Teaching the Students in the Computer Lab

Today, we began to teach the students computers. We had 7^th grade and Form 2 come in this morning and 6^th grade come in the afternoon. Twice I was teaching three kids at a time, but we were able to teach the basic information about Microsoft Word. Most of the students had not used a laptop before, and the ones who had used a laptop had only used a laptop once or twice before and did not know what Microsoft Word was. Little things like knowing how to use the shift key and highlighting words became mountains to overcome. However, little by little the kids began to learn. And, as they learned, larger smiles began to appear on their faces. I ended each lesson with high-fives for them and made sure they were proud of themselves. As frustrating it is for us, it must be at least as frustrating for them. The students want to learn and be able to type quickly, but it is hard using a foreign device. The students are basically learning how to write again through technology. We hope that they can continue getting better here. The teachers we have been teaching certainly are. We regularly find the teachers practicing their typing and using excel in the computer lab.

Students waiting to come into the computer lab

Students working on Microsoft Word

Students learning about the laptops

Students showing off their work on the computer

One of the funniest moments today was making a video of 5^th graders singing the Smurf theme song. The blue of their uniforms matches nicely with the blue of Smurfs. We had a lot of fun making the video!

Why Highway Academy Is Crucial for Children’s Education

I was able to go visit Highway Academy’s primary school yesterday and today. The children are so cute. Some are even as young as three years old. They are very well behaved. Whenever I entered the room, they stood up and greeted me. They all have a bit of trouble saying “Caroline,” but hopefully many will be able to say it well soon. I visited all the classrooms yesterday and got to even teach them a Swahili song I learned from class this year.

Visiting Highway Academy's Primary School

I also visited the public school, Bukembe Primary School, where Teresa works at to help pay for Wema and Highway Academy. There is a huge juxtaposition between Highway Academy and Bukembe Primary School. Public primary school is free for all students in Kenya. This does not mean that it is good. Students are still coming back to school, so, even though it was not as full as it usually is, which is about 150 students per classroom, the classroom was packed. There were only a few desks in the classroom, so most students sat on the dusty floor. The students were easily distracted by the other students peeking in through the windows and trying to get in through the closed door. The students were learning how to write upper and lower case letters in the alphabet. Even though most repeated what Teresa and their peers were saying out loud, many were not looking at the blackboard and looked distracted. Teresa had us help her check the students’ notebooks. As much as we tried to help the students write the letters, there were just too many and they did not seem to understand us. I felt a bit hopeless.

Bukembe Primary School Classroom (not as full as it usually is)

Highway Academy Primary School Classroom

However, when we helped teach students of a similar age at Highway Academy’s primary school, we found desks throughout the classroom and were able to read a story and go over nouns and punctuation marks with the Highway Academy kids. The students leapt out of their desks when they wanted to answer a question, waving their hands in the air and snapping for attention. Students are easily left behind in the public schools of Kenya. This is not the case at Highway Academy.

With Katie at Highway Academy Primary School

Students fooling around in the back of the classroom (true in any country)

Storm coming in (has rained almost every afternoon here)

The School Fund, Wellington, and the Webers

            Wema has been working with the School Fund. Through the website, you can “adopt” a child by paying for a full year of education, which is $500. The Webers, a family who Alex has become extremely close with, paid for Wellington’s education. The Webers did not stop there. They took their “adoption” of him to the next step. They gave me a large duffle to bring up to Wema. It included letters from all three of the children, Austin, Bennie, and Graham, along with their favorite books they wanted Wellington to have. It also included shirts for Wellington, hats, books, colored pencils, and sketch pads because they knew he liked to draw. They read Wellington’s interests on the School Fund and made sure to give him stuff catered to these interests.

Wellington with pictures of the Weber children

Wellington loved all his gifts!

Wellington is an orphan who comes from very poor conditions in Bunyore. Wellington found out about Highway Academy from his sister who works near here. Wellington asked Stephen and Teresa if he could get an education. As Wellington says, Highway Academy is a much better education than the other schools. He lives with his sister in Bukembe when school is not in session. Wellington lives with his sister because no one is at home to feed him once his parents died. This will be the third year Wellington has lived at Wema during the school year. Laura told me he is one of the brightest and sweetest students at Wema. When he arrived back to Wema yesterday, I saw right away his sweet nature and could tell his English was very high quality. We took him into Stephen and Teresa’s house to give him the Weber’s letters and gifts. The smile on his face when he realized what the Webers had given him made me tear up. He kept saying “thank you.” When he saw the hats, he gave a yelp of joy and put one on his head right away. His smile stretched all the way across his face. I take for granted all the books, clothes, and hats my parents provide for me. When something is ripped or frayed in my or my friends’ closets, it usually has been done for a fashion statement and not as a result of it naturally tearing from too much wear. Many of the students’ uniforms are ripped and their own clothes are commonly dirtied. The tags are still on all of the items the Weber’s gave Wellington. They are brand new. Having new clothes is so uncommon here. I am really thankful for the School Fund and the Webers for giving me the chance to see Wellington’s smile yesterday.

Wellington with a thank-you note he made for the Webers, about to use a laptop

Computer lab all set up: teaching the teachers

Teaching a teacher about Microsoft Word

A Wema student (who had taken one class the first day) helping another student

While we were working with the teachers in the computer lab this afternoon, Wellington came in with a thank-you sign for the Webers along with three long hand written letters to the children. He already had a gmail account, so we set him up on the computer with an Internet stick and typed the three letters out to the children. Some of the same teachers came to the computer lab today, and a lot of them remember what they learned yesterday. One of the teachers Solomon gave me a double high-five when he left. He has picked up the computer so fast, learning Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

We started taking Swahili classes yesterday with Solomon. It is all of us plus a few younger students as classes are just starting up. We pretended to be different members of a family and learned family member names in Swahili. Somehow, at one point, my roommate Katie and I were sisters who also had a child. Only would that happen to us. Solomon told me he forgot to give us a book to practice. He also has mentioned giving us homework. Yikes.

