Hamjambo,
Life has been absolutely crazy the last five days. While at Wema, we have been working around the clock to finish all of our goals before leaving. I am so excited that my sister Carrie has generously donated her old laptop to Wema and Highway Academy. When I announced the news on Friday, Teresa and Stephen screamed with joy. They are the first to recognize that they cannot accomplish their goals they want to institute without contact with the outside world. Now they can access email to communicate with NGOs and donors (as well as us in America). A computer allows the teachers and students at Highway Academy to have access to academic information found on the internet. Even though the laptop will do a world of good, most students will not have access to it because we are afraid of it being overused and damaged. Stephen and Teresa hope to use some money they receive from organizations and donors to establish a computer lab for students. We would love to start a laptop drive when we arrive back home to collect used laptops.
Another piece of exciting news is that with the help of Mrs. Ordway at Rye Country Day, we are instituting a pen pal program between her twelfth grade English students and students in the highest two classes at Wema. I believe this will be a great learning experience for all the students. I hope the students will be able to discuss their academic interests in a formal setting, as well as get a truly global perspective on their education, daily life, and their future goals. Preparing for this has been a challenge because none of the students has ever used a computer as of yesterday. We’ve been holding around-the-clock computer courses teaching the students how to use internet and email. Tonight, each student in the program was able to turn on the computer, go online, and send an email with the account we have established. All of the teachers at Highway Academy are thrilled about the program, and many have sat in the classes to learn how to use a computer too.
We have spent a large amount of time in meetings with Teresa and Stephen discussing our roles going forward and how to deal with contacting organizations and receiving funding. They have been absolutely amazing to deal with. They are the most eager computer learners and have made great progress, as we’ll communicate with them daily when we’re back in the US. We have all the information we need for the website so we will work with computer experts in Cambridge to design it. We will apply to US NGOs, and they will apply to foreign ones. Teresa and Stephen realize that corruption is widespread among African charities, and they are worried about American benefactors and organizations being afraid to donate. We have extensively gone through possible options of how they can receive donations and how they should document their uses. Today, I traveled into Bungoma with Teresa and Stephen to discuss Wema’s account at the local bank. Wema is established as a Community Based Organization, and we are trying to decide whether people should donate directly to it through its bank; to an organization we establish at Harvard, which would then write grants to it (for tax purposes); or to it through us. Teresa and Stephen are very good at documenting all their expenditures, and they will contact the Kenyan government sector in charge of foreign charity donations when we leave because they want to be as transparent as possible. We have been trying to decide what percentage of general funds raised should be used for short term expenses like the orphans’ basic needs and education, a new well, a computer lab, and more teachers and caretakers, and what percentage should be placed towards their capital fund for new living facilities for the children because their current ones are inadequate, and the government has requested that they build ones completely separate from the school as soon as possible.
Teaching provides a nice break from worrying about these problems. I love spending my mornings with the students. They are enthusiastic about learning and constantly remind me why I so strongly care and believe in Wema and Highway Academy. Many of the students have said they never enjoyed math before I taught them, and every evening I receive at least a dozen requests asking if I will teach them tomorrow (it’s impossible to say no to them). My hope is that these students will stay encouraged in school, attend a university, and remain connected to the community after. This will allow all of Teresa’s and Stephen’s hard work now to benefit the community for years to come.
Last weekend, we encountered quite a few scary situations when we took a short trip to Jinja, Uganda to see the mouth of the Nile (we took a boat trip and walked along many of the lower falls). The boarder is full of sketchy, corrupt people. When we traveled back from Kisumu to Wema last weekend, our driver ran out of fuel, stranding us in the van on the side of the road as it turned dark while huge speeding trucks passed by on the narrow two lane road. We thought it would be safer to travel this weekend in a public van that runs from Kisumu to Bungoma. We were incorrect. The van was pulled over by police for having improper registration. During this ordeal, it turned dark. When the driver got back into the van, he sped off at an ungodly speed that wasn’t meant for a lit six-lane highway, let alone an unlit two-way curvy road. We demanded the driver slow down. He refused. We demanded he pull over at the next sign of civilization, which unfortunately was not between us and Bungoma. I pretended to become violently ill to slow down the car, and this, along with huge potholes in the road, had a minimal, but noticeable effect. I have never prayed so hard and thought I was so close to death. Almost every adult in the village knows someone who has died in a car accident in Kenya, and a close family friend of Teresa and Stephen recently died. Road safety should be a top priority for the government in Kenya, but thank god for potholes! It was a great moment when we finally arrived back to Wema Sunday night, and we were greeted by a mob of cheering students giving us hugs.
On the comedic side of things, I received my most marriage proposals to date yesterday: three. Meredith and I now have to leave right at sunrise for our runs to avoid having to shake hands and greet people every few steps we take (we now only have to do it every few yards). We’re now reaching about seven to eight miles a day so I should be in good enough shape for crew. I do not want to leave here, but I look forward to seeing many of you very soon. I’ll write my next blog Friday from Rye when I arrive home, and I’ll make sure to post many photos. I have given up posting photos here because it takes forever and eats up the credit.
Wako mwaminifu,
Alex
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