In just two days, the world has changed. For three of us (Holly, Jeannine, and Sheree) our reunion with the students and staff of Compass School was a heartwarming homecoming. For our three first timers (Marg, Carey, and Gabi), it was an almost overwhelming deluge of emotion - joy and sorrow, laughter and love.
First thing in the morning, we loaded up the van with school supplies, Days for Girls kits, and toothbrushes we’d brought from home (thank you everyone for your generosity), then headed to the Carrefour Department store to purchase supplies from the list Flora had given us the night before. We bought everything from peanut butter to exercise books, to buckets and mops (so the kids can more efficiently clean their classrooms), to plastic dishes for the lunch program, and even a machete and pitchfork for the caretaker and dog food for the new pups who will guard the four goats our friends gave the school.
As we entered the gates and bumped along the red, dusty roadway, our kids emerged from their classrooms, greeting us with shouts and smiles. We were welcomed with song, dance, poetry, and drama presented by each class - every child had a part to play. Though their surroundings were dismal, their enthusiasm and talent shone brightly - we couldn’t stop smiling the whole day.
We visited the Crèche ( a preschool supported by a group from Ireland but administered by the Compass School Board) where the four goats you gave to the school were grazing. We took their photos and met one of the two new pups who have been brought in to guard the goats - we named the guard puppies Tumaini and Hope.
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| Guard Puppy |
Then it was back to Compass where we made peanut butter sandwiches to serve with juice boxes and fresh mangoes. Gabi used this time to deliver Days for Girls kits to a group of older girls who were thrilled to receive the supplies which will allow them to attend school every day, and Jeannine taught the rest of the kids the words and actions to This Little Light of Mine, the piece we had chosen to perform earlier for the students - we were amazing, by the way.
As we left on Wednesday, the kids begged us to return and ran along beside our van, waving and shouting. It was so hard to leave.
After the excitement of the day, we had time to reflect on our experiences. Despite the joy on our children’s faces, we could not ignore the cloud hanging over Compass. So much had changed since our last visit. Due to some political complications, the grades seven and eight students had been shut out, as their space was taken over by the construction company building next to the school. With some of their older siblings literally out on the streets (they cannot afford to attend any other school) many younger ones had also left - some to other schools, but many to the streets and hunger.
We were truly inspired by the dedication of the teachers who had remained despite the abysmal conditions and continued to teach with love and enthusiasm. So many of the kids told us how much they loved their school and dreaded the holidays without their friends; undoubtedly, they also miss the lunch program that often provides their only meal of the day.
What are the conditions? Not a single desk unbroken, ceilings falling down, cement floors with holes so deep we worried the performers would twist their ankles, and chalkboards so dull and cracked the lessons could hardly be seen. Our children washed for lunch with rusty, dusty roof runoff water. No drinking water is available (although the children do drink the runoff) because the water pipes were disconnected when construction began a year and a half ago on a medical clinic that is still not completed. A row of classrooms and all of the playing field are fenced off and the yard is filled with heavy construction equipment. Our kids have only a dusty or muddy lane in which to run and play.
Thursday morning began with a visit to a much different school. Heshima is an oasis for marginalized Kenyan children with physical disabilities and their mothers. In Kenya, these children are outcasts, but not at Heshima. Run by Tracey and Eric Hagman, the program offers therapy for the kids, training for moms to help their children, and work opportunities for mothers. A top notch program, Heshima provides care that opens up opportunities for kids who would simply be swept aside otherwise. You can learn more about them at Heshima.org
After enjoying our morning in the fresh, bright classrooms at Heshima, we returned to Compass where the staff greeted us as old friends and the kids were jumping with excitement. Flora had arranged a meeting with members of the school board and, more importantly, with Henry Kagiri, MCA of Kikuyu Ward Office.
Before heading out for the meeting, we handed out new pens, pencils, notebooks, and toothbrushes to the kids and they showed us their awesome class notes and artwork. Gabi instructed a few more girls about DfG kits and, under Jeannine’s leadership, they emerged from the classroom shouting, “Girl Power!”
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| Girl Power |
Our meeting with the County Assembly member gave us renewed hope for Compass to grow. Mr. Kagiri will visit the school for the first time on March 16 when he will deliver to us an official letter confirming that all lands will be returned to Compass, cleaned and levelled, our classrooms restored, the outer fence and gate repaired, and the water hooked up. We are hopeful that kids displaced to the streets because their was no room for the senior classes will now be able to return, and that we can plan for Compass School’s next steps with the teachers and board.
Our name, Tumaini, means hope, and it embodies the spirit of Compass, its kids, and its staff. It has been an emotionally exhausting two days, but we are fortified by the promise of a better future for Compass kids.
