School in Africa

Our kids are in the elementary school in the distance; it's a government
school, built with donations from foreign friends.

A new classroom!  It will be a great help; the school is overcrowded with 100+ students in each classroom.

The newly constructed classroom was provided to the school in Guruguru, Kenya, by Safaricom, a mobile phone service provider there.

The Guruguru village center today, a simple marketplace

Working in Kenya, we had the opportunity to visit the village. Once a bustling marketplace for local crops, after more than a decade of drought, the only crops available are from elsewhere. Forests have receded, stressed by the local need for firewood to cook.

The fellows out to play a bit ...
my buddy Wakil on the front
row, 3rd from the right; bright,
strong, good-hearted.

Theirs is not a comfortable world,
neither safe nor easily changed.  The
way forward is a difficult path, and
education is a critical element for
making a difference.

Some of us here sponsor a mob of kids in the village who otherwise wouldn't be in school. We've got sponsors for some teachers too.  The school is understaffed for the number of children they serve.

Most folks walk everywhere; water is from a distance
away.  It's primarily women's work, carrying water,
at least for now.  A government water project has
been in the queue for awhile; we'll see.

There are plenty of opportunities to help out; fees and uniforms for school cost around $45 per semester.  A truckload of water costs a couple hundred.  A teacher can be funded for around $600 for the school year.