So as Jenn mentioned in a previous blog we’re now working on completely separate projects. This makes meal times a LOT more interesting as we don’t have to tell each other stories of what we’ve just experienced together.
I’m in the PR office, which involves making PowerPoint presentations for some staff members to take with them on upcoming visits to the UK and America. It’s looking likely that the team will be in Bo’ness on Friday 10th September, so get it in your diary and head along to see my amazing PowerPoints!!! Only joking! But seriously head along to hear what these fantastic ladies have got to share about the work of Dwelling Places.
The really fun part of my job is at Henrietta’s, this is a café which has been turned into a youth training centre for the time being. The Youth Rebuilders is a pilot scheme for young people who have recently left full time education, but haven’t begun work. The young folks spend their morning working on computer skills, entrepreneurship etc and in the afternoon are involved in craft sessions. They also work a farm which I am yet to visit.
I have been trusted to run a 45minute discipleship session for a group of about 15 young people (18-25) Tuesday to Friday. Last week I was working with Lynn (our housemate) but started on my own yesterday as Lynn has returned to her regular position teaching in a local primary school.
So I have years of experience in youth work, but this is an older group, they’re nearly ages with me! And they are also completely inspiring and awesome!!! (Samuel mentioned in Jenn’s ‘Every Teeny Finger Counts’ blog is one of my youths… just to give you an idea of exactly how inspiring they actually are!) So I felt very, very nervous at the thought of preparing sessions for them.
Anyway, after some praying and planning I had a session. We planned a wedding for a friend, brother or sister in groups and discussed why it should be a special day. I then asked the group to think about that day, and how they would feel if no one turned up. They were all shocked and I could see the devastation and anger on their faces at only the thought. I then went on to read to them from Matthew 22 when Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast that the King has organised for His son but his guests don’t come. The king then sends out his servants to bring people from the street; who attend. When the king arrives he finds one man not suitably dressed for a wedding and has his servants take him away. (That’s the story in a nutshell – but you should check your bible for a more accurate account!)
We discussed the parallels of the story, Jesus is the son, God the king and discussed the appropriate dress for the wedding God is talking about. Which by the way isnae a kilt! It seems to be that we should be clothed in righteousness, which we decided as a group meant loving your enemy as you love yourself, being patient and kind and following God’s law. So now that I’ve accepted the initial invite, all I have to do is clothe myself with righteousness? Sounds easy, eh?!
As usual, when working with young people I am constantly learning, and being challenged and have now made a mental note to myself, to always bear in mind that with God’s invitation comes the responsibility to accept, show up, AND to have the right(eous) attitude.
Laura x
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Every teeny finger counts!
So we are busy busy busy in Uganda and absolutely loving it! I have been blessed enough to be trusted with the creating of an advocacy show of drama, dance and singing that is happening on 3rd June. The overall theme for the advocacy week run by a children’s Christian charity in Uganda called CRANE, is “made in God’s image”. So from this our day has a sub-theme that because of this every single one of us is beautiful, despite our exterior or possible situations or circumstances. We are specifically trying to encourage people within the surrounding communities that this is even more true for children and that it is our responsibility as their elders to change their circumstances to allow this beauty to shine through. Typical to me 
there is a butterfly theme to the day aswell, as not only do I happen to love butterflies, but the reason behind my love fits perfectly with the day: at first sight we see butterflies as horrible creepy crawlies, but with some time, care and the right nurturing environment a new beautiful creation is revealed. I think this can be applied to every single person’s life at some point. It is also an old Christian symbol with the cocoon representing the tomb and the butterfly symbolising new life from the resurrection. SO ANYWAY...we have a hall booked, we are expecting around 200 – 300 people and in between practices with the gorgeous children I am making a small cake for everyone coming and involved (which by the way is much harder than you might think in a Ugandan oven, although this does mean we keep having to test them!), and cutting out hundreds of butterflies to hang in the hall and give away with each guest. It is so much fun right now, and I am absolutely loving having something to get my teeth stuck into. And the kids...oh my word they are so so cute and all try so hard (which for some can be a struggle to ignore that pickable thing in their noses for a whole hour of practicing!). It’s so great to work with them, because no matter how much I can’t be bothered, or how long a day i have already had, as soon as I see them my spirit is totally lifted!
So things are coming together and on tuesday I spent the afternoon with two of the youth from Dwelling Places, Samuel and Isa, who helped me stick posters for the day on every post in a 5 mile radius (or at least a long walk away!). Samuel was involved with the Peace Child show that Erica and Lorna had been involved with organising when they were here. I have heard so much about this show and the more I hear the more fantastic it sounds. I would like to say my full initial reaction to Samuel’s praise of Peace Child was feeling proud of my incredible serving friends and the hard work they did to bring this show about, but I have to admit that fear was creeping into my voice. I was wrongly verging on comparing my very separate and different project with Peace Child, which had a completely different purpose and it would seem budget. But as my fears began to creep through my positive words Samuel calmly said something so simple but beautiful all at once to me. He held his hand out in front of us and pointed to his pinky finger. “Jenn, no single finger on a hand no matter how big or small is any less important and loved than any of the
rest. You have some bigger, more obvious fingers , but I can promise you that if you were to lose the littlest of all you would still ache for it. All you have to do is forget about how big you may be in something, and make sure to be making an unforgettable impact on those around you by simply loving them. And that is when you would be truly noticed to be missing.” I was so blown away, a 19 year old just gave me a life lesson on one hand! And how true he is aswell. I would so prefer to be a teeny baby finger that has a small positive impact than a huge big one that is just there to be there. Even as I type I am smiling at my beautiful, non-remarkable, tiny little pinky fingers, and I thank God I have them in my life.
