Build a school in a deprived area of Mombasa

What an exciting trip to Kenya where the ground floor of our school has been completed. Such beautiful toilets and kitchen. Taps with water coming out of them, separate toilets for our older girls and the building looking absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much to those of you who donated towards this. I only wish you could see what has been achieved and realise what a difference you are making to the people in Kenya.

I would have written about it before but a nasty Kenyan mosquito gave me chikungunya which is affecting my hands and feet quite badly. My brain is OK though so everything will continue as usual, just a little more slowly. Could take 6 months to recover apparently.

The initial illness is very painful but a video made by Irene the headteacher periodically put a smile on my face. Donors have been supporting Halima a little girl with severe cerebral palsy. She lives close to the school and her two sisters attend Miche Bora. 18 months ago she could not sit unaided and now, she can walk! She is going to a special school for children with cerebral palsy and they have done a wonderful job with her. 

In fact we had good news about the other children who have donors supporting them at a special school. Our deaf children are all doing well and Hope, the eldest of these, is doing so well that the headteacher has said that she has no doubt that she will get into the National school for the deaf. This is the highest level of secondary school in Kenya.

Of course it is what goes on in a school that matters and our latest volunteer was just great. Charlie had decided to take a year out and do the things on her bucket list. One of these was to support a charity. We were a perfect match. She did lots of research and found us. We are very fussy and took her. The teachers thought she was wonderful and they were right. She was working with the teachers in upper school, children aged 11 - 14 helping the teachers and children with English. And the best thing is that she was equally impressed with our school and the teachers. She has made a real difference and the teachers really miss her. Amazingly she is still supporting them through WhatsApp. 'We only want another volunteer if she is like Charlie' they told me. So if there are any teachers out there who would like to volunteer, please do. 

The clinic in the new school is looking great too. We have appointed an assistant nurse to work both in the school and in the community. Such a lot of clinics have sprung up in the community but what they do not do is preventative nursing in the community. The prevalence of 'old wives tales' is huge. Even intelligent, educated people believe incredible things. At least they are incredible to us. 

The school is now complete. We have 275 children, the complete age range and are fully staffed with fantastic teachers. Now we 'just' need to build the upper floor. It would be so lovely to have all the children under one roof and it would enormously cut down on our monthly outgoings. We have great contractors ready and waiting for when we have the funding. Let's hope this is the year. 

Links:

• Mustard Seed Project Website

We took out 50 pairs of shoes for our children in October. A whole suitcase full! Not enough for everyone of course but it will certainly help. Northborough Primary School donated their school shoes at the end of term and went home in their trainers. If you saw the state of the shoes the children at our school in Kenya are wearing you would know why they could not access the so called 'free' primary education in Kenya. Free education is only available, in classes of 100, if you can afford shoes, uniform, stationary, afternoon tuition and exams! 

In fact we have just got back from an extremely fruitful visit to Kenya despite four public holiday (three as the result of the election) and unseasonable torrential rain non-stop for seven days. School had to close early because of the election but this meant that I had six days of in-service training with the teachers including some planning time. 

Many of us know the situation, you go to a really good training course with lots of ideas you are going to put into practice and then you get back to work and events overtake you. Having six days gave people the time to immediately think about how they were going to put all these things into practice. One day following a training day on planning, Irene (headteacher) was so thrilled when she came to tell me, 'That was such a good training session. I have been trying to encourage Amos to plan like that but he felt he couldn't and he just told me that he understands now and thinks he'll be able to do it.' Such a lovely feeling knowing that people are appreciating and acting on your advice. Mind you I only have to see what professional teachers they have all become and how hard they work to know that. 

The other great thing was the teacher's I.T. skills. When I left in March I said that I would not get internet access for them until their computer skills were better. Many of them could use a smart phone already but a laptop has a lot more to offer than the internet! If you ever wanted to see which worked best, carrot or stick, this was a prime example. Collins, our secretary had been giving lessons and the difference was amazing. They now have a mobile router.

One of the nicest things to happen was being able to tell parents that we had a sponsor for their child. Some were completely overwhelmed as they had been so worried about how they would manage to find the fees. It was really heart-breaking to see them. It is hard for us to imagine what it must feel like to have to choose between food and education and then sometimes not having the money for either. For some, like Johnny who is profoundly deaf, getting the specialised education he needs was only a wild dream for the parents. They were just so elated. 

The school year has ended in Kenya. In January we shall have standard 8 who will be taking their KCPE exams which determine which school they will be able to go to if they have the money. More importantly we need to complete the ground floor of our school building before they start school in January, comprising the toilet block and the kitchen. We have some of the funding, the builders are on stand-by and hopefully we shall manage to raise the remaining money as the result of the Big Give Christmas Campaign at the end of November with £4,000 for matched funding. The £8,000 will enable us to reach another milestone! Not sure how we shall build the next floor though. I suspect it will be difficult to do so one room at a time!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has made all this possible. Whoever would have believed when we started our school with just 17 children eight years ago that we would be where we are now with 275 children, 12 teachers and ancillary workers all achieving such amazing results and it's all thanks to you. So very much appreciated by all at Mustard Seed.