So far, while in Paraguay I have learned about humanity. While at the all girl's school up-country from Asuncion I was able to see how a poor girl from an ethnic group that was once hunted by others for being native to the land, and then hid in the forest for hundreds of years, can now stand with pride amongst her peers-- all her peers, of all colors-- as she presents her prize that she's won over all in the country. All she needed to obtain this was someone to fill her with the idea of worth and provide her with the skills needed to succeed.
This poem by Langston Hughes reminds me of these girls. The poem is about an African-American in the US, but I'd venture to say that it pertains to these Native Indian girls.
I, Too
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes, but I laugh,
Eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table when company comes.
Nobody'll dare say to me
"Eat in the kitchen."
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.
-Langston Hughes
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Naval Academy Article about Nuru International
Click this link to read about how Nuru's founder and ex-Marine, Jake Harriman, fights terrorism with seed and fertilizer!
http://www.usna.com/Document.Doc?id=1254
Great article about Nuru written in Shipmate, the NA's magazine. Its exciting to see the different places we get press.
Jake was in Morgantown,WV this week for the first time in awhile (he mostly splits his time between Kenya and California), so it was nice to get to see him for a bit.
On Tuesday, I leave for Paraguay in South America with Nicole Scott, our partnerships Director, to check out a project called Teach A Man To Fish. We'll be there for 9 days (gone total for 11) to see if their most successful project, a self-sustainable high school, is something we can do in Kenya and possibly on other projects. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes and give more info. then.
http://www.usna.com/Document.Doc?id=1254
Great article about Nuru written in Shipmate, the NA's magazine. Its exciting to see the different places we get press.
Jake was in Morgantown,WV this week for the first time in awhile (he mostly splits his time between Kenya and California), so it was nice to get to see him for a bit.
On Tuesday, I leave for Paraguay in South America with Nicole Scott, our partnerships Director, to check out a project called Teach A Man To Fish. We'll be there for 9 days (gone total for 11) to see if their most successful project, a self-sustainable high school, is something we can do in Kenya and possibly on other projects. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes and give more info. then.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Organic Farm in Kiberia
I know I know! I haven't blogged in almost a month and now I've done 3 in one day!!! Don't get overwhelmed, you have a month to read through them! Haha!
This link is to a BBC slideshow that also has commentary by the founder of the self-help group for the organic garden. Pretty pictures and interesting thoughts on organic farming in Africa's largest slum, which is located inside of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7865387.stm
This link is to a BBC slideshow that also has commentary by the founder of the self-help group for the organic garden. Pretty pictures and interesting thoughts on organic farming in Africa's largest slum, which is located inside of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7865387.stm
Kiberia being cleared for low-income housing
I was reading the BBC, Africa and found the front page news to be that Odinga is clearing everyone (1 MILLION people) out of the largest slum in sub-saharan Africa, Kiberia, Kenya to make room for low-income housing. I'm still processing my thoughts on this one. Part of me feels like this is a good thing, to reduce crime and improve the lives of the people who live in Kiberia; however, on the personal side, generations of families have raised their children in those shacks. Although they may be shacks, they were called home to over a million people. Food for thought. Read the article by clicking the link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8258417.stm
Campus Reps, Birthdays, and America
Now that I'm back in the US of A, I am working with Derek and Billy on the Grassroots Movement Team, along with some excellent volunteers. My main job right now is connecting with students on university campuses to join in the fight against extreme poverty by volunteering their time on campus. We are getting geared up for some very important dates this fall: Oct 1st and Nov 1st. On Oct 1st we are launching the new website and also celebrating Nuru's 1yr anniversary and all the achievements that go along with it. Nov. 1st is the launch of the I AM NURU Campaign, which allows people to lift a family in Kenya out of extreme poverty over the course of 5 yrs. by paying $28/mo. If you are interesting throwing a party with a purpose for either of those dates--or both--email me to find out details. Last year's party with a purpose here in Morgantown was an amazing success. If you are interested in the I AM NURU Campaign, click on the Nuru website link to the right on Nov 1st for details.
Secondly, tomorrow is my birthday. Last year my friends in the counseling department threw me a surprise party in our Human Development class, with cupcakes and soda-- very sweet. That night a bunch of friends celebrated Mine and my friend Tara's birthday (today) at a Mediterranean restaurant.
This year, I would like everyone to donate to Nuru via the Facebook cause page: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/152681?m=e0bc6388
I'm asking everyone to donate $10 to collectively get $200. So far we have raised $120 since last week when I set it up. $80 more bucks and we're there!
