Sabbatical Day 26 (19 August)

Sabbatical Day 26 (19 August)

I sleep in! Woke early to the usual dawn chorus of cock competing as to who can crow the loudest to welcome the dawn, followed by the chirruping of other birds growing increasingly louder, then at 6 the drums marking the children beginning their morning devotions, and the occasional braying of donkeys. But I must have been fast asleep when my watch alarm went off at 7 and missed it and when I next looked at the watch it was just after 8. As I arrived for breakfast at 8.14 Stephen said he was giving it till 8.15 before he came to look for me.

Madam Melissa Matu, the Secondary School Principal drops in to talk over some things with Stephen. She doesn’t see that keen when Stephen suggests I might call with her later in the morning for her to show me round the school. We’ll see. A quick call to Lynda on the satellite phone before she goes to work and then I think about what to say at tonight’s meeting. Then write up the blog.

Take some photographs for a presentation on the Youth Camps Kasoni has to make sometime then go down to see the Principal. In fact she is keen to talk. She and Stephen are in the same league when it comes to talking and both have a very determined personalities.

We talk in the Principal’s House in the company of her children, Patience and Lemwel.

The house is very sparsely furnished. Melissa has a very clear Christian commitment and feels called to be in Tuum and bring the school up to where it should be. What follows in italics is what Melissa told me, again filtered through my brain!).

The school was built by PCEA with help from PCI including Stephen and has some of the best plant in Kenya. It was handed over to the Government who appoint and pay the teachers and the church has the status of a sponsor. There are many challenges. External ones include:

·         Competition from other schools which receive greater funding

·         Poor state funding due to low numbers

·         A poor reputation outside

·         A weak and divided Board of Governors and a lack of people of community standing on the board (a neighbouring school has a Provincial Deputy Governor on it and another an MP)

Internal ones include:

·         Damage to the plant

·         An infestation of snakes

·         Much of the grounds reverted to bush

·         A demoralised and apathetic staff

·         Theft by staff members

·         Ill-disciplined children

·         No school transport

·         A disconnected generator and several solar-powered batteries not working

·         Most of the girls don’t pay fees and some of those who were meant to didn’t and had to be sent home

In her first year she has been able to have much of the damage repaired, clear the bush, clamp down on theft, restore discipline. At one point the snakes went virtually overnight – she sees this as an answer to prayer. Although the challenges she faces are formidable she is not despondent. She has a vision for what can be done in the 4 years remaining here, and says that her faith is vital. She could not carry on without God.

She is in a process of replacing the teaching staff. Some of them actively hate the school, and she believes that when she has teachers who want to be there and who are not part of the previous set-up that things will improve. None of the teachers are local and any new ones won’t be either. This means they have to lodge in town. She hopes she can get accommodation built for the teachers on site. Females will get first call. At the moment of the 9 teachers only 2 are female (not counting her).

She has no school secretary or bursar as there is no one living locally who can do this work, she she has to do it herself.

What help could be given by PCI?

·         Books

·         Transport – a school bus is badly needed. On reason the school closed late was that it couldn’t close until the girls could get transport home. With no public transport and some of the journeys like that which C took, it takes a long time to do. In addition the teachers have to be taken home and they live far away, one near Mombasa on the coast. A school bus would also help increase the enrolment. [Comment – she talks about a 51 or 62 seater. I don’t know how this would work in Tuum – one journey would shake it to pieces unless there are buses built like tanks. I would have thought maybe 3 sturdy minibuses would be better and that would mean if one was off the road things didn’t grind to a halt. But after 1 week here who am I to give an opinion? Maybe there are buses built like tanks. Anybody know?]

·         Money to help clear a massive debt (approaching 1,000,000/-) left by the previous administration.

Our conversation lasts most of the afternoon and I assure her that I’ll give some thought to how we might help, without any promises. The following are some photographs taken round the school.

Principal’s Office

Laboratory

Dormitory (45 beds)

Washblock for dormitory

Laboratory, classrooms and admin buildings from dormitories

 Dining Hall – that’s as furnished as it gets

Kitchen

Banana trees. These trees are only 1 year old. You can see a flower coming on the left hand side of the left-most one. If you look at the lower leaves there is one pointing directly upwards. The flower is near the top left of this leaf. These are in the ‘Shamba’ which is where they grow a lot of the food that is used in the school.

Last evening of the Junior Youth Camp. Part of the Revival Meeting includes a time of open prayer. This is enthusiastically taken up, including by the children. While some weren’t interested, most were engaged. There was that lovely sound you only get in a large prayer meeting as many people pray at once and you can’t make out anywords, just a sound. I’ve never been at a meeting at home where children pray unled like that. Beautiful. An earlier part of the meeting had included a film of Solomon and his wisdom over the disputed baby. It takes a lot of ingenuity to get a video projector and sound working in these circumstances!

I speak more on Peter, re-capping on what I said on Saturday morning. Some show that they have been listening by answering my questions correctly. I take it on from where in Matthew Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ and thereby becomes a Christian, but we see also in the next verses where Peter tries to persuade Jesus not to go to the cross that he is a sinner. From rock to stumbling block, from felling tall to feeling small. From something revealed from God the Father, not from man (that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God) to thinking thoughts that come from man, not from God. I went on to challenge the children to think about they thoughts they think – from God or from man. Are they tall or small in their thoughts? Are they a rock or a stumbling stone. Jesus is the Son of God – only God himself can show us that, we can’t work it out. Are you, like Peter, a Chrsitian, someone who trusts Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, but also a sinner who needs forgiven. I led in, I hope, suitable prayer.

Taking Peter on, we read in Like of how, despite Peter’s protests Jesus told him he would deny him three times. We then read that passage, counting out the denials. Then we turned to John where by the lake Jesus asks Peter three times if he loved him and three times Peter says you know that I love you. Establishing the connection between the three denials and the three questions and affirmations of love, we saw that were there is sin, there is always the opportunity of repentance, return and re-commitment. We noted how at the lakeside Jesus had shown the disciples where to catch the fish, just as he had done in Luke when he first called them. Jesus’ conversation with Peter ends with him saying Follow me just as he had said when he first called Peter. So this was a new start for Peter. I then applied this to the children, enabling those who wanted to to call out their love for Jesus, and affirming that if they had denied Jesus or let him down they could make a new start with him. I gave the opportunity for anyone who wanted to come up to the front to be prayed for in that regard to do so. No one did come forward, and as Stephen advised, I didn’t prolong the time. I then led in prayer that all the children might know Jesus loves them and that they might love Jesus, with a particular prayer for any who had let him down and needed a new start.

I felt there was good listening, and quite a few by their responses, were understanding my English rather than depending on the translation. And no one got caned!

The evening ended with the children from each area coming up to the front and being prayed for by the leaders who stood round them in an arc. While they were being prayed for, the rest of the children sang songs. I think they were songs about each area. Certainly when the children from Seren were up the song used the word ‘Seren’ several times. I thought this was a great way of making all the children feel included, especially the ‘outsiders’ such as those who were Turkana rather than Samburu.

 

Time for a last cup of Milo – a malt chocolate drink made by Nestle and saying goodbye to Kasoni.

Jim