Arthur Dobrin's diary 2009
In June 2005 we visited Sema Academy. When we first saw the school in 2000, it was just the beginnings of a building with about 30 children. Today there are four wings, three stories each, a boys' dormitory and a partially completed girls' dormitory. There are 400 pupils, from pre-kindergarten to seventh grade.
Here is a brief diary of our trip:
Tuesday
Tom and Emily Maranga meet us in Nairobi. They are two of Maranga and Hellen's grown children. They drive us to Kisii, a five- hour trip that takes us across the Rift Valley, through tea estates and into one of the most densely populated rural areas in the world.
The Marangas have invited all thirteen teachers to dinner at their home. We sit in their living room discussing all sorts of things, from education to politics to the weather in America.
Wednesday
The school is about ten miles from the Maranga farm. We arrive just after nine. Some children have been waiting for us in front of the building. They run off to the field to tell others.
The younger children are playing circle games in the field next to the school. They continue as we say hello to the teachers. In a short while, they join the older children in the school and we visit each of the classrooms, to meet the children and to observe the classes.
Every bench is full and every classroom is filled beyond capacity. The children are shy, speak softly and are somewhat intimidated by the visitors. And our American accented English a bit hard for them to understand. But there is no doubt that they want to be here and that they are eager, even earnest learners. There is no discipline problem here.
Lunch is served across the road. Greens and maize meal is cooked there. A few children eat indoors in a small dining room. Most take their bowls on their laps and sit outdoors. We are shown the dormitories and the site of the proposed secondary school.
Dr. Maranga talks to us about the difficulties of running the school. Most parents are poor and can't afford the tuition. (Our fund-raising provides about 60 full-scholarships.) About 10% of the children are AIDS orphans. As if to prove the points, a neighbor walks by and stops to talk. She is a nurse who recently lost her job at a nearby hospital because they reduced the number of staff. Her son qualified for the university but there is no money for him to go. Just moments later a young man stops us and wants our advice. There is an AIDS screening van in the area (run by a Peace Corps volunteer) and he is afraid to get tested. He doesn't want to receive a death sentence, a likely possibility as 17% of the population between 20-45 in this area is infected. We advise him to take the test.
We spend more time visiting classrooms and talking to children. Everyone is eager to have her or his (girls outnumber boys about 2 to 1) photo taken with the digital camera. It is a great icebreaker. Now there is touching and laughing.
It starts to rain and we take shelter under the overhang. Classes are finished. Lyn is teaching new songs - The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round and a Swahili song about a bumble bee) to the teachers of the youngest children. Some pupils join in.
Thursday
We leave the area to visit friends who live west of Kisii town.
|
| Hellen and Japhet Maranga wave farewell to their long-time friends Arthur and Lyn Dobrin as the Dobrins head off for Nairobi |
We return to the school for a few hours. Most students walk to school or take a small bus so there are fewer children there on the weekend. But some board. A group of girls take Lyn's hands and insist on walking with her to the shops up the road. Other children want to show me their classroom. These are the oldest children in the school. They insist I teach them a lesson. I give them questions about geography a la a quiz show. They love it; we love it. It is a terrific couple of hours.
We spend the night with Hellen and Japhet Maranga discussing the school's future needs. We create a list of projects and create priorities. We discuss the costs of each and how we might be able to raise the money.
Monday
Tom is driving us back to Nairobi, but first we stop at the school for a final farewell. Everyone is assembled in the courtyard. A little speech is made about us and we say good-bye to all.
Eylan Schulman's diary 2009
under construction