America is an interesting place to get used to the land of individualism and relational sterilization. But I'm slowly getting used to it, so that's good. This Friday I'm headed to the Paraguay consulate to get a visa for a business trip at the beginning of October. Fun rides on the metro in my future.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Nuru's 6th Episode: Harvest
Hey Everyone,
Sorry that I have been delinquent in writing. I am back in the USA safe and sound and have moved back to Morgantown,WV where I'll be working with Billy Williams and Derek Roberts and out volunteer staff on the Grassroots Movement Team, who tirelessly work to awaken individuals to action with NURU and to action within their own communities. More on that to come. But for now, watch Episode 6 here... its not long. I'm in it again, along with my handsome colleagues. Thank you.
Sorry that I have been delinquent in writing. I am back in the USA safe and sound and have moved back to Morgantown,WV where I'll be working with Billy Williams and Derek Roberts and out volunteer staff on the Grassroots Movement Team, who tirelessly work to awaken individuals to action with NURU and to action within their own communities. More on that to come. But for now, watch Episode 6 here... its not long. I'm in it again, along with my handsome colleagues. Thank you.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Back on the ground in Kuria
On the 19th of June, as stated, I caught the bus from Nairobi to Isibania with Jake and Janine at 6 a.m.. Since then I have been crazy busy with catching up with Francis and getting all the future initiatives for the Education Program running. While I was away, Francis visited a project in Kisumu, all the teacher training colleges in the surrounding area, and sat in on many of the classes in each of the schools in our working area to evaluate the teacher and head teacher. What he found in the schools is that the head teachers were coming to school late, if at all, and consequently so were the teachers and students. In the classroom, the teachers didn't have the scheme of work posted on the black board or even written anywhere at all-- not even a lesson plan in a book somewhere. Basically, they'd stroll into the classroom with a textbook, read a little bit, and then leave the students to ponder on that 10 minute lesson. So Francis came up with an idea to put some coals under the administration and the teachers.
Education Advisory Committee:
Our first initiative is the institution of the Education Advisory Committee. The EAC is made up of 1 parent per school, the chairman of each school, a head teacher that represents all of the schools, the assistant chiefs of each of the 2 sub-locations, the District Education Officer's representative, Francis, and the Program Manager (me or Chelsea, my replacement). The role of the EAC is to monitor the quality of the education provided in each of the schools and to discuss and solve problems sited, along with any problems known in the community within the realm of education (i.e.- dropout). This past Thursday we all met for the first time to discuss the rules and roles of the committee and we nominated a chairlady, whose name is Veronica and is a parent at Nyametaburo Secondary School. They will meet the first week of every month to discuss any problems and/or solutions.
Pre-School Training:
During the months of July, September, and October there will be trainings for the Preschool teachers. Nope, I didn't forget August, its just that the schools are on break for the month of August and therefore the lecturers are doing work elsewhere. The total of 5-weeks of trainings will be broken into two 2-week sessions, and then one 1-week session. At the end of the 5 weeks, the teachers will be certified by the ministry, which makes them official Early Childhood Educators, which means that they will be MORE than babysitters!! The first session started today (Monday, 12 July) and so I went out to Kehancha (the district seat), where the training is held, to see the "students" and they were SO excited and happy. Surprisingly, there were more MEN then I thought there'd be! We had just sent out invitations to each of the school inviting their pre-school teachers and I just didn't think about men being here-- whoops, guess who's NOT gender-sensitive. Anyway, I'll report back at the end of the week on how things are going and get some pictures of them up here.
Along with the idea of pre-school training, the teachers also need a classroom to decorate and make the place more inviting for young minds to grow. As of now, they meet in a nearby church or in one of the condemned classrooms that no other class will touch. Therefore, its in our near future plan to have some classrooms built for them. Early childhood education is SO important because it sets the tone for the rest of their scholastic career!
Attendance Club:
Because attendance and drop-out is SO high, we are implementing an Attendance Club, which will offer incentives for the students to come (yes, bribery, ok, they need it!). The targeted audience, obviously, is the truant population, so they will be the members of the club-- specifically, the top 10 truant kids from each class--for starters. Because truancy is not always the fault of the child, but the parent, this club will allow the student to talk with the teacher about any problems at home. This is where the EAC comes in: if a parent is holding their kid home from school, the EAC will make it VERY clear that this is BAD. Here, community is so important, and if your community publicly "shames" you by everyone knowing what you're doing is wrong, then you want to change your behavior.
Achievers' Club:
It has the same premise as the Attendance Club, except that it targets the lower 10 rung of each class. This too, will give those students a chance to talk about life. For example, the inspiration for this was when Francis and I attended a ceremony for the secondary school. All of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place students got to come for a prize-- there was a prize for each subject and for each class. Just the same, the 1st-3rd poorest ranking students had to stand up in front of their peers. I found this to be appalling for one; and for two, made me think of something better to be done. There was one girl who had to stand for almost everything! I later found out that she is the oldest of her family and her dad has 3 wives and her mom ran out on the family a little while ago! NO WONDER she is failing!!! She looked miserable and probably wished she was never born-- you know-- can you imagine being that girl? So, that's what the Achiever's club is all about.