jenn
xxxx
there is a butterfly theme to the day aswell, as not only do I happen to love butterflies, but the reason behind my love fits perfectly with the day: at first sight we see butterflies as horrible creepy crawlies, but with some time, care and the right nurturing environment a new beautiful creation is revealed. I think this can be applied to every single person’s life at some point. It is also an old Christian symbol with the cocoon representing the tomb and the butterfly symbolising new life from the resurrection. SO ANYWAY...we have a hall booked, we are expecting around 200 – 300 people and in between practices with the gorgeous children I am making a small cake for everyone coming and involved (which by the way is much harder than you might think in a Ugandan oven, although this does mean we keep having to test them!), and cutting out hundreds of butterflies to hang in the hall and give away with each guest. It is so much fun right now, and I am absolutely loving having something to get my teeth stuck into. And the kids...oh my word they are so so cute and all try so hard (which for some can be a struggle to ignore that pickable thing in their noses for a whole hour of practicing!). It’s so great to work with them, because no matter how much I can’t be bothered, or how long a day i have already had, as soon as I see them my spirit is totally lifted!
So things are coming together and on tuesday I spent the afternoon with two of the youth from Dwelling Places, Samuel and Isa, who helped me stick posters for the day on every post in a 5 mile radius (or at least a long walk away!). Samuel was involved with the Peace Child show that Erica and Lorna had been involved with organising when they were here. I have heard so much about this show and the more I hear the more fantastic it sounds. I would like to say my full initial reaction to Samuel’s praise of Peace Child was feeling proud of my incredible serving friends and the hard work they did to bring this show about, but I have to admit that fear was creeping into my voice. I was wrongly verging on comparing my very separate and different project with Peace Child, which had a completely different purpose and it would seem budget. But as my fears began to creep through my positive words Samuel calmly said something so simple but beautiful all at once to me. He held his hand out in front of us and pointed to his pinky finger. “Jenn, no single finger on a hand no matter how big or small is any less important and loved than any of the
rest. You have some bigger, more obvious fingers , but I can promise you that if you were to lose the littlest of all you would still ache for it. All you have to do is forget about how big you may be in something, and make sure to be making an unforgettable impact on those around you by simply loving them. And that is when you would be truly noticed to be missing.” I was so blown away, a 19 year old just gave me a life lesson on one hand! And how true he is aswell. I would so prefer to be a teeny baby finger that has a small positive impact than a huge big one that is just there to be there. Even as I type I am smiling at my beautiful, non-remarkable, tiny little pinky fingers, and I thank God I have them in my life.jenn
xxxx
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Dwelling Places
Our first day in Kampala, the heavens opened and the rain poured almost non-stop all day. Normally for two Scottish girls this isn’t a big deal, but here when it rains pretty much everything stops. We are living up a hill and the orange mud roads turn into rivers with the rain, so most people stay inside as much as they can until the rain is over. This meant that we missed church on our first Sunday in Uganda, but it was actually a blessing in disguise as it gave us time to get to know the other two girls we will be living with in the volunteer cottage, Lynn and Laura (yes, another 1!). Laura number 2 is from Canada and Lynn is from Northern Ireland, they have both been here for a month already and have another 2 to go, so we will be spending the rest of our time here with them, so its a good thing we are all getting on really well and they seem really lovely (and i’m not just saying that in case they read this!). The four of us are sharing a cute little 2 bedroom cottage in a compound with some of the other Dwelling Places staff. Laura and I are actually in the converted garage, but if it wasn’t for the big metal wall you could never tell, and now we’ve unpacked its lovely and homely. The cottage interior is very basic, with all the essentials; a fridge, a table, a sink, a bathroom and even a working shower. But by far the nicest thing about the house is the fact it is in a compound where other women are always walking around, washing clothes, playing and laughing outside our window, and so when we are home we have our door open to the many visitors we receive from our neighbours. It’s just such a nice relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, shame you couldn’t do this in Glasgow without all your things being stolen!
Monday morning we all woke up early and so Laura (number 1) and I walked the short distance along the road with Laura (number 2) up to the Dwelling places offices where we were met by the volunteer co-ordinator, Martha. We spent the day in “orientation”, where we were shown around the offices, met the staff, visited the children’s home and were given our job descriptions for the next 7weeks. The children are actually on holiday from their schools right now until the end of the month, and so Dwelling Places are taking this opportunity to see if the children will settle into the homes that are lined up for them.
