Gentle Bells update

It has been a while since I've mentioned Gentle Bells. Two years ago, so it is definitely time!  Fortunately, my dad and his friends Craig, Dick and Mark were in Kenya earlier this month and they were able to get all the details. 

In short:  the school is doing really well!  The gardens - which are always a challenge to cultivate because of poor rains - are doing well, thanks to some training the teachers have had through an organization based in Kijabe; there are several water tanks to capture what rains do come; the preschool, which had stayed on the old property has now been relocated to the 'new' 5-plot, and so much more. 

I'll let the pictures, courtesy and copyright of Mark Gadue do the talking, and fill in where necessary...

In Kenya, the flag must be raised ceremoniously every Friday. This includes the children singing the national anthem.

Children, water tanks, Mt. Longonot.  A place like Mt. Longonot can really never have too many water tanks, especially now that there is a thriving garden (beans, maize, potatoes, kale, etc).  I know that new and bigger tanks are always on Esther's wish list.

The feeding program, which includes a breakfast of porridge and a lunch of beans and rice every day, is going well.  By feeding the students, they are more likely to come to class, and are better able to concentrate during the day.

The biggest development for Gentle Bells is the partnership we've made with the One Laptop Per Child organization.  They build very simple or basic computers that almost look comical, or like a big video game.  This is ideal in a place where security is such an issue.  These computers, which are hugely beneficial to the students because they have regular programs like Word and Excel on them, are not very appealing to the 'thugs'.  Getting a collection of these laptops and memory cards for the students was Dick's personal project, and it was a huge success!

Dick, delivering the computers to Esther.

In no time at all, the students were masters of these computers.

Algebra. Ugh.  I guess everyone needs to learn it...

Mark, the designated photographer took well over 1000 photos on their week-long trip, so I could be back with more information in the weeks to come.  This has only scratched the surface, really.  In addition to supporting Gentle Bells, the Kijabe Children's Education Fund (the board) is now supporting a school the two largest slums of Nairobi, Kibera and Mathare.  There's one other school that they're connected to as well.

We are in the painstakingly slow process of updating and changing the website, but in the meantime, check it out! And let's hope it isn't another two years before I'm back with an update.