In summary: first half of the morning at Spurgeons teaching the smallest children ages 3 - 7.
then a bit of craft shopping from some of the ladies associated with Spurgeons Academy who make handicrafts; then a quick walk around Kibera before our final lunch at Kenyanito's home.
drive through Nairobi, including past the State House, and then up to stand on top of Kenya International Convention Centre - 2nd tallest building in Nairobi. supermarket stop, Java Coffee Lounge for one last time then back to Mayfield for dinner, packing and an evening with Kenyanito and Val.
Here are reflections from the team:
then a bit of craft shopping from some of the ladies associated with Spurgeons Academy who make handicrafts; then a quick walk around Kibera before our final lunch at Kenyanito's home.
drive through Nairobi, including past the State House, and then up to stand on top of Kenya International Convention Centre - 2nd tallest building in Nairobi. supermarket stop, Java Coffee Lounge for one last time then back to Mayfield for dinner, packing and an evening with Kenyanito and Val.
Here are reflections from the team:
Carey’s thoughts of the week: An amazing
week, full of differing emotions. It was
amazing to spend time with such beautiful happy children. It was a privilege to be with them, to share
our cultures, to give helpful advice and health education. Two highlights were spending time with the
school social worker, Rose, and helping her with first aid like fainting, pain,
illness, etc. She is an amazing woman
with such a kind heart working with the children and their families. The second highlight was visiting Elvina’s
home in the slum with Naomi. It was
deeply moving and thought provoking. I
have loved sharing the experience with my daughter, Naomi, this week; it has
brought us closer and will change our perspective on life as a family.
Chris’s thoughts of the week: A wonderful
week and very special in every way, with amazing people – our team, all at
Spurgeon’s, staff and pupils, and everyone I have met. Really enjoyed teaching with the different
ages; the children were well behaved, responsive, and had excellent reading
skills, and were just lovely. A real privilege
to be here; something I thought I would never do. To see the poverty at first hand in Kibera
has been very humbling, but seeing people with ready smiles and so friendly has
been very special. Visiting the sewing school with Mary was also great
fun. Special thanks to my teaching
partner Naomi! Helen has looked after us
so well and it has been lovely to be here with my two daughters.
Meena’s thoughts of the week: For years I
have wanted to come and help children in Africa, and it has finally
happened. It has been an amazing
experience in my life. I has been
wonderful spending time with Rose, the social worker, sharing ideas of social
work practices in London, doing a home visit in the slum, seeing how people
manage with such little space and resources.
Being with the children at the school has been a privilege; they were so
well behaved and the whole school staff were very welcoming, at it was great to
do the fun morning this morning with bubbles.
It’s been great being with the CRED team, and thank you for giving me
this opportunity.
Mary’s thoughts of the week: Scared to
begin with, sad to leave. I have had the
honour of working alongside a while group of inspiring women at the sewing school;
swapping cultures, laughing together, coming away feeling so privileged, blessed and encouraged. A beautiful dress – measured, cut and made by
Grace, the teacher – is a lovely, physical memory of my time here. It is humbling and heartbreaking to see how
people live and work out here: it hit me hard last time, and it hit me hard
this time. Really challenging lives, all
met with enormous courage and huge smiles.
A big thank you to Helen for putting together such a great team, and
having me, her ‘little sister’, on a trip with her again: it has been fabulous.
Jake’s thoughts of the week: I was shocked
about how different there environment was to ours. It was a great experience to
come to Kenya and work in Spurgeons academy also it was very fun to help out in
the baby class. I was shocked when we went into the slums and visited one of
the houses but it was a great thing to see and you don’t know how bad and small
their houses are.
Naomi’s thoughts of the week: It was a
pleasure working with the baby class and how well they worked, they all went
CRAZY for the bubbles they would shout and jump around just to pop the bubbles
which was really fun and how well they played. One of my highlights was
teaching and making new friends at the school! I think that the children really
enjoyed the lessons especially with the younger classes when we sung ‘If your
happy and you know it’ and I am HAPPY!
Gillian’s thoughts of the week: Coming to
Kenya and working at Spurgeons has been a truly amazing experience, and I am so
grateful for the opportunity to join the team. I have enjoyed working with the
teachers and Oscar, headteacher, and have been overwhelmed by their passion and
desire to improve the education of the youngsters at the school. I am really
pleased that I got the opportunity to help teach a couple of classes –
delightful children and so nice to see such happy faces. Walking through Kibera
is an experience I will never forget – the squalid conditions but at the same
time a real sense of community. Thanks to all the team for being such great
friends, and to Helen for organizing the trip and being such a great team
leader!
Ally’s thoughts of the week: I’ve been asked several times if this trip
has met my expectations – I don’t think I had any really as I didn’t know what
to expect! I was told by many before I
came that this would be a life changing experience and they were right. It’s very hard to describe how I feel right
now, I’ve seen and experienced life as it shouldn’t be, but I do feel blessed
to have shared this week with extraordinary people both within our team and
Spurgeons Academy. I am so sad to leave
it all behind, I will miss the beautiful children, the simplicity of life and
the red dust on my feet but equally can’t wait to see my family. One thing that strikes me about life in the
slums is the way family, faith and education are so highly valued – very
inspiring.
Helen’s thoughts of the week: this trip has
been very different to other CRED trips I’ve led to Kenya, because the focus
has been on training adults rather than carrying out an activity week for the
children. But this trip has been equally brilliant, with a great team doing
some amazing work, and in so doing blessing a number of staff who normally
don’t get the same level of input. It has been a privilege to lead this team
and to support them as they have all discovered the joys of Spurgeons Academy
alongside the complexities of life here in Kenya, and the impact these new
perspectives have on each of us.
Please note that we are all changed in some
ways as a result of what we have seen and done, so bear with us as we process
the myriad of experiences of the week, but thank you to all family members who
have allowed wives / mums / daughters / son / girl-friend to come on this trip, and may
the reunions be sweet for you all.
Blessings to you all J
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