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.

progress at Gentle Bells

My parents and a friend came to visit this past week.  My dad learned from his last trip that traveling to Kenya for a weekend is not the brightest of ideas, so they were here about six days.  It is always great to have folks from the US visit, and of course, having my parents here is extra special, and I'm so glad they could come!  But they weren't here just to see me. They were coming to check on the progress of Gentle Bells, the school down in the valley that they've been supporting for the past two years.

The school has vastly improved in the last two years.  It has gone from small, mbati (tin) building on a teeny plot of land to a 5-classroom stone building on 5 1/2 acres of land!  There's still work to be done - beginning a "shamba" (garden) so the school can grow its own food, and making a proper soccer field, etc. Still, this is a vast improvement.

Forgive all the pictures. It was hard to choose just a few.

 new school

 admin building

 in a classroom 

 They must have known I was coming: teaching about proper care of teeth and seeing a dentist!

 Since the area is so poor, the school provides lunch to all students every day

 it is hard not to fall in love with these faces

 boys will be boys: lunchtime soccer game!

football at the foot of Mt. Longonot what could be better?

It is pretty exciting to be a small part of the changes of this school.  We have come from so far and still have vision on going further in time.  We can clearly see how God has provided for the expansion of the school. As usual, His hand is on everything.  This year, 150+ children are enrolled in the school, which means that they're getting a solid education and two meals a day.

Come visit sometime!

construction

While living in the UAE I discovered something new about myself.  I really like watching the progress of construction.  There was a housing unit going up when I moved there, and after I got married, we were supposed to move there in three months.  I was weekly going to the house to see if there were any significant changes.  Of course, not much typically changes in a week, and there were a lot of problems with this project and it was significantly delayed. In fact, we never got to move in as it finished just as we were leaving the UAE.

Fortunately, the CURE hospital has many projects going up here in Kijabe, so I get to watch the changes!  But even more fun than that, we are supporting a school down in the valley, and a new 5-classroom building is going up.  And thankfully the progress so far is much smoother and faster!

A current classroom:

The new rooms on August 13, 2010 (with Mt. Longonot looking on):

 

And on September 4, 2010:

As you can see, big changes!  Construction on this building should be finished by the 15th, then they'll move on to some other projects.  Many more stories and photos of this special school will come.  In the meantime, check out the website for Gentle Bells.