Mwalim Andreas

In this post, I would like to give you a short update from the school and then show you some new pictures.

The everyday life at the school is progressing as described. I have now managed to observe in all classes and thus get a better overview. I was able to observe some of the described circumstances in the other classes as well, while some are not found in every learning group. For example, I couldn't find the described idle time in all classes as strong as it initially seemed to me. I suspect that this depends on the teacher. Since I have already been able to observe all teachers in class, I have also noticed differences there, of course. Overall, everyone is doing a great job and trying to make the best out of the available resources. But of course, there are also more dedicated and less dedicated teachers, just like in our own school days ;-)

What is really a problem is the lack of support materials and general working materials. Most of it is invested in the older classes, especially the two pre-vocational classes, which I can understand, as it is most needed there. However, I find it very unfortunate that there is not enough material for the younger classes. Because one thing stood out to me in particular: the lessons look almost the same every day. Either a new letter or a new number is colored or the children are supposed to sort bottle caps of different colors. The idea is not bad, but doing the same thing every day doesn't necessarily help the children. Especially in such learning situations, the teachers provide little support, they simply check if the child's work is correct and then tick it off. I do not want to blame the teachers for this, unfortunately there is a lack of resources. Probably very few people acquire a sense of quantity just by coloring a number 5. Here, too, the bottle caps are not sorted, but counted. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have, for example, a few games for mathematics in the beginning of the lessons or for the acquisition of reading and writing skills. And of course, other working/support materials. Maybe an idea for the Eldoret Association Bad Vilbel ;-)

I can see that my presence is increasingly appreciated and used. For example, I am always welcome in the pre-vocational class when the teacher cannot be present for various reasons. This is not a problem either, as the students usually know what to do. I am also often called in as reinforcement when two classes are combined because a teacher is absent. This happened to me twice last week in the autistic class.

I did get to know a few new lessons after all. Namely CTI (= Communication Technology Integration). Here, all older children are taught how to use new media. However, since there is only one classroom equipped with tablets and a projector, it looks more like an overcrowded lecture at the university. The media is provided by the state, but unfortunately it is still not enough. Nevertheless, I think this is a good and important idea, because even in Kenya these new media cannot be ignored and the children should be able to handle them.

I don't have much more to tell you today, so have a look at the pictures :-)

Tomorrow Steve and I are going to the Kakamega Forest, a remnant of the once huge African rainforest. I can look forward to seeing many reptiles (chameleons, snakes, ...), butterflies and monkeys.

With that, I wish you all a good night, or as they say in Swahili:

'Usiku Mwema' (The 'W' is pronounced more like a 'u').