YCS Rally

Saturday, I took some of the Weaver Bird students to an YCS (Young Christian/Catholic Students) diocese youth rally. These students had never been to a youth rally before. I decided that if I wanted to improve YCS at Weaver Bird, students needed to go to a rally to visit with other students from the diocese. So I paid for transport and the meal as many could not afford. I was able to get another YCS sponsor to go with us

The patron got a matatu (van) to take us to the rally which was about 30 miles away in a small village. Since he got only one matatu, I went with the girls on the first trip. We load 20 in a van that in Kansas would hold 14 people. To say the least it was crowded. Funny thing was that we were stopped by police at a check point. I was not worried because they stop all matatus. The policeman motioned for me to fasten my seatbelt. Wouldn’t you know I didn’t have mine fastened because I couldn’t! So I faked it. Of course the girls wanted to listen to music as we drove. I had to turn off my hearing aide because it was so loud!

The meeting started 30 minutes late which was not bad. We started with opening prayer. Next was introduction of patrons (adult leaders) for each school, followed by introduction of youth YCS officers. Then came the main speaker. He was a priest who seemed to give very good ideas to the students to improve themselves as students. I really don’t know what he said as he spoke in Swahili and I could only understand about 10%. I asked a student who said it would be hard to translate but said the speech was good. But the diocese youth leader said he would get me an English translation. The speech lasted over an hour which really is short by Kenyan standards.

While the adult leaders went to a classroom to vote on new leaders, students had entertainment. This meant that various schools had student groups sing, read poems

or do other things. I have to admit my favorite was a student from a rural school who did break dancing. He was joined after a few minutes with others. I was more than impressed by their moves and everyone gave them a very big clap for their efforts. The Weaver Bird students were very nervous, but I highly encouraged them to sing a couple of songs. I felt that they needed to contribute like the other schools.

Next on the schedule was lunch. I had learned from previous experiences that lunch meant bread (yes, a part of a loaf of bread) and a container of milk. I had gone to town on Friday evening and bought the items so we would not be delayed in arriving at the rally.

I was surprised to see that we were actually on schedule. The final item on the agenda was mass. Now the big problem, the priest was not there. In fact he was over an hour late. Finally the priest arrived and after about a half hour mass began. I was very impressed with the involvement of the students. The liturgical dancers having representatives from all schools escorted the priest as he entered. Mass ended at 5:20 instead of 3:40 as planned. The bad thing was that some schools had to leave early so they could make sure their students arrived home before dark.

I traveled with the girls back to Weaver Bird. They seemed to have a great experience. I learned they were very nervous singing for entertainment but felt good about their performance. That is a huge milestone for the group. But overall I think the day was a success in motivating the 500 plus students in their Christian faith.
 
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Valentine's Day

Yesterday there wasn't a single red or pink flower left on any plant in the compound of St. Monica's. Why? It was Valentine's Day. When I arrived for my 6:30 am class I was greeted with a bouquet of flowers on the teacher's table. Gazing out at the girls, they had flowers on their desks, in their hair or behind their ears. It made quite a sight. Instead of viewing a sea of faces above gray sweaters, there were splotches of reds scattered throughout the classroom. As I was teaching at one point I started laughing because it was such an unusual sight.

Sometimes during these warm afternoons if the lesson allows, I'll take my girls out to sit in the shade to hold class. Form IIs were having small group discussions. You can see that Rose is holding a small bouquet of flowers as they talk.

Most of the women teachers did wear red yesterday. It appears that Valentine's Day is starting to be celebrated by middle class Kenyans. The newspapers are full of advertisements for Valentine's Day gifts, but our fellow teachers don't celebrate it like we do. I'm guessing it is because they don't have discretionary income. This year with an inflation rate of 20% many people are struggling to feed their families and afford school fees.

Form Is Reporting to School

Friday was the big day for the incoming Form Is (freshmen). The secondary school that students attend is determined not by the area in which their parents reside but by the scores they obtain on the Kenya Comprehensive Primary Examination taken in November. These scores are printed for everyone in the nation to see in the newspapers. The top scorers are selected to attend national school that are the best in the country. They are the cream-of-the-crop students that get to attend the most fully furnished schools in the country with huge libraries, science labs, computer centers, etc. Many of these national school are private schools. This year there are 96 national schools that will be able to take 10,500 students.

Once the top 10,500 students are assigned to their secondary school, the next level of students are selected to attend provincial schools like St. Anthony's and St. Monica's. Instead of scoring 400+ points on the KCPE these students score between 320 and 400 points. These days selection is done by computers. Our principal and three teachers went to a meeting two weeks ago to receive the list of 179 girls invited to attend St. Monica's. In order to meet new requirements, 30% of the students must come from outside the geographical area of the school. The idea behind this requirement is to mix the populations, to introduce students to people outside of their tribe and ethnic group, to help build cohesiveness between Kenyan people.