Let me explain...Dwelling Places uses a programme based around four R’s: rescue, rehabilitation, reconciliation and resettlement. The first stage “Rescue” involves social workers from Dwelling Places going out into Kampala and the surrounding slum areas to build relationships with the children who are begging and living on the streets. Once this relationship is formed and trust is built the outreach and medical team can assess the children best suited to Dwelling Places and create a specific programme for that child. The children are then brought into the Dwelling Places to live in the “Transitional Home” where the “Rehabilitation” stage can begin. Street children are the outcasts of society here and can so easily become mixed up in a whirlwind of drugs, abuse, sexual activity and theft from a very young age. Dwelling Places therefore use the Transitional Home to teach the children basic everything: English, hygiene, social skills, self esteem, even how to sleep in a bed rather than the street. This can then lead onto education in the “interim school” which, through funding from child sponsorship, can lead to access to the mainstream education system.
After a minimum of 2 years, depending on the stage of development of each child, “Reconciliation” with a family can begin. Dwelling Places’ founder Rita Nkembe doesn’t believe in institutions for children where avoidable, and understands the importance of a loving, family environment. So as soon as the child trusts the staff enough to open up about their family, a search begins for any family members. If family are found, the social workers conduct a thorough investigation into the family to see if reintegration of the child into this family is the best thing for the child. If this is found to be the case then the family members are invited to join the Family Empowerment Programme, run by Dwelling Places to provide families with the skills and education to provide a loving home environment for a family. This involves many things such as counselling, health advice, skill training and housing in a safe area. If however the family cannot be traced or is deemed a bad environment for the child, a foster family is found instead and adoption can also take place.
The final stage is “Resettlement” where the child is integrated back into their family (or into their new family). This is a long process, with short term visits, followed by assessments and then continual reassessment of the family situation after the child moves in with the family for good. When a child is nearing adulthood, they will be given trained in skills to allow them to live independently, ie. Craft skills, trades, business lessons.
SO....the last intake of children was three years ago and so the aim for this year is for all the children to be resettled by the end of the year and a new rescue intake to begin next year. So right now the children are mainly all spending the holidays in their soon to be new homes as a kind of trial period. Only eight of the girls are left, as either their lessons were still running or they don’t yet have a family to go to. Therefore until the children come back on May 23rd Laura and I will be helping more around the office with different things and getting our head around the organisation, before helping with the kids on their return. Laura being as technical minded as she is, has been asked to help in the public relations office with several computer related tasks and computer training for staff. I have been asked to help create and teach a performance to the children for an upcoming advocacy event they will be attending. The theme is “Created in God’s image”, but other than that I don’t know much yet. I’m sure everything will make sense and flesh out in the next few weeks for us both. But I really need to learn to be patient as I want to help in absolutely every department RIGHT NOW, but as Laura keeps telling me, it’s good for us to find our feet and the deep end isn’t always the best way into things. I wish I didn’t need to learn that lesson...I’m far too impatient for it!
I really can’t wait for the work in the next few months though, as we get to know the children and understand the heart behind an incredible organisation. Every staff member is so nice and even the locals are more used to mzungos, so we only get the occasional shout in the street which is nice for us. I think we will make some incredible memories here and learn some invaluable lessons.
xxx
Monday morning we all woke up early and so Laura (number 1) and I walked the short distance along the road with Laura (number 2) up to the Dwelling places offices where we were met by the volunteer co-ordinator, Martha. We spent the day in “orientation”, where we were shown around the offices, met the staff, visited the children’s home and were given our job descriptions for the next 7weeks. The children are actually on holiday from their schools right now until the end of the month, and so Dwelling Places are taking this opportunity to see if the children will settle into the homes that are lined up for them.
Let me explain...Dwelling Places uses a programme based around four R’s: rescue, rehabilitation, reconciliation and resettlement. The first stage “Rescue” involves social workers from Dwelling Places going out into Kampala and the surrounding slum areas to build relationships with the children who are begging and living on the streets. Once this relationship is formed and trust is built the outreach and medical team can assess the children best suited to Dwelling Places and create a specific programme for that child. The children are then brought into the Dwelling Places to live in the “Transitional Home” where the “Rehabilitation” stage can begin. Street children are the outcasts of society here and can so easily become mixed up in a whirlwind of drugs, abuse, sexual activity and theft from a very young age. Dwelling Places therefore use the Transitional Home to teach the children basic everything: English, hygiene, social skills, self esteem, even how to sleep in a bed rather than the street. This can then lead onto education in the “interim school” which, through funding from child sponsorship, can lead to access to the mainstream education system.
After a minimum of 2 years, depending on the stage of development of each child, “Reconciliation” with a family can begin. Dwelling Places’ founder Rita Nkembe doesn’t believe in institutions for children where avoidable, and understands the importance of a loving, family environment. So as soon as the child trusts the staff enough to open up about their family, a search begins for any family members. If family are found, the social workers conduct a thorough investigation into the family to see if reintegration of the child into this family is the best thing for the child. If this is found to be the case then the family members are invited to join the Family Empowerment Programme, run by Dwelling Places to provide families with the skills and education to provide a loving home environment for a family. This involves many things such as counselling, health advice, skill training and housing in a safe area. If however the family cannot be traced or is deemed a bad environment for the child, a foster family is found instead and adoption can also take place.
The final stage is “Resettlement” where the child is integrated back into their family (or into their new family). This is a long process, with short term visits, followed by assessments and then continual reassessment of the family situation after the child moves in with the family for good. When a child is nearing adulthood, they will be given trained in skills to allow them to live independently, ie. Craft skills, trades, business lessons.
