. The school is located in Shibanze, just between Harambee and Khalaba. At this moment we have 5 classrooms, one kitchen and a office/storage,
divided between 5 teachers, one cook and 100 students.
There is the Early Childhood Department: baby class with 38 kids aged 3-4 years old and middle class with 21 kids aged 4-5 years old. And also we have top class with 17 kids aged 5-6 years.
Also we have two classes in primary school, class one with 10 kids aged 6-7 years and class two with 14 kids aged 7-8 years.
Staff: (f.l) Alice Muruka(class 1), Rebecca Simiyu(baby class),
Headteacher Lillian Okotsi(class 2), Doreen Imboha(top class)
and Emily Khavere Shati(middle class).
I will breafly try to tell you the story after having a inervju with teacher Emily Shati.
She was the first teacher when they first started in 2006. At that time she was at home, doing farming.
With sponsoring help from UK and together with two Kenyan guys named Benson and Steven, they arranged to rent a house at Shibanze market, and she started toutoring 35 kids.
Unfortunately, they could not manage to pay the rent and wore kicked out.
But Emily would not give up on the kids, so she kept up teaching them, this time under a tree, now located at the Tumaini property.
This is where Emily kept up teaching the kids after loosing the house.
Then, during 1. term the parents helped and they managed to build to rooms on the land that Benson bought with sponsor money. They hired 2 girls to help Emily with the teaching, but they left becouse they wore not paid.
In 2007, 2. term at shool, Doreen Imobha came and started as a teacher. Emily managed to get sponsorship to go to colege, and after a while she finished the short course(witch is really no use here).
With sponsorship money the dining hall(now class rooms), the kitchen and the well was buildt. This was the same time as teacher Lillian Okotsi came to the school.
Unfortunately, time showed that Benson and Steven was not to be trusted, and they had been misusing the money!
For over 6 months the teacher wore not payd, but they would not abandon the kids, so they stayed.
It was now that this girl Amanda Flanagan from Canada showed up, and together with Meurice Mwanza they helpt the school back up on its feets. They foundraised money to pay the teacher and also to buy a cow to support the kids with milk. Now people wore understanding that Benson and Steven wore putting the money in their own pockets, and they tried to take action. Benson realized this, and before the community wore able to chase him away, he managed to steal the cow and sell it!
At least, the guys wore gone. But still we have a problem with further building on the property, becouse the the land is still in Benson's name, and land issue takes time here in Kenya. But we are working with the government and hoping that in the next few months we can again start foundraisin so that we can continue expanding the school.
Ther is still much missing. The class rooms are not properly buildt, and though Amanda and Meurice managed to find furniture for the class rooms, more is needed. It's in my intrest to also try to foundraise for shoes for the kids. Becouse the class rooms ar buildt with mud, they may get this disease "jigger". That is a small flea that lives in the mud floor and will dig itself into the kids feets. They might then end up with terrible swelling and pain.
We are also focusing on hygene at the school, becouse HIV/AIDS is very active here. The problem is the well that Benson got build in 2007, it is not good, and only falling apart. That means that dear cook Christine must walk far everyday and carry wather for the kids. Christine is the grandmother of Sylvia, who we also is trying to help.
Christine and her grandchild Sylvia
Baby class(Sylvia on the floor).
Inside the baby class classroom. This room is havin 38 kids.
Classroom for teacher Emily and her middle class.
The blackboard is not working so well as you can see.
This is how the class rooms look on the outside.
So, I have here tried to tell you, shortly, the story of Tumaini.
Hopefully the land issue will be ok soone, and we can start foundraising to fix the school.
Now the currupt guys are gone, and we are finally working with people we can trust and that cares for the community!
I will keep you updated.....
Tent is up and baloons are ready! Just waiting for the guest of honor, all the kids!
Here we are doing some walking-exercises to train those tiny legs. I wont to get her some socks and some shoes for this.