Friday was reporting day for the Form Is. The older students were in class but the teachers were all helping with the new students. The received a letter of invitation from our school. Within that letter were the official documents needed to enroll from the school, a list of required supplies and other important information including school fees. This year the fees for St. Monica's was slightly over $500. In addition each girl needed to bring a trunk of her belongings including a mattress, bedding, bucket for washing, plate, spoon, cup, toilet paper, soap, personal hygiene items, socks, a dictionary, atlas, etc. These supplies probably cost about another $150.

When they arrived on campus the first person they had to see was Mr. Oduri. He had the unpleasant task of confirming that their fees were paid. Of the $500 fees required they must have paid $450. If not, they were not allowed to stay or enter school. It was so heartbreaking to watch families leaving because they didn't have enough money. We will hold the spots for these girls until Monday morning. If their families are able to raise the money by then they will still be able to come to St. Monica's. If not, their position will be given to another girl. I understand there are over 400 names on a waiting list of girls hoping yet to be allowed admission to St. Monica's. Their only chance is if some of these 179 girls on the original list aren't able to attend.

There will be a long line of people at school tomorrow. I sure hope several of them are those that were turned away on Friday. I can't imagine how humiliated I would be if I wasn't able to financially afford to send my daughter to a good school.

Nigerian Christmas 2011

Many people have asked us if we enjoyed our Christmas. Our answer has always been, "Any time you get to spend with your children is wonderful!"

We traveled to Nigeria on December 18th in order to celebrate Christmas with Katrina. We were able to stay for two weeks and began our return trip to Kenya on December 29th.

While we were there the University of Jos was on strike but we were still able to meet several colleagues of Katrina's. We attended a faculty prayer meeting, were invited over to two homes for lunch, and had several visitors drop by the house to meet us.

Although we didn't get to see Katrina in action teaching , we did observe her working with YACPIF (Young Ambassadors for Community Peace and Interfaith

Foundation) members. The Christian youth wanted to host a Christmas party for their Muslim friends. We were able to observe the planning and successful celebration of about 50 young men brought together in mutual respect and understanding of one another's religion. Weekly they watch a movie that focuses on the effects of violence in order to learn how to help bring about peace. The week we were there they watched Blood Diamonds. The discussion that followed was excellent as they realized that those that were committing the violent acts were being used by others and they weren't gaining anything. John participated in a weekly computer training class that along with their other activities is half Christian and half Muslim. Here is a link to the YACPIF website for more information.

We celebrated Christmas with the McCain family. Although we weren't able to be physically with Andrea and Melissa, we skyped and had our annual Christmas family photo taken! Several days later their package arrived and we enjoyed opening packages a second time.

For more photos, click here.

Songs

Music is such an important part of African culture. Their lives are permeated with music and dancing much more than even the teenagers and young adults in our country. I’m guessing it is part due to the fact that oral traditions have been a such a huge part of their cultures for centuries long before the written word was ever introduced.

One portion of Kenyan literature is the study of songs. Not only are songs sung as music, but they are often integrated as part of their daily life, even within their stories. This past week we talked about songs as a genre in my Form IV (senior) class. It was probably the most enjoyable lessons we have had the past two years! We would discuss characteristics of each category, take notes, I’d sing them a song from our culture if I could come up with one, and they’d sing songs from their cultures. One of the joys of working in Kenya is watching them burst forth in song, singing, swaying, creating rhythm with whatever they have at hand and dancing. It is beautiful. They have such grace, rhythm, elegance.

When you stop to think about it, we probably have songs in some of the same categories but we don’t use them as a part of our daily lives. I was able to think of songs from the States in several of the categories: lullabies, work songs, sacred songs, love songs, singing games, learning songs. Those were easy: “Hush Little Baby”, “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”, “How Great Thou Art”, “A Tisket, A Tasket”, “The Alphabet Song”. I told them I was too old to remember any love songs and had to look up the words to “Annie’s Song”. You’d think you’d be able to remember a song sung at your wedding! Categories I couldn’t come up with examples for include birth songs, child naming songs, wedding songs, praise songs, political songs, war songs, dirges, and initiation songs. They sure didn’t have any trouble coming up with examples!

I was amazed at a couple of similarities. For example in the lullaby category, just as in “Hush Little Baby”, many of their lullabies also promised the baby that a parent would bring them many things. They sang “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” as a sacred song. Did it originate in America as I had originally thought or in Africa? Who influenced who? According to Goggle it started in the US but who really knows?