SO....the last intake of children was three years ago and so the aim for this year is for all the children to be resettled by the end of the year and a new rescue intake to begin next year. So right now the children are mainly all spending the holidays in their soon to be new homes as a kind of trial period. Only eight of the girls are left, as either their lessons were still running or they don’t yet have a family to go to. Therefore until the children come back on May 23rd Laura and I will be helping more around the office with different things and getting our head around the organisation, before helping with the kids on their return. Laura being as technical minded as she is, has been asked to help in the public relations office with several computer related tasks and computer training for staff. I have been asked to help create and teach a performance to the children for an upcoming advocacy event they will be attending. The theme is “Created in God’s image”, but other than that I don’t know much yet. I’m sure everything will make sense and flesh out in the next few weeks for us both. But I really need to learn to be patient as I want to help in absolutely every department RIGHT NOW, but as Laura keeps telling me, it’s good for us to find our feet and the deep end isn’t always the best way into things. I wish I didn’t need to learn that lesson...I’m far too impatient for it!
I really can’t wait for the work in the next few months though, as we get to know the children and understand the heart behind an incredible organisation. Every staff member is so nice and even the locals are more used to mzungos, so we only get the occasional shout in the street which is nice for us. I think we will make some incredible memories here and learn some invaluable lessons.
xxx
Friday, May 14, 2010
Last week in Kenya
Our last weekend in Kenya was spent with friends from church. We had supper with one of the elders, Solomon, and his family on the Friday evening. This turned into an evening of African dance, a highland fling from Jenn, and singing. We had lots of fun, and we even managed to talk the family into letting us de-cob some maize before heading home for rest before attending a football tournament the following day.
We were collected early by George and Henry who walked us down a fairly steep hill toward the football fields. The last week had been youth week in the PCEA (Presbyterian Church of East Africa) so each district would organise events for their young people. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, it was fairly drizzly and the games had to stop a few times so the youths could take shelter in a nearby school. This gave Jenn an opportunity to show off some football skills and add to her collection.
After the games, we joined some of the boys for lunch in a nearby café, well I say nearby but it didn’t feel too nearby after the walk back up the hill, which the Kenyans seemed to take in their stride; and after hours of football too! We enjoyed some chips and Jenn and I prepared to leave, when the waiter appeared with half a goat, gravy and ugali (corn/maize flour and water cooked to the consistency of mashed potatoes, it resembles mashed tatties a bit too much for my liking!). We watched as the boys polished it off and headed back to the church for a game of Chinese checkers before being taken home before dark.
The next morning we were collected for church, we arrived on time to have a little interaction with the Sunday School before the main service. We sang a few songs and prayed together before sharing some sweeties and joining the rest of the church. Kiambaa Church were trying very hard to talk us into staying with them till the following Monday so we could join them for church the next week, but Jenn and I were already late in leaving for Uganda as we’d had problems getting out of Scotland with the volcanic ash situation. So we said a formal goodbye during the service, thanking everyone for the hospitality, friendship and kindness they’d shown us over the last week and how we were looking forward to our last few days in Kenya, especially our visit to Abbey Academy on Friday before we were leaving.
During the service the congregation had a ‘fundraiser’ for the youth. This consisted of a basket at the front of the church, and each group in the church (youth, guild, districts etc) would take it in turn to go forward with an offering. I can’t remember the exact total but I was amazed at the generosity of the congregation. Especially when I hear that this fundraising took place every month, for a different church group.
After the service we joined the youth for lunch before the football was being screened for the locals. Thankfully Jenn and I had found a new passion in chinese checkers so we sat in the garden for a game with some of our new friends when the football began, we slowly had an audience around us, I was a little confused as to why until I realised there was a power cut which meant the football had stopped, of course as soon as it came back on there was 7 or 8 of us round the board again. We were walked home early evening by another 4 youths who stopped at the hostel with us, singing praise songs and chatting in the lobby till after dark.
During our last week in Kenya we spent time with different elders, visiting sick, bereaved and general members of each district. We met some really interesting people but unfortunately did not get to spend much time with anyone as we visited, prayed and moved on. Kenyans like to host visitors, so they were all keen to give us a cup of tea or some ginger snaps, but we could only stop for a couple.
Unfortunately Jenn and I took a short vomiting bug during our last week so had to take a day to rest in bed, but we’re both feeling back to normal now so nothing to be concerned about. After our day in bed we had to visit Nairobi to collect our Ugandan Visas. One of the youth accompanying us was celebrating his birthday so we went for a typical Kenyan lunch of sausage and chips, and to the park for a bit of birthday cake and a pedal boat ride before heading back to Kiambaa.
We spent our last day in Kenya with Tabitha at Abbey Academy. We met her in the morning to visit a few of the children at home who had attended the school but were now unable due to financial difficulties. We were sad to hear of the progress the children had been making before they had to leave the school, but in some cases the money just wasn’t there.
We returned to the school to spend the day with the children, we started out in a play room with the children with autism. There was a lady in giving the children massages to relax their muscles and set them up for the day. The other children played with beads, building blocks and 4 very special puppets, which had been handmade by Jenn’s mum, Caroline. Although I think Tabitha had the best fun with the puppets!
