Simenya
Simenya had an excellent year. In November 2008, Laura Smith set up a computer lab in the Primary School. The purpose of the computer lab was to encourage communication between the Simenya teachers and students and the Newfield teachers and students. Linda Poppleton set up a private social networking site for the project. In Kenya, we are starting with square one with computer skills though. It was the first time that the Headmaster of the school had used a computer!
We have a long way to go with computer training so that using the social network is possible, but we are well on our way! During the year, students and teachers have started learning typing skills as well as using the educational games for learning. Hopefully, the social networking site will be in full swing during 2010.
The garden in Simenya also had a great year. For the first planting season, students and teachers planted maize, tomatoes, onions and many traditional green vegetables on a small plot at the school. Poor soil resulted in a poor maize harvest, many of the local vegetables did quite well. In May, 2009 Laura Smith visited Simenya and helped develop plans for the next growing season. With support from Growing Hope Together, the garden was expanded an additional acre on land donated from Samm Rabette an elder in the village. During the summer months, the land was cleared and fence was constructed to protect the garden from small and large animals. In December, the maize was harvested. Due to soil improvements and decent rain, the maize harvest was excellent.
While Laura was in East Africa during the summer, she was able to visit the project several times. During one of the visits, she toured each classroom and met with students. When asked what they wanted Laura to tell President Obama, children shouted “We want shoes and books!”
Food produced on the school garden plot will be invaluable to improving the nutrition of the children, but it is only a first step for many of these children. We hope that the Growing Hope Together project can continue to expand to increase agricultural education, cultural interaction and improved nutrition and livelihoods in the communities in which we work.