URAFIKI  LINK

Introduction to Urafiki Link

'Teachers/staff in Canada - start here

Students in Canada - start here

JAMBO!
Class Linkages

TUENDE
Extracurricular

PAMOJA
During class

Reports on Donations Given

Donate to a class in Kenya

Fundraising Goals

August Volunteer Trip: Log Part 1

August Volunteer Trip: Log Part 2

Ms. Bain's Updates & Reflections

Update from Ms. Bain

It's been quite some time since any of you heard from Ms. Bain! Many things have been happening here in Kenya, and here's just a brief summary of what we've been doing.

As I see it there are three main ways in which Bodwell can connect with Kenya:

1. JAMBO - Introducing to each other & linking classes together!

2. TUENDE - Let's go! Recording song, dance, drama, sports, etc - and sharing these 'fun' aspects of school life...

3. PAMOJA - Together we can learn... Chemistry, Physics, Biology, English, Math, Geography, History... we have many things in common and can share so much.

You can find updates on my activities at each of the three partner schools on the main website (www.bodwell.edu/rafiki).

To update you on life here, I'll share tidbits on a few different topics...

COMPUTERS

Computers are the foundation of life in Canada, it seems; without a computer, an office is incomplete. What would happen if you tried to run a school with no computers...??

This is the timetable of Maai Mahiu Secondary - drawn on paper with pencil. There are no computer schedules, no computerized class lists... just this 'master' schedule. I have never once seen the schedule break down.

With no computers to easily duplicate announcements, there are assemblies three times per week - always at 8:00 am, before school begins! Students are required to attend assembly in full uniform - and almost all do (though many do not have full uniform to wear).

Without computers there can be no printers; with no printers, how do teachers provide handouts? There is no photocopier at the school at all; handouts are produced using a risograph - an environmentally friendly device which prints multiple copies on newsprint-type paper. The only handouts provided to students are a) letters to parents and b) tests. Tests, for example, are hand-written by teachers; typed on a manual typewriter by the secretary; and processed in the risograph by the technician.

Without computers and internet, teachers are left to find materials from what they have on paper. Most teachers have a copy of the textbook; most students do not. Thus, teaching here consists of providing 'notes' from the textbook. The goal of each grade is to produce, by the end of the year, a notebook containing all of the ideas, diagrams, and information which an average Canadian textbook might contain.

The schedule here is steady: 'Morning Preps' are from 7am - 8am; lessons go from 8:20 - 4:00 pm. School officially ends at 5:45 pm every day.

PUNISHMENTS

If you step out of line in Kenya, corporal punishment is the solution! In one day, I saw one student forced to kneel on cement for 30 minutes; 15 girls caned on the palm of the hand; and the same 15 girls given a good 'ear-shaking' by a senior teacher. Bodwell students should count themselves lucky - !

WEATHER

When the Bodwell volunteers stayed in Kenya they were, most days, decidedly cold. They wore long sleeves and sweaters...!

The weather is now much warmer than before. In fact, during the day I find myself unable to stay even a few minutes in the full sunlight. At night, however, there are often strong, cool winds; I find I need to bring a fleece or sweater.

It is a semi-arid region - meaning rainfall is scarce. There is dust here as I have never seen dust before. Within a few days the water buckets in my home are coated in a thin, even coat of dry brown dust... even many of the trees are cactus-like succulents, preserving enough water to last through the dry seasons.

MINING

Last week, I went hiking to a nearby mountain, where there is a stone quarry. What a sight! Where I am used to seeing mechanical saws and large machines, I saw 10s and 100s of people...

The stone is literally hammered out of the mountain - by hand! The person bending over is carrying a small hammer, which he uses to shape the rock. The rocks piled on the right are ready to be taken away; they will be carried by hand out of the hole and taken to build buildings.

The landscape here is quite a contrast to Canada. Where in Canada the bedrock is just a few metres away, here there is a very thick layer of reddish soil. At the quarry, this soil too is painstakingly moved away - one shovel-full at a time.

FOOD

Food here has been terrific, overall. As a vegetarian I haven't been able to try 'nyama choma', or fried meat; 'matumbo', cow's intestines, is also off-limits. Instead I eat meals like the following: 'sukumawiki', a dark-green vegetable (kale), with potatoes and chapati bread.

That's my update for now, folks. I hope you're doing well, and keep in touch!

Ms. Bain
Writing from Kenya.