The Friends of Kinyambu is a project in support of the school and village of Kinyambu in Kenya. The project has two parts:
1) Friends of Kinyambu, will provide regular support funds to the school to purchase resources and
2) The Kinyambu Primary School Library project, working with Cardinal Leger School in Saskatoon, is raising money to build a library.
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Sunday, December 15, 2013

Kinyambu Visit 2013

Wow, it's been a year since I posted.  The first part of the year was quiet while a new head teacher settled in.  Then in fall things began to move.  I spent November in Kenya and Tanzania so I'm just back with lots of news and photos.

After much delay the library building has begun.  Cardinal Leger School parents, teachers and students can feel very proud of their accomplishment.  I've posted photos of the construction process.

After a week spent in western Kenya I met George Bunz, Henry Spenrath and Norm Duerr, the monitoring team from Rainbow of Hope in Nairobi on Nov. 13.  We spent time in Nairobi and then headed east to enjoy some time at Tsavo East and West game parks on the weekend and touring various schools.  Finally on Nov. 19 we were able to visit Kinyambu Primary school.  It was the end of the school year in Kenya and the students were writing exams and finalizing their year so visiting was more complex than usual.

In nearby Kibwezi we meet the District Educational Officer and picked up Mr.Mbithi, public works officer and a construction supervisor for the Ministry of Education and headed to the school. Piles of construction materials were on site, there was a deep trench for the foundation, and workers were tying rebar.  Walls are of stone and will be covered with a final layer of smooth stucco.  Simon sent photos as the walls rose up after we left.

After we looked at the library site we had a meeting with the parents and the head teacher along with some other teachers and Mr. Mbithi from the district office. We presented a suitcase full of gifts, pencils, markers, a laptop and balls among other things thanks to Cardinal Leger School parents and students.  

I took some time, with a translator, to tell them the story of how I came to Kinyambu and how the project began.  I reiterated that there would be money to finish the fence as soon as the library was done.  I also stressed the need for their volunteer labour and explained that the parents and children of Cardinal Leger school had put their volunteer labour into raising the money.  I read a bit of the letter that my niece Jenna wrote too so they could see the importance of the letters exchange.  The school, including the headmaster, agreed to continue the letter writing and the parents were supportive.  

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There is no substitute for an on site visit.   If anyone is interested in going to Kenya and visiting the project just let me know.  You will be treated well and have a trip you won't forget!  I hope to encourage some teachers to visit within the next year or so so let me know.  You can do some teaching there, bring some Canadian school ideas to them and learn a lot.  We can also use some help from teacher librarians to set up the library and resource centre.