Nursey

...the tenth year (2012) - 2...

A friendly Jambo to everybody! In Kenya, we would normally answer this greeting with "jambo habari." This means "Hello, how are you?" We reply: "Muzuri karibu!" With "muzuri," we say that we are fine, and "karibu" means welcome. This greeting is as fitting as the smiles on the faces of our children, for it is a pleasure to tell you that Project KiD is doing "muzuri" - just fine! As we told you in our recent report, we are overwhelmed by the rapid growth and the good work being done at the local level as well as in Germany. So, now we also want to say "karibu," to welcome you to and to share with you all the recent developments in our KiD "adventure."

Speaking of adventure, let’s imagine that you are in Kenya, and a nail has dug its way into one of the tyres on your car - what now? No Automobile Association, no spare wheel, so in Kenya you must drive carefully, at walking pace, until you reach the nearest service station. Here, a young guy in a blue, unbuttoned boiler suit will slowly get up from a stack of tyres, scuffle closer without saying a word, and kick twice at the flat tyre. He will then turn away to fetch a key and a bubble-gum-like material. Using the key, he’ll press the "bubble gum" around the nail, through the tread, and into the inner tube. Next, he will inflate the tyre and dash it with a bucket full of water. If no air bubbles out, you’ll pay 200 Kenyan shillings, which is around two Euros, and pray that the bubble gum will stay in place until you get home.

Our old school bus had often been repaired similarly, in "the Kenyan way." The result was a noisy, unsightly vehicle that required repeated, expensive appointments at the service station. However, thanks to your donations, this year we have been able to buy a new bus. Now we can proudly tell that it has been delivered and it is already being put to good use. 

Peter, our bus driver, lives in one of the staff houses on the KiD plot, next to the classrooms. Now when he steps out of his door, the beaming yellow of the new bus is there to greet him. Obtaining a driver’s licence in Kenya is almost the same as here in Germany, but with subtle differences. Before you are allowed to drive a school bus in Germany, you first need some classroom training, driving practice and a lot of money for the lessons. In Kenya you don’t need anything but an additional, official stamp. Peter has received this stamp, but more important, he is an excellent driver. He remains calm and thoughtful as he steers our new bus along the chaotic Kenyan roads, with one hand always on the wheel, and the other operating the turn signals or honking the horn lightly at others on the road. Behind Peter’s back, our kindergarteners and school children sit or stand (and sometimes even lie on the seats), singing happily as they make their way to school.

Yes, we have a school. We can’t get enough of hearing this: We have a school! We still almost burst with pride at the thought. In our last letter, we told you enthusiastically about our new school building, and we cannot help but to do so again. It is just super! The first and second forms have used the two upper rooms since the beginning of this year. In the meantime, the two downstairs rooms were also finished, and next year, our first third form will move into one of these rooms. We are also very happy with our new first form teacher, Amidah. Nice and quiet, but full of boundless energy, she has blended perfectly into the KiD family.

Certainly, our school is one of the main reasons why our KiD Kindergarten and Academy enjoy great popularity. They are so popular, in fact, that they have become an integral part of a sightseeing tour offered by the hotels that surround our neighbourhood. This tour is designed for all those tourists who want to learn something of the "real" Kenya that lies beyond the beaches and the palm trees. Since KiD has become a regular stop on the tour, you can often see Joshua or Edward guiding tourists through the school. For us, it’s a matter of give and take: it’s interesting for the tourists, it’s profitable for the hotels, and, last but not least, it creates good publicity for KiD. 

And we have even more news: KiD Kenya now has a student apprentice. In September, a student from Bremen packed his suitcases and came to Kenya for three months. Along with his sunblock and mosquito spray, he also brought something new to KiD: his computer skills. Up until his arrival, all the local (Diani) bookkeeping had been done with pen and paper. 
Part of our management plan has been to train the Diani staff how to use computers. Our apprentice is there to oversee this process. In addition, he tells us, with a wink, that he has also been teaching our teachers the German language, and that our senior teacher, Maryam, is his best "student."

Finally, two notes about the financial situation in Kenya. In September, public-school teachers went on strike for several days and were granted a pay increase as a result. Like the state of Kenya, we are also of the opinion that this increase was absolutely justified. During the past few years, living costs have increased enormously. In one of our earlier reports, we’d mentioned that prices for staple foods increased by about 300% between 2007 and the end of 2011. These increases have raised KiD's operating expenses, and they have affected the personal finances of our staff as well. Thus, we must adapt the wages of our teachers not only in keeping with the new legal requirements, but also to ensure that they are commensurate with the increased cost of living. Again and again, we have come to see that pay increases are not luxuries but rather necessities to protect the economic well-being of our staff.

Next March, Kenyans will elect a new president. From experience, we know that elections usually make for a turbulent time in Kenya. Several weeks ago, in Mombasa, which is about one and a half hour’s drive from our kindergarten, a radical Islamic preacher, who was an opposition leader, was shot (his killer has yet to be identified). His successor appealed to his followers to wage holy war. For five days afterwards, young Muslims demonstrated, and desecrated some Christian church buildings, until law enforcement were able to restore calm. In addition, internal tribal conflicts have flared near Tuna River, behind Lamu, about 200 kilometres to the north. We assume that the conflicts, particularly between Muslims and Christians, will increase shortly before the elections.

Soheil, Juliet, Jackson and Ruth couldn’t care less about religious divisions. Whether Muslim, Christian, Hindu or Atheist, with us, all children learn together as one, for a better future. And so it was too, on Thanksgiving Day (October 7), when our kindergarten and school held a colourful gathering on the school grounds. They invited their friends and acquaintances, and, together, we celebrated this feast of thankfulness.

While writing this newsletter, we could have ended many sentences by saying THANK YOU, but that would have distracted you from our news. So instead, we’ll say many THANK YOU’s in one place. THANK YOU from the mouths of 125 children. THANK YOU from our team in Kenya as well as from our team in Germany. Together, we say an honest, joyful, tremendous THANK YOU to all of you who have supported us and shown your faith in us. 

Before we go, we want to share a quick story with you. Recently, one of our older children badly wanted to make a present for his sponsor. He turned it over in his mind and finally asked us for advice. We told him that his thankfulness would be the greatest gift he could give his supporter. The boy thought it over for a moment and then answered with a smile: "That‘s good, because I have nothing. I am just Bernard."

We hope that you can feel how much thankfulness you create with your support. If only you could visit the playground, the children would gather around you. You could hear them laugh, see them smile and recognize the thankfulness in the children’s eyes. Thankfulness that knows no limits.

With sincere gratitude,

Your KiD team

The old bus - in need of constant repairs. Right beside it, the new school bus - a delightful sight.

Both inside and out, our new bus is a beautiful sight.

Our second form, studying hard. Upstairs in the new school building, both classrooms are already in use.

Our colourful, beautiful new KiD school building. For bigger picture click here

The "Daily Nation" reports on the teachers’ strike and their new salaries. (September 25, 2012) For bigger picture click here

A festive,...

...fun-filled gathering:...

... KiD’s Thanksgiving celebration....

...on the school grounds.