AN EGG, BANANA, AND HARD ROLL CHANGES LIVES AND BRINGS HOPE

kids at the free school in Bomani - see earlier posts.

Kids al received new shoes and were very excited. 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Today we were off to Vipingo, the red/maroon school to do the activity day.   When we youngest do activity days we break the kids into 2 groups.  The smallest three groups of kids and the biggest three groups of kids.  We have an outside large motor activity, a craft/inside activity, and a bible lesson activity.  The biggest kids act out the bible story in really fun ways. 

 Examples of large motor activities have been basketball, kickball, volleyball, baseball,  hip-i-t-hopes (balls you sit on a jump up and down on), sack races, ring toss, bowling.   This year we did a volleyball type of game I think.

I did the crafts and what we did this year and teach them about winter.  We read books about winter, had them hold ice to watch it melt, drank some hot coco, and cut out “snowflakes” with white paper and scissors. It was a real treat for them to use scissors as they do not have access to those types of things over there. We brought them to leave with them.  We take so much for granted here. They don’t have markers, scissors, crayons  or even paper and pens like we do here.

Then once the kids have been through every station, we serve the kids lunch. After lunch we get to sit around with the kids and play or talk or whatever for recess for a few hours.  This year, I hung out asking the standard 3 girls lots of questions.  Then had to say goodbye for another year.   Then we headed to Bomani just to say goodbye.

BOX LUNCHES

I think the most emotional part of the trip for me this trip was when we were handing out our boxed lunches out of our bus window as we drove through the village of Bomani.  Our hotel gives us boxed lunches which are not very exciting and we usually eat with the kids to get the full experience, so we hand out the boxes from the window of our bus to people that look like they need it, which is everyone in Kenya.  The most moving moment was when a woman came up to the bus and when we handed her the box, she started crying when receiving box lunch.  It looked as if she was so hungry and so desperate and this just changed her life.

There were two others that made a big impact on me too.  A little girl came up and got a box and her eyes were dancing.  She ran away saying thank you, thank you thank you.   Welcome. Welcome. Welcome she screamed.   She was so excited.  All that is in the boxed lunch is a hard roll, a boiled egg and a banana.   Then a little boy came running home to show his mom what he got and both her and the boy were so, so excited.