Sugar Factor (hard hats not my best style)

We were able to visit the sugar factory where Stephen works. He is a chemist there. We got to taste sugars in their different states. It just showed once again how hard Stephen and Teresa work to support their family, Wema, and Highway Academy.

Computer Lab and Cars

We are so excited for the children to come back to school tomorrow! We finished preparing the computer lab. We have instruction sheets up and have decorated it with all kinds of posters, including NASA ones that we know the children will love because have learned about NASA from previous volunteers. I found one of the directors Stephen today working on his writing in the computer lab. He had me help him learn PowerPoint and more about Microsoft Word. He told me how he was going to practice at least two hours a day to improve his typing. Even after dinner, he was still practicing away. His smile when he figures out another thing about the computer is infectious. Stephen feels it is his job to learn the computer in order to be able to teach and be an example for the children. I would love to bring “Type to Learn” programs here, even talk to the company about donating them. It would be a great way to work on Highway Academy’s and Stephen’s typing skills. I was able to talk to Stephen and Teresa awhile today about the computer lab and what they believe they want to do for children’s education. I filmed their responses as part of a project I will be working on for a class next semester about children’s education through technology. Because they are so modest and sometimes soft spoken, I explained how loud they had to talk by telling them to talk at my and Alex’s level. All of a sudden they were 10 times louder! I guess that says something about Alex and me…

Stephen Typing Away

Teresa and Stephen, aka the Saints of Wema

Stephen and Teresa have impressive goals for Wema. I hope one that we can help them with soon is getting a functioning van or bus. They bought a bus in 2008 from a bus company. Even though it was used, the bus was supposed to function well. However, the company had taken out the good engine and, even when Wema tried to fix it, the bus broke down soon after. The van, which was bought in 2009, also had a bad engine that did not allow it to work. With a van or a bus, it would be much easier to take children to the hospital when they are really sick and get children from their homes that are far away to bring to school. For a van, it would be about $14,000 and, for a bus, it would be about $59,000. The broken van and bus sit sunken into the ground at the front of Wema, and it feels like they mock me by their uselessness.

Sunset with Katie and Daniel

Stephen showing us the well

It is such an experience learning to live a life not completely reliant on technology. We checked out the well this morning with Stephen. He showed us how it worked. The well still needs work with its piping and electricity. We also hope that the company who provided the well will provide a back-up generator, as we know electricity is fickle here from our two blackouts already. I also did my laundry by hand today. Never again will I complain about doing laundry with the laundry machines and dryers at school! Wema also reminds you why living simply is usually the best way to live. The beautiful sunset tonight reminded me of this.

Tebow stance hits Africa

More Photos for Blog Post Below

Setting up the Library

At the Tree Farm

Daniel, aka my soccer buddy

Computer Lab, Library, and Soccer

Today we set up the computer lab! We have brought over fifteen laptops, many of them from my high school Rye Country Day. We profusely thank our donors! I worked with two students today on the computers: Andrew Watti and Sharon Nafula. It is good to have this practice time before all the students return to school on Monday from break. Andrew is 19, my age, and had never used a laptop before. I set him up with Microsoft Word, teaching him headers, footers, font sizes, and font types. He quickly got started on his writing, which he titled “Education for Life.” Every time I taught him something or he figured something out, he got a twinkle in his eye and smiled widely. It is amazing how quickly he picked it up. Today, it seems that American kids know how to use Facebook before they can even walk. Seeing a student my age learning how to use a computer for the first time is amazing. Sharon, who is sixteen, joined while I was teaching Andrew, and she started writing almost immediately even though she had never used a laptop. I had to show her very little, and she picked up the skills quickly. Without instruction, both Andrew and Sharon wrote about how important education is. This is a testament to how wonderful Highway Academy is. Sharon started off her essay saying, “Education is the key to success. Highway Academy is a good school where students get education.” The students understand how important education is and take every opportunity Highway Academy gives them.

Sharon with her essay on the computer

Computer Lab

Andrew with his essay on the computer

Other volunteers today documented all the donated books we brought over to Highway Academy. They created library cards and logged them so that soon the students can check them out. The students have already started to sneak in to read the books and play with some of the toys, especially the stuffed animal versions of Arthur and D.W. They love Arthur and Curious George here, so we are really lucky my mom worked on both books and we have plenty of those items to spare.

We also got to go with Teresa to her garden and her tree farm. Even though they have ten of their own children, the Watis give everything they have to Wema and Highway Academy. The garden provides food for the students and the tree farm, which was started a year-and-a-half ago, will be used for telephone polls as well as used for building and burning fires at Wema. They are such selfless people, and it was beautiful to see their land.

During my run with volunteers Katie, Laura, and Taylor, I got to meet Daniel. As I was puffing along in the back, he ran beside me. Laura said that he is one of my brother Alex’s favorite students. He has a lot of learning difficulties, but Highway Academy does not turn him away like many schools in Kenya. He is a very sweet boy, and I got to play soccer with him for an hour until the sun set. Among the chickens, sheep, cows, and cow manure, I found that I actually enjoyed soccer for the first time (sorry Larchmont soccer league). My soccer skills were brought down a little by remembering that Daniel is only nine and one of Teresa’s sons reminding me of previous volunteer Melanie Baskind, who was the captain of the varsity soccer team of Harvard. Still, with my little Swahili and help from Teresa’s son, I was able to have a little conversation with Daniel and he seemed to understand me and answered a few questions in English. This encounter just reminded me how important a place Highway Academy is for these children’s futures.