Build a school in a deprived area of Mombasa

Normally when I write a report I am bursting with ideas, but health issues, now resolved, prevented us from making our Feb/March visit to the project so I thought I had nothing to tell. A lie of course. Such a lot of exciting things have happened.

Firstly the brickwork for the entire downstairs is now complete. Half of it still  needs finishing of course, the toilets, kitchen, a classroom and the office but at least we can imagine what it will look like.  We had a Skype call last week from the contractors. Two really nice guys who are incredibly honest and patient with us. Equally important is the quality of their workmanship.We feel really lucky to have found them. Herman has young children of his own and is very keen for them to come to our school. When I told him that he was too rich he said that I was being unfair to his children by not allowing them to have the quality of education the poor children were getting!

I think I mentioned in the last report that I was worried about financing the feeding programme for the next year, but that worry has now gone. A second charitable trust has met the shortfall and we now have the £12,000 we need for yet another year. It is always a worry but at least our children will get a healthy diet for another year.

Then there are the volunteers. Our teachers love to have volunteers from Europe in the school especially when we were unable to go out there ourselves. In April two young women from Germany went over for two weeks. I'm not sure who had most fun the children or the volunteers judging by the photographs. They did lots of creative stuff like making crowns and decorating them. Our children are getting a great education but craft resources cost the same in Kenya as they do in the UK and our money is generally spent on more basic things like books, salaries, food and water. Craft equipment would cost a much greater percentage of our running costs than it would in England.

And as I write, Alice is spending four weeks in Kenya. She has just finished training as a children's nurse and is doing her elective in our clinic. This was arranged several months ago but it was touch and go whether the clinic would be finished in time. Fortunately it was and so she is working with two experienced nurses and our children. So far one report has been sent back and she is clearly enjoying herself. She had worked in Ghana before which meant that it was not the culture shock it might have been otherwise. Normally our volunteers stay with Joyce who lives fairly close to Mgongeni but Alice chose to stay with Flora who is one of our nurses and really lovely. She actually lives much closer to the community. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Recently, I was talking to my nephew about the need to complete another classroom for January for a new intake of children. We don't need to raise a huge amount of money because of course the structure already exists but we do need to raise it urgently. 'No problem,' he said 'I'll get it for you.' So, he is cycling around the highlands of Scotland this week and asking people to sponsor him. So far he has raised half the £2,500 needed which is pretty good. Just keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the week.

I'm really excited about our October visit to Kenya as my children and their families are coming out too. Ostensibly it is to celebrate my 70th birthday but they will also be visiting the school and the community. My grandchildren will spend a day in the school and they are really looking forward to the experience.

Thanks to everyone for their support

Links:

• Mustard Seed Project Website

We have a beautiful clinic. It’s been a long time coming but what a difference it will make. Some years ago one of our parents died because she could not afford to visit a clinic for antibiotics. That will never happen again.

Sonal Lakhani climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money towards the clinic, and to furnish and resource a classroom and a staffroom including a couple of laptops and a projector. Such an amazing girl! She was so loved by our children when she came to visit. I was so impressed by the questions the older children asked her about her climb. So lovely she was able to visit when we were there.

Then we had a large donation from a charitable trust and from Rotary to enable us to complete phase two of our building including the pillars, the first floor slab, the office, the staffroom the cess pit and soak-away. No pictures of the completed rooms yet so I can't wait to go out to see it in February.

One thing that we were disappointed about last year was when two of our excellent teachers went for jobs in a government school. We could not blame them as the government pays higher salaries than we could afford however we were so delighted when they contacted us. Leah said, 'I have 109 children in my class and by the end of the day my voice has completely gone. The children at the back of the class do not listen to anything I say. I have spent a huge amount on throat tablets. Please can I come back?' Mwanajuma's story was similar. We know our school is making a difference to the opportunities for these poor children but it is so great to have it confirmed. How can anyone learn in those circumstances?

We did such a lot on our last visit but one of the highlights was getting hearing aids for John thanks to donors in the UK. John is our third deaf child but he is far more profoundly deaf than the other two. There was no look of joy on his face when they were fitted so we were all a little deflated. Then, three days later an excited mum came to say ‘He can hear! When motor cyclists or cars come past he mimics the sound and copies the actions’. Tears came to my eyes. He may not learn to speak, although he tries really hard, but at least this is a start.

We are so privileged to be able to do this work. The rewards are great. Of course we have anxieties too like the annual worry we shall soon have that we shall be able to continue to fund the feeding programme upon which these children rely. And will the next part of the building be funded in time for the following year’s intake. Then a donation arrives and we are elated. I suppose I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who supports us with whatever you have given. No donation is too small to make a difference.