Campaign against dropout:
Francis and I want to launch a campaign against dropout for both girls and boys. Boys tend to dropout and become truck loaders in town, which leads to alcoholism and drug use-- amongst the obvious of ignorance. The girls tend to get distracted by boys by 8th grade (post-female circumcision) and decide that they are too womanly now to be a student and then dropout to marry. We'd like to bring in lecturers to the school to talk on these subjects. I know, Ronald McDonald telling me to stay off drugs didn't help all those out there in the US, but, if you don't try, you lose all around.
So, that is a sneak peak into my world here for now. The next team of people comes from the US this Wednesday and so we will be heavily involved in turnover with our replacement. I'll post pics soon!
Education Advisory Committee:
Our first initiative is the institution of the Education Advisory Committee. The EAC is made up of 1 parent per school, the chairman of each school, a head teacher that represents all of the schools, the assistant chiefs of each of the 2 sub-locations, the District Education Officer's representative, Francis, and the Program Manager (me or Chelsea, my replacement). The role of the EAC is to monitor the quality of the education provided in each of the schools and to discuss and solve problems sited, along with any problems known in the community within the realm of education (i.e.- dropout). This past Thursday we all met for the first time to discuss the rules and roles of the committee and we nominated a chairlady, whose name is Veronica and is a parent at Nyametaburo Secondary School. They will meet the first week of every month to discuss any problems and/or solutions.
Pre-School Training:
During the months of July, September, and October there will be trainings for the Preschool teachers. Nope, I didn't forget August, its just that the schools are on break for the month of August and therefore the lecturers are doing work elsewhere. The total of 5-weeks of trainings will be broken into two 2-week sessions, and then one 1-week session. At the end of the 5 weeks, the teachers will be certified by the ministry, which makes them official Early Childhood Educators, which means that they will be MORE than babysitters!! The first session started today (Monday, 12 July) and so I went out to Kehancha (the district seat), where the training is held, to see the "students" and they were SO excited and happy. Surprisingly, there were more MEN then I thought there'd be! We had just sent out invitations to each of the school inviting their pre-school teachers and I just didn't think about men being here-- whoops, guess who's NOT gender-sensitive. Anyway, I'll report back at the end of the week on how things are going and get some pictures of them up here.
Along with the idea of pre-school training, the teachers also need a classroom to decorate and make the place more inviting for young minds to grow. As of now, they meet in a nearby church or in one of the condemned classrooms that no other class will touch. Therefore, its in our near future plan to have some classrooms built for them. Early childhood education is SO important because it sets the tone for the rest of their scholastic career!
Attendance Club:
Because attendance and drop-out is SO high, we are implementing an Attendance Club, which will offer incentives for the students to come (yes, bribery, ok, they need it!). The targeted audience, obviously, is the truant population, so they will be the members of the club-- specifically, the top 10 truant kids from each class--for starters. Because truancy is not always the fault of the child, but the parent, this club will allow the student to talk with the teacher about any problems at home. This is where the EAC comes in: if a parent is holding their kid home from school, the EAC will make it VERY clear that this is BAD. Here, community is so important, and if your community publicly "shames" you by everyone knowing what you're doing is wrong, then you want to change your behavior.
Achievers' Club:
It has the same premise as the Attendance Club, except that it targets the lower 10 rung of each class. This too, will give those students a chance to talk about life. For example, the inspiration for this was when Francis and I attended a ceremony for the secondary school. All of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place students got to come for a prize-- there was a prize for each subject and for each class. Just the same, the 1st-3rd poorest ranking students had to stand up in front of their peers. I found this to be appalling for one; and for two, made me think of something better to be done. There was one girl who had to stand for almost everything! I later found out that she is the oldest of her family and her dad has 3 wives and her mom ran out on the family a little while ago! NO WONDER she is failing!!! She looked miserable and probably wished she was never born-- you know-- can you imagine being that girl? So, that's what the Achiever's club is all about.
Campaign against dropout:
Francis and I want to launch a campaign against dropout for both girls and boys. Boys tend to dropout and become truck loaders in town, which leads to alcoholism and drug use-- amongst the obvious of ignorance. The girls tend to get distracted by boys by 8th grade (post-female circumcision) and decide that they are too womanly now to be a student and then dropout to marry. We'd like to bring in lecturers to the school to talk on these subjects. I know, Ronald McDonald telling me to stay off drugs didn't help all those out there in the US, but, if you don't try, you lose all around.
So, that is a sneak peak into my world here for now. The next team of people comes from the US this Wednesday and so we will be heavily involved in turnover with our replacement. I'll post pics soon!
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