After lunch the children washed and brushed their teeth ready for their weekly games afternoon. Jenn and I were split into two teams with some of the kids and we took part in skipping, bouncing, blindfolded races, tire races and three legged races for points. I’m not sure how but Jenn and I ended up running together in the three legged race as we were competing in different teams? Perhaps God wants us to work on our teamwork…
When we finished games the children returned to the classroom to draw pictures for us to take away with us. Jenn was then asked to draw a friendship tree for visitors to sign and I was allowed to paint a frog on a log on the wall of one of the classrooms!
We said goodbye to the children before heading back to pack for our journey to Uganda the following day!
Some elders visited us in the evening to say goodbye and ask us how we'd enjoyed our visit, of course it was all positive feedback and I'm looking forward to another trip to Kenya in the future; God willing! hehe
Laura x
p.s. Will get photo's up soon, sorry about the lack of them so far, this is due to a very slow internet connection.
We were collected early by George and Henry who walked us down a fairly steep hill toward the football fields. The last week had been youth week in the PCEA (Presbyterian Church of East Africa) so each district would organise events for their young people. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, it was fairly drizzly and the games had to stop a few times so the youths could take shelter in a nearby school. This gave Jenn an opportunity to show off some football skills and add to her collection.
After the games, we joined some of the boys for lunch in a nearby café, well I say nearby but it didn’t feel too nearby after the walk back up the hill, which the Kenyans seemed to take in their stride; and after hours of football too! We enjoyed some chips and Jenn and I prepared to leave, when the waiter appeared with half a goat, gravy and ugali (corn/maize flour and water cooked to the consistency of mashed potatoes, it resembles mashed tatties a bit too much for my liking!). We watched as the boys polished it off and headed back to the church for a game of Chinese checkers before being taken home before dark.
The next morning we were collected for church, we arrived on time to have a little interaction with the Sunday School before the main service. We sang a few songs and prayed together before sharing some sweeties and joining the rest of the church. Kiambaa Church were trying very hard to talk us into staying with them till the following Monday so we could join them for church the next week, but Jenn and I were already late in leaving for Uganda as we’d had problems getting out of Scotland with the volcanic ash situation. So we said a formal goodbye during the service, thanking everyone for the hospitality, friendship and kindness they’d shown us over the last week and how we were looking forward to our last few days in Kenya, especially our visit to Abbey Academy on Friday before we were leaving.
During the service the congregation had a ‘fundraiser’ for the youth. This consisted of a basket at the front of the church, and each group in the church (youth, guild, districts etc) would take it in turn to go forward with an offering. I can’t remember the exact total but I was amazed at the generosity of the congregation. Especially when I hear that this fundraising took place every month, for a different church group.
After the service we joined the youth for lunch before the football was being screened for the locals. Thankfully Jenn and I had found a new passion in chinese checkers so we sat in the garden for a game with some of our new friends when the football began, we slowly had an audience around us, I was a little confused as to why until I realised there was a power cut which meant the football had stopped, of course as soon as it came back on there was 7 or 8 of us round the board again. We were walked home early evening by another 4 youths who stopped at the hostel with us, singing praise songs and chatting in the lobby till after dark.
During our last week in Kenya we spent time with different elders, visiting sick, bereaved and general members of each district. We met some really interesting people but unfortunately did not get to spend much time with anyone as we visited, prayed and moved on. Kenyans like to host visitors, so they were all keen to give us a cup of tea or some ginger snaps, but we could only stop for a couple.
Unfortunately Jenn and I took a short vomiting bug during our last week so had to take a day to rest in bed, but we’re both feeling back to normal now so nothing to be concerned about. After our day in bed we had to visit Nairobi to collect our Ugandan Visas. One of the youth accompanying us was celebrating his birthday so we went for a typical Kenyan lunch of sausage and chips, and to the park for a bit of birthday cake and a pedal boat ride before heading back to Kiambaa.
We spent our last day in Kenya with Tabitha at Abbey Academy. We met her in the morning to visit a few of the children at home who had attended the school but were now unable due to financial difficulties. We were sad to hear of the progress the children had been making before they had to leave the school, but in some cases the money just wasn’t there.
We returned to the school to spend the day with the children, we started out in a play room with the children with autism. There was a lady in giving the children massages to relax their muscles and set them up for the day. The other children played with beads, building blocks and 4 very special puppets, which had been handmade by Jenn’s mum, Caroline. Although I think Tabitha had the best fun with the puppets!
After lunch the children washed and brushed their teeth ready for their weekly games afternoon. Jenn and I were split into two teams with some of the kids and we took part in skipping, bouncing, blindfolded races, tire races and three legged races for points. I’m not sure how but Jenn and I ended up running together in the three legged race as we were competing in different teams? Perhaps God wants us to work on our teamwork…
When we finished games the children returned to the classroom to draw pictures for us to take away with us. Jenn was then asked to draw a friendship tree for visitors to sign and I was allowed to paint a frog on a log on the wall of one of the classrooms!
We said goodbye to the children before heading back to pack for our journey to Uganda the following day!
