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Another great visit

 A group of nine just returned from another rewarding trip to Kisima.  We brought shoes and socks, clothes, toothbrushes, Frisbees, jump ropes, soccer balls, and school supplies.  Each child got to pick out a pair of shoes, an item of clothing, socks, and a toothbrush.  Lots of happy faces!  It was wonderful to see the kids happy, healthy, and thriving. 

Plantings

The high school students planted a row of flowering bushes between the boys and the girls dorms.  They had a great time doing it and learned a few things about gardening along the way.

April news

 

It's always exciting when a new calf is born at Kisima.  Charlie (Charlene? Charlotte?), gave birth to Grace recently.  Feed has been very scarce during the dry season. There has been nothing to graze on and Martin has had to drive 17 miles into Kitale to buy what feed was available. Thank God the rains have come and things are growing again.

April is a holiday month for Kenyan students and the high school students have been home at Kisima.  They've been making good use of the time--working with computers, helping the Kisima students with computers, meeting with recent high school graduates, and being tutored by secondary school teachers. 

April rains

The hot, dry, dusty summer is over and the long rains came on schedule.  The landscape is green again.  Hopefully favorable growing conditions will continue and the harvest will be good.  April is one of the three months students are off school and the high schoolers are back at Kisima sharing their experiences.

Laura Anne and Jamie arrived home recently from spending over three weeks at Kisima.  I look forward to hearing about their trip!

Under a mango tree

I like this photo of Class 8 studying under a mango tree.

Graduates heading to secondary schools

Most of the secondary school admission letters have arrived for Kisima's first graduates. The schools have always based their admissions on the national exams that Class 8 students take in November.  This year the government changed the procedure but the top 10% of students nationally score above 360; at Kisima 42% scored above 360--a testament to good leadership, hard-working kids and dedicated teachers!  So far the kids are going to 12 different schools--what a logistics challenge to get 20 kids equipped and delivered to so many different places!  The orphans had sponsors at Kisima who are continuing to sponsor them through secondary school. 

New mosquito nets and a new well

There are new mosquito nets...

 

and a new well.  Having enough water has been a problem at Kisima.  The first hand-dug well was adequate when there were only about 100 students but there are now 298 students plus the staff.  A 100-liter water catchment tank was added some time ago that helped but of course not during dry periods.  One of the next projects is to pipe water to the kitchen and showers.  Currently water has to be carried.

Celebration

 On Sunday the entire school plus some local government representatives celebrated the first Class 8 and their fine showing in the national exam.  They started off by gathering in the dining hall for prayers and a sermon by a local pastor.  Then they joyfully set out down the road joined by some community members and motorcyclists. The exam results were announced a couple of weeks ago and the secondary school selection will start January 20.  The Class 8 students must be anxiously waiting to hear where they will be going.