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)