Some elders visited us in the evening to say goodbye and ask us how we'd enjoyed our visit, of course it was all positive feedback and I'm looking forward to another trip to Kenya in the future; God willing! hehe
Laura x
p.s. Will get photo's up soon, sorry about the lack of them so far, this is due to a very slow internet connection.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Abbey Academy
Last Thursday morning we were collected by four of the youth: Passie, Tyras, Elizabeth and Bonnie (yes we did inform him that this is a Scottish term!). As always we has no idea where we were heading and so we were delighted when we were told that we would be visiting a local school for “special” children. We soon arrived at Abbey Heaven School tucked away behind the safe compound walls. We were greeted at the gates by a smiling welcoming woman Tabitha, the founder of Abbey Heaven School. We walked into a reasonably big, well kept, blossoming garden where a boy sat on a near-by swing smiling to himself as several dogs excitedly leaped around us all, scaring Laura a lot. Tabitha introduced us to the boy as he ran to jump on the small trampoline, explaining to us that this was her son George who suffered from Autism. We greeted George before Tabitha took us on a tour around the grounds.
The school is made up of two main buildings (which used to be Tabitha’s house and her late father in law’s house), converted into care rooms, a big kitchen, boarding facilities for the children and an area for self administered massage and physical therapy. The attached garage and some smaller rooms built around the back of the houses act as different classrooms. Everything in this school has a purpose, with so much thought and understanding obviously behind it. Examples of this thought were everywhere; classrooms were filled with pastel colours so as not to be stressful for the children, most learning is done through pictures as this is a better way for autistic children to process information, there were toilet training facilities, a black room the children could retreat to under adult supervision to learn when the normal settings become too distracting or promote hyperactivity, there were many activities which not only encouraged learning but also skills such as hand-eye co-ordination and concentration (e.g. threading beads with smaller and smaller holes) and most of the essential equipment was available to the children.
Tabitha explained to us that although primary education is free to Kenyan tax payers, education for children with special needs comes at a high cost and generally involves a daily, long journey on the public transport which is crowded, unreliable and stressful for anyone of a relaxed, sound mind. Due to these high costs of time, money and stress she had watched several parents having to take their children out of education over the years. Tabitha herself had eventually had to withdraw George from his school and hired a private tutor to come to their home. However she was more than aware of the importance of socialisation and integration with “normal” children for an autistic child. After many years involved with the schools, and the background of a social work degree, Tabitha had come to the conclusion that the size of the schools and the high number of staff needed were what resulted in the steep school fees being paid by the parents. After much research Tabitha has found several ways around this problem, keeping things small scale (around 30 children attend Abbey Heaven), but more importantly enabling the children to help themselves where possible, providing the appropriate equipment to allow this. For example, rather than having to pay the wages of several physiotherapists, she has one full time physiotherapist who, rather than having to do all of the massaging and nerve work herself, helps the able children to use a massaging, acupuncture machine she had imported from Asia. This machine has a paddle with several balls that heat up and hit the different pressure points used in acupuncture, when it is placed in the right positions. The physiotherapist can work with each of the children that need regular massage and as long as they are capable, they are taught how to use the machine themselves. And so at the end of a long day, although she will have to work directly with some of the children, the physiotherapist can just supervise several of the children as they administer the treatment themselves. This dissolves the amount of work from several to one full time physiotherapist, thus cutting wages dramatically. They also have other equipment such as a balance ball to improve balance, a swinging seat to improve co-ordination and an exercise bike, which also improves balance and co-ordination. Even the many pet dogs have a purpose; children with autism find it much easier to relate to animals naturally than they do humans, so by developing relationships with the dogs the children improve in their social skills. These skills are also improved by the integration of the autistic children with the 15 “normal” children that also attend the school. This integration allows natural socialisation and learning between the children to take place.
About 10 of the children board during the week, although they are encouraged to go home over weekends when possible to allow them to still feel part of their family. This means that Tabitha, her husband and a member of staff that stays overnight must always be ready to respond to any upsets or problems from the children and a guard is hired for the gate overnight to enhance security. When I asked Tabitha if she ever sleeps she laughed as though this was a ridiculous question but then went on to tell us how it can sometimes be good when she wakes up through the night as she can start the cooking for the next day at around 3am! The most incredible thing about her is that she is just so completely genuine and humble. When we asked about her lack of personal space she explained to us that her house is really God’s house she is looking after and since she can only sleep in 1 of the rooms she should really be putting the other ones to good use for those that need them since they deserve them just as much as she does. This sounds as though she is some really airy fairy, sickeningly sweet superwoman, but far from it. Everything about Tabitha is practical and honest. She happily described the difficulties she also faces being a mother of an autistic child, the worries she faces and the space she can need, and as she opened up to us there was an uncommon, overwhelming sense of vulnerability in her voice, but she was happy to show this so as to let us know her heart and why she is doing what she is doing. Everything about Abbey Heaven is about having this heart for caring for these children, and Tabitha employs according to this passion rather than training, as she is confident that she can provide training, but you can’t make a person care for and love children that demand so much, and it is only this love that will keep you going through the difficult times.
When she started the school 3 years ago Tabitha never had huge dreams, or any personal agenda, other than her son getting the best education possible, but yet 3 years on and the school is flourishing and she is now looking to open a home nearby for the older pupils to share where they can live together and live independently with only essential assistance. In the nearer future she also hopes to put a heated pool into the gardens to hire out for a source of income to allow her to keep the school fees low, but also to be used as part of the relaxation and physiotherapy treatment programme for the pupils. She also hopes to buy a bus so the children can be taken on day excursions as she explained to us that many of the children have never even seen a river, as due to their mental limitations imagination is not accessed so easily, so experience of such things is essential for understanding. However, Tabitha relies on bank loans which she slowly pays off as she can or donations which can be unpredictable.
