This morning we all woke up a little sleepy. Perhaps because some of us stayed up till midnight catching up while others were woken at midnight. Or perhaps because of our tough soccer game that left some of us with bruises (Kristen) and cramped legs- Kieran had to excuse himself from dinner. Nonetheless we rallied and arrived at the Sidikho school after a quiet ride. Immediately the children swarmed our vans, laughing and pointing. Mary and the head principal gave us a tour of the primary school and secondary school (lower and upper). In the nursery the huge class of 4w put on a dance for us, showing their knowledge of the numbers 1-10 and their skilled dance moves (they learn how to shake their hips at a very young age). Mary showed us that our funds had been used to redo one of the buildings; complete with new floors, chalkboards, and fresh paint on the walls, windows, and the outside of the building. On the front of the building the words “Renovation Funded By Moses Brown School (USA)” were painted. After visiting each classroom we were brought to the secondary school. We met the principal who showed us the Form 2 (sophomores) class who were learning physics and the Form 4 (seniors) class who were learning biology. He also showed us the computer lab which only consisted of two working computers and eleven that were not working. They did not have internet either. Only about eight of the fifty kids in form four went on to a university. Izzy tried to dunk the basketball hoop that consisted of a metal pole and rim while the students played volleyball on their break. Before we left Kristen reunited with her friend from the biology class who asked her if she would be his girlfriend. Then she joined in a picture with him and his friend. They ran away with two big thumbs up while everyone cheered and laughed. |
Once we walked back to the primary school we got to work. We painted the windows a bright Bermuda blue while Kristen, Jake, and Haley worked on painting the eaves. We had to recruit Izzy and Amelia when Kristen and Haley could not reach any more. After we laid down the ABC mats and gave the kids puzzles and books to play with. We were amazed that the students knew the English alphabet and numbers so well. Although hesitant at first they dove right into the puzzles and gave us high- fives when they completed them. Occasionally we heard a roar of laughter coming from outside. We turned to see Ben leading them in jumping jacks of the numbers 1-10 in English, Swahili, Spanish, and French. They taught him their native dance while he pulled out a few moves himself. We have decided that if business does not work out, he would be a great camp counselor. Today was even warmer than yesterday so they brought us inside for some sodas, bananas, and corn. It was the first time Jake, Kieran, and Kristen had experienced corn without butter. Monica exclaimed “cant stop wont stop” as she moved onto her third banana. She was fueling up for the big soccer game.
While their team was warming up we brought out toys for the kids to play with. Kristen demonstrated skip rope while Izzy and Haley showed them how to use a frizbee. Everyone threw the bouncy balls up in the air, trying not to let them touch the ground, and kicked the new soccer balls around. Soon the Sidihko team lined up for the first whistle. Despite being sick earlier Lily rallied for another awesome soccer game after eating Ben’s cliff bar. We recruited our drivers Steve, Moses, and George to play with us. Amelia and Moses provided a brick wall against the extremely fast and talented students so that we tied 0-0. The students were not willing to end with a tie so we went into a shootout. Kierans stellar performance and Amelia’s and George’s shots ended us with a 2-0 win. Then they sat us down to a wonderful performance.
The nursery students jumped through rope while the Grade four sang to us about taking care of their animals during their lunch break, the importance of teachers, and that they would play with“white” Americans. Then the older boys started dancing to drums in a straw hat and pants to show us about their culture. After many beautiful speeches by Elizabeth and the Sidikho administrators we sadly had to say goodbye. The Sidikho Head Teacher said he was impressed with our soccer, that he didn’t expect Elizabeth to be able to run so fast! We waved “quaheri” (bye), took our last selfies with the kids, and gave our last high- fives.
On the way home we have been handing out our sandwiches and other snacks that we do not care for to children. Today we gave our sandwiches to two kids on the side of the road. The little brother immediately gave his to his older brother. We passed students walking home from a different school who asked for food because we had given some yesterday. We did not have enough so we just gave peanuts and cookies to a kid in a wheelchair. His friend pushing the wheelchair made sure that no one stole it from them. We threw out Izzy’s jolly ranchers to kids who shouted “mzunga” or “tourist” or just stared at us blankly.
Today was another great day, filled with energy, excitement, and many Rafikis (friends)! We are looking forward to another delicious dinner and intense card game. –written by Haley
While their team was warming up we brought out toys for the kids to play with. Kristen demonstrated skip rope while Izzy and Haley showed them how to use a frizbee. Everyone threw the bouncy balls up in the air, trying not to let them touch the ground, and kicked the new soccer balls around. Soon the Sidihko team lined up for the first whistle. Despite being sick earlier Lily rallied for another awesome soccer game after eating Ben’s cliff bar. We recruited our drivers Steve, Moses, and George to play with us. Amelia and Moses provided a brick wall against the extremely fast and talented students so that we tied 0-0. The students were not willing to end with a tie so we went into a shootout. Kierans stellar performance and Amelia’s and George’s shots ended us with a 2-0 win. Then they sat us down to a wonderful performance.
The nursery students jumped through rope while the Grade four sang to us about taking care of their animals during their lunch break, the importance of teachers, and that they would play with“white” Americans. Then the older boys started dancing to drums in a straw hat and pants to show us about their culture. After many beautiful speeches by Elizabeth and the Sidikho administrators we sadly had to say goodbye. The Sidikho Head Teacher said he was impressed with our soccer, that he didn’t expect Elizabeth to be able to run so fast! We waved “quaheri” (bye), took our last selfies with the kids, and gave our last high- fives.
On the way home we have been handing out our sandwiches and other snacks that we do not care for to children. Today we gave our sandwiches to two kids on the side of the road. The little brother immediately gave his to his older brother. We passed students walking home from a different school who asked for food because we had given some yesterday. We did not have enough so we just gave peanuts and cookies to a kid in a wheelchair. His friend pushing the wheelchair made sure that no one stole it from them. We threw out Izzy’s jolly ranchers to kids who shouted “mzunga” or “tourist” or just stared at us blankly.
Today was another great day, filled with energy, excitement, and many Rafikis (friends)! We are looking forward to another delicious dinner and intense card game. –written by Haley