St. Mary's Mission Hospital - Rift Valley

The shores of Lake Elmenteita is where you will find St. Mary’s Mission Hospital - Rift Valley run by a Maryknoll priest and doctor Fr. Bill Fryda. It is a beautiful setting with the lake framed by extinct volcanoes on one side and the escarpment of the Rift Valley on the other.

Lake Elementeita is a soda lake famous for flamingos and pelicans. It has no outlet so only tilapia fish are able to survive in its salty water. During the dry season when the water level falls, people “harvest” the minerals from the shore to sell to livestock owners for salt licks. It is a beautiful place. We wish we had brought along our binoculars. We could see patches of pink in the distance, but weren’t close enough to be able to see the birds.

The guest house.
We spent two nights there while I had a medical test. They have a guest house where people can stay while seeking medical treatment yet don’t need to be hospitalized. As we were checking in we were asking about the lake so they gave us a room on the second floor lakeside so we could view the lake from our window.

The mission hospital is extremely impressive. It’s only four years old. Fr. Bill Fryda is not only a Maryknoll priest but also a doctor. This is the second hospital he has established during his time in Kenya. His hospitals treat patients at cost in the Nakuru and Rift Valley area. In order to attract doctors and other medical personnel away from the big city comforts, the staff is provided housing for their families on the hospital grounds. Another amenity is a club house and a swimming pool for relaxation.

The women's ward.

We had a chance to meet Fr. Bill the first evening we were there. He was riding in his golf cart with his adopted granddaughter back to his house. We had a nice chat and he explained a little more about his work. His first hospital was built in Kiberia, the largest slum in Nairobi. (See our blog dated ********.) Once that hospital was running well, he felt called to open another hospital to help the poor in a rural area. Both hospitals are called St. Mary’s Mission Hospital.

Not only has he started the two hospitals, he opened a secondary school three years ago on the hospital grounds in Kibera, St. Mary’s School. The majority of the students in this school are bright street children who have been able to stay away from drugs, alcohol, sniffing glue and other vices so easily available to those who have no parents to guide them. They are on scholarship. During the month of December these students have no home to return to. So they go to St. Mary’s Mission Hospital – Rift Valley for the month where they are provided with housing, meals, meaningful work, free time and a beautiful setting away from the slum and streets. During the morning, they volunteer in the hospital. In the afternoons they enjoy free time including access to the swimming pool. Fr. Frieda laughed explaining they built the swimming pool before the chapel. Therefore they call themselves the church of the splashing water. The chapel is now under construction.

The day that we arrived was also the day that the 60 students from St. Mary’s School - Kibera also arrived. They stay in 8-man tents located on the hospital grounds. One of them, Kennedy, helped us check-in to the guest house. He later took us down to the pavilion near the lake so we could get a closer look. He was very articulate and a pleasure to chat with. Both evenings we watched a football (soccer) match between some of the staff and the high school boys. Some things are universal! What an opportunity for these young people and how lucky they are to be admitted to St. Mary’s School.

Confirmation of St, Anthony's Students

Since June, I (John) have been working with boys on Thursday afternoons after class

who wanted to join the Catholic Church. The boys also had another session after church on Sunday mornings with another teacher. During October and November they also met with a nun on Tuesday afternoons. I had decided between the Sunday lessons plus a daily CRE (Christian Religious Education) lesson in school that I would use my time on a more practical approach than theology. Besides, most Kenyans probably know the Scriptures better than I do. So, I used most of my time on what it means to be a Christian in daily life.

You have to realize Kenyan culture is very different from American culture. First, having open discussions with students is not a common thing here. Instruction is basically lecture or giving answers back to the teacher straight from the book. So it took awhile for most of the boys to feel comfortable participating in a discussion. One discussion was about taking an item like a pen from someone without asking and then keeping it. Another discussion is how to deal with a friend who does thiefs (steals) from you. I showed the boys how to pray the rosary. I made a copy of my favorite prayers and gave to them. Somehow I miscounted the number of boys and did not have enough. The next day I had a couple of boys who did not get their own copy of the prayers ask me for theirs. Many times I felt my time with the boys gave me more insight into the Kenyan youth culture.

November 12, thirty-seven St. Anthony boys were baptized and confirmed into the

Catholic Church. Another school, Manor House, was also having a group being baptized and confirmed. Since many of the boys’ parents do not live near, there were few relatives attending the ceremony. I was privileged to be the godfather to 2 boys and sponsored 4 boys who were confirmed. After the ceremony we had a group picture of all our boys, sponsors and relatives in attendance.

We had refreshments consisting of a soda and what you would know as a dinner roll afterwards. I gave each of the boys a rosary as a gift to welcome them into the faith. One interesting note to this is that you will see people wearing rosaries as a necklace. The next morning as Cindy and I attended Mass at St. Anthonys we could tell who was baptized the day before by who was wearing their new green rosary.

Recessional led by the liturgical dancers.