Tabitha never once asked Laura and I for anything, but before leaving we asked excitedly if it would be possible for us to come back sometime. Thankfully Tabitha was happy to agree and so we will be attending Abbey Heaven this Friday to assist with their outside play day! I can’t wait, being there is actually like someone wrapping warm, sparkly fluff around all your cynical thoughts and giving you the hope and encouragement you never thought you needed.
Abbey Heaven is the perfect example of what happens when someone accepts that they can’t do everything, but knows they must do something. When we look at poverty and Africa as a whole it is so easy for it to all seem helpless and utterly hopeless, and it’s far too easy for us to take the easy option and turn our backs on the dark situations. But when you take the time to look hard enough you find that sometimes amongst the darkness tiny, very basic, very simple stars pop up from the hope burning from people like Tabitha and their courage in their dreams. And what a huge difference each one of these little stars makes in an otherwise pitch dark world. Maybe we don’t need to change a whole world, we just all need to have the courage to take the risk to light just one little star.
A humbled Jenn xx
The school is made up of two main buildings (which used to be Tabitha’s house and her late father in law’s house), converted into care rooms, a big kitchen, boarding facilities for the children and an area for self administered massage and physical therapy. The attached garage and some smaller rooms built around the back of the houses act as different classrooms. Everything in this school has a purpose, with so much thought and understanding obviously behind it. Examples of this thought were everywhere; classrooms were filled with pastel colours so as not to be stressful for the children, most learning is done through pictures as this is a better way for autistic children to process information, there were toilet training facilities, a black room the children could retreat to under adult supervision to learn when the normal settings become too distracting or promote hyperactivity, there were many activities which not only encouraged learning but also skills such as hand-eye co-ordination and concentration (e.g. threading beads with smaller and smaller holes) and most of the essential equipment was available to the children.
Tabitha explained to us that although primary education is free to Kenyan tax payers, education for children with special needs comes at a high cost and generally involves a daily, long journey on the public transport which is crowded, unreliable and stressful for anyone of a relaxed, sound mind. Due to these high costs of time, money and stress she had watched several parents having to take their children out of education over the years. Tabitha herself had eventually had to withdraw George from his school and hired a private tutor to come to their home. However she was more than aware of the importance of socialisation and integration with “normal” children for an autistic child. After many years involved with the schools, and the background of a social work degree, Tabitha had come to the conclusion that the size of the schools and the high number of staff needed were what resulted in the steep school fees being paid by the parents. After much research Tabitha has found several ways around this problem, keeping things small scale (around 30 children attend Abbey Heaven), but more importantly enabling the children to help themselves where possible, providing the appropriate equipment to allow this. For example, rather than having to pay the wages of several physiotherapists, she has one full time physiotherapist who, rather than having to do all of the massaging and nerve work herself, helps the able children to use a massaging, acupuncture machine she had imported from Asia. This machine has a paddle with several balls that heat up and hit the different pressure points used in acupuncture, when it is placed in the right positions. The physiotherapist can work with each of the children that need regular massage and as long as they are capable, they are taught how to use the machine themselves. And so at the end of a long day, although she will have to work directly with some of the children, the physiotherapist can just supervise several of the children as they administer the treatment themselves. This dissolves the amount of work from several to one full time physiotherapist, thus cutting wages dramatically. They also have other equipment such as a balance ball to improve balance, a swinging seat to improve co-ordination and an exercise bike, which also improves balance and co-ordination. Even the many pet dogs have a purpose; children with autism find it much easier to relate to animals naturally than they do humans, so by developing relationships with the dogs the children improve in their social skills. These skills are also improved by the integration of the autistic children with the 15 “normal” children that also attend the school. This integration allows natural socialisation and learning between the children to take place.
About 10 of the children board during the week, although they are encouraged to go home over weekends when possible to allow them to still feel part of their family. This means that Tabitha, her husband and a member of staff that stays overnight must always be ready to respond to any upsets or problems from the children and a guard is hired for the gate overnight to enhance security. When I asked Tabitha if she ever sleeps she laughed as though this was a ridiculous question but then went on to tell us how it can sometimes be good when she wakes up through the night as she can start the cooking for the next day at around 3am! The most incredible thing about her is that she is just so completely genuine and humble. When we asked about her lack of personal space she explained to us that her house is really God’s house she is looking after and since she can only sleep in 1 of the rooms she should really be putting the other ones to good use for those that need them since they deserve them just as much as she does. This sounds as though she is some really airy fairy, sickeningly sweet superwoman, but far from it. Everything about Tabitha is practical and honest. She happily described the difficulties she also faces being a mother of an autistic child, the worries she faces and the space she can need, and as she opened up to us there was an uncommon, overwhelming sense of vulnerability in her voice, but she was happy to show this so as to let us know her heart and why she is doing what she is doing. Everything about Abbey Heaven is about having this heart for caring for these children, and Tabitha employs according to this passion rather than training, as she is confident that she can provide training, but you can’t make a person care for and love children that demand so much, and it is only this love that will keep you going through the difficult times.
