A week full of great activities and fun at Red Rose School

The kids got a surprise treat of biscuit cookies and orange juice from Ken Okoth when he came to the Children of Kibera Drama and Music Festival in Nairobi. It was an ecstatic day for the children as most do not usually get such pleasant Red Rose surprises in their day to day lives. Some were even more happy with the way their tongues changed color when they drank the juice.

On Tuesday September 22nd, there was a three hour seminar held by Anna Barford, a graduate student from Sheffield University in the U.K. It was offered to teachers Rose, George and Christine who are in charge of the upper-primary classes. Anna is also doing her research on inequalities in Kenya.

On Thursday September 24th, we had two more visitors from America; Jackie from California and Joscelyn from Washington DC. They learnt about Red Rose School and Children of Kibera Foundation from their uncle in Washington DC who is Ken’s friend. Before coming to Red Rose, they had been working at an orphanage in Tanzania and also met Ken in Dar Es Salaam. Joscelyn and Jackie were given a brief tour of the school and they were impressed by its neatness and tidiness. They will be volunteering at Red Rose by giving some after school programs, teaching about health, leadership and life skills and also being more creative here. They are both trained social workers who graduated from New York University (NYU) in May 2009.

On Friday September 25th, we welcomed five new friends from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. They spent the afternoon interacting with the children, singing and playing. They even learnt some Swahili words from the children. Hannah, one of the visitors will be on her independent studies at Red Rose in November for four weeks. They left Red Rose a very happy and entertained lot.

Posting by Teacher Sylvia Akinyi (Nursery Class)

Red Rose Children Happy to be in School

Being the 3^rd week of the term, the children of Red Rose School are happy to be in school. They all like the school environment and like all meals brought before them.

“Its delicious”, one of the pre-Unit children like’s mentioning this whenever she taste’s her lunch time meal. She takes her time to enjoy every bite of the food she eats.

Red Rose Children have no serious problems when it comes to class work since they all know that the school is the best place for them.

“We get what we want here”. One child quoted this when he was playing with his friends. He meant they were provided by the basic needs of a child.

After school, most of them don’t like going back home. They reluctantly go home at different times. Most of them complain of too much work at home since most parents/ guardians are still out in search of their dinner and so they are assigned some duties i.e. fetch for water, clean utensils and wash clothes. These duties are too much for these children, the age of the Red Rose Children at present (2yrs – 12yrs), this is why they have never liked going back to their homes.

I highly thank the Children of Kibera Foundation and Red Rose friends who have turned Red Rose School into a small heaven for these needy children.

Thank you so much for your great support. You are their heroes!

2009 THIRD TERM SESSIONS BEGIN AT RED ROSE AT A HIGH NOTE

This term begins with a beehive of activities. Since it is the last term of the year, only the best is expected from each student to enable them secure a chance in the next grade. They all look set to work and most of them have already reported to school. Though this is the first week of the term, we have been priviledged to receive Anna Barford, a PhD student from the University of Sheffield who will be here to research on economic inequalities from 21st Sep 2009. She was told about Red Rose by Prof. Cecilia Nyamweru of St. Lawrence University.