A Peek at the Lifestyles of Our Students
12/1/09
Rev. Jacob Guut with our students in Kapenguria
They eat three times a day, breakfast, lunch and supper. Students in Kapenguria, Nairobi and Nakuru get to school on foot. Kapenguria students walk 15 minutes to get to their school; Nairobi students have a ten minute walk; and Nakuru students must walk a good 35 minutes to get to school. This November the students have been taking their end of term exams. The children participate in the 8-4-4 system of Kenya: (eight years of elementary, four years of high school, and four years of university.) Students learn to read, write and do mathematics. The school day lasts from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. When they get back home from school they change out of their uniforms and into their play clothes. Older children help with the younger ones, and they all participate in the family chores: cleaning house and washing utensils after meals. The children are responsible for polishing their shoes and washing their sox. When they’ve finished their work the girls like to skip rope, the boys like to play football (soccer, in the U.S.), and they all play hide-and-seek. The children are assigned homework, and in the evening they spend around one hour daily on study and revision. They get help with their home work from their guardians – and the older ones always assist the younger ones. At night some of the children sleep beneath mosquito nets – while others do not because nets have not yet been bought. Scientists have predicted that this is an El Nino year and heavy rains have already started. The last El Nino rains occurred in the country in 1997. But the rain now is too late for this year’s crops and livestock forage. Still, the rain is welcome because there has been devastating drought in the area. There has been a great shortage of water – even drinking water. Our students are glad for the rain.
submitted by Sandie Mueller, SYO Scholarship Director