When she started the school 3 years ago Tabitha never had huge dreams, or any personal agenda, other than her son getting the best education possible, but yet 3 years on and the school is flourishing and she is now looking to open a home nearby for the older pupils to share where they can live together and live independently with only essential assistance. In the nearer future she also hopes to put a heated pool into the gardens to hire out for a source of income to allow her to keep the school fees low, but also to be used as part of the relaxation and physiotherapy treatment programme for the pupils. She also hopes to buy a bus so the children can be taken on day excursions as she explained to us that many of the children have never even seen a river, as due to their mental limitations imagination is not accessed so easily, so experience of such things is essential for understanding. However, Tabitha relies on bank loans which she slowly pays off as she can or donations which can be unpredictable.
Tabitha never once asked Laura and I for anything, but before leaving we asked excitedly if it would be possible for us to come back sometime. Thankfully Tabitha was happy to agree and so we will be attending Abbey Heaven this Friday to assist with their outside play day! I can’t wait, being there is actually like someone wrapping warm, sparkly fluff around all your cynical thoughts and giving you the hope and encouragement you never thought you needed.
Abbey Heaven is the perfect example of what happens when someone accepts that they can’t do everything, but knows they must do something. When we look at poverty and Africa as a whole it is so easy for it to all seem helpless and utterly hopeless, and it’s far too easy for us to take the easy option and turn our backs on the dark situations. But when you take the time to look hard enough you find that sometimes amongst the darkness tiny, very basic, very simple stars pop up from the hope burning from people like Tabitha and their courage in their dreams. And what a huge difference each one of these little stars makes in an otherwise pitch dark world. Maybe we don’t need to change a whole world, we just all need to have the courage to take the risk to light just one little star.
A humbled Jenn xx
Great Rift Valley
We were picked up on Wednesday morning by Jamlech and Peter for another day full of surprises. First we began to walk toward the gate to leave the hostel grounds the men called us back to a car! What a treat! We’ve been enjoying the sludging through mud but I was looking forward to arriving home in the evening with clean feet!
We headed along the great North Road away from Nairobi to the Uplands where we enjoyed a spectacular view of The Great Rift Valley which is the longest valley in the world.
We then visited a local market, I was amazed at the different types of beans and fruit available, and felt pretty cheated at the range accessible to us in the UK, that’s only one reason to visit Africa! Before we left Jamlech and Peter made sure to buy a bag of sugar cane for me to sample. If I could bring one thing home for my family to taste this would be it. It was not what I expected at all, very juicy and refreshing! Wasn’t so keen on the strings we had to remove from our mouths after we’d had a good chew right enough.
We enjoyed a quick cup of tea (this is all Kenyans seem to drink!) and a samosa (which was very different from Indian ones, some beef with gravy in the middle) before we headed to the hospital to visit one of the elders Peter who had had an accident in the garden. He seemed pleased to have more visitors, and proudly showed us photo’s of his leg before surgery – lovely! Despite the pain Peter seemed very cheery! This seems to be due to the support of his friends and family. He explained that at one point there were so many people in his hospital room he could hardly move. I’m always worried that if I visit someone that I’m not extremely close to in hospital or at home when they are unwell that I will be putting them out. But during my time at home and here I’ve seen how much visitors can cheer someone up and it’s changed my misconception.
In the evening we spent some time at Jamlicks home, we enjoyed some tea before starting on the supper. We learned to make chapattis, 15 each so we’re now gurus in Kenyan cooking... we relaxed for a little while with the family, and enjoyed our chapattis and some more tea before heading home for an early night.
Laura <><
We headed along the great North Road away from Nairobi to the Uplands where we enjoyed a spectacular view of The Great Rift Valley which is the longest valley in the world.
We then visited a local market, I was amazed at the different types of beans and fruit available, and felt pretty cheated at the range accessible to us in the UK, that’s only one reason to visit Africa! Before we left Jamlech and Peter made sure to buy a bag of sugar cane for me to sample. If I could bring one thing home for my family to taste this would be it. It was not what I expected at all, very juicy and refreshing! Wasn’t so keen on the strings we had to remove from our mouths after we’d had a good chew right enough.
We enjoyed a quick cup of tea (this is all Kenyans seem to drink!) and a samosa (which was very different from Indian ones, some beef with gravy in the middle) before we headed to the hospital to visit one of the elders Peter who had had an accident in the garden. He seemed pleased to have more visitors, and proudly showed us photo’s of his leg before surgery – lovely! Despite the pain Peter seemed very cheery! This seems to be due to the support of his friends and family. He explained that at one point there were so many people in his hospital room he could hardly move. I’m always worried that if I visit someone that I’m not extremely close to in hospital or at home when they are unwell that I will be putting them out. But during my time at home and here I’ve seen how much visitors can cheer someone up and it’s changed my misconception.
In the evening we spent some time at Jamlicks home, we enjoyed some tea before starting on the supper. We learned to make chapattis, 15 each so we’re now gurus in Kenyan cooking... we relaxed for a little while with the family, and enjoyed our chapattis and some more tea before heading home for an early night.
Laura <><
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