Rongai Primary School – Satellite School in Nali Muru
From the Children’s hearts
The children of Rongai Primary School’s satellite school in Nali Muru are filled with joy, as they look outside their windows to see their new school building being built. It has been difficult for them studying in the conditions they currently study in. I spent their last day of the school year with the Class One students at this school to get an insight into their daily lives at school. We spent most of the morning singing together as a class, reading and answering questions as well as telling stories. It was remarkable to see how this large group of students interacted lively with each other. There is no sense of shyness whatsoever; girls and boys alike interact with each other and with their class teacher. It being the last school day, it is also the Class One Graduation Day. As you know, graduations are usually attended by parents, friends and families of the students; but not here in Nali Muru. There were no parents in sight; instead, there were three officials who delivered a small speech, along with the Class teacher, about education and its role. These officials included the Director of the school and two officials who work as the counselors of the region. The students who won first, second, third and fourth place were given small presents from their teacher. This is done to encourage everyone to work harder so that he or she wins first place the following year. Not everyone in Class One graduated to enter Class Two. This is because some students had skipped attending Nursery School. As a result, they performed poorly in Class One and they now have to repeat this class. The teacher admitted that come next year, they will have to be stricter about who is admitted into Class One.
Although it is their last day at school for the year, they are eager to come back in January 2007 because they know their new school building will be ready for them. As soon as they learned that there is a team of Canadians coming to help build the school, they were filled with even more excitement; you could tell that this was an important moment in their lives. Many students agreed that they will come to school on the next day, which happened to be a Saturday to interact with the Canadian guests. They had brought gifts from Canada for the students, such as books, pencils, pens and all kinds of school supplies and games; it is rewarding to see just how far such gifts, that may be considered small, may take people. The teacher sighed with happiness, sharing with everyone that the supplies they have received can see them through an entire school year. They also received a number of footballs that the children can play with during break sessions.
On their last official school day, which was on Friday, 1st December 2006, I spent a few moments with the children asking them about their concerns with their school. What bothers them? What needs to change? Although shy at first, the students opened their hearts to me and told me what problems their school is faced with. Here are some of the concerns raised:
· The school does not provide food for the students. They need a place to build a kitchen so that food can be cooked for them. “We get hungry at school and there is nothing for us here,” a concerned student told me.
· The teacher does not have any space to store anything in the classroom. “He should have a cupboard to put our books in, and the reading books and chalks and extra pencils but now, there is nothing,” said a young student.
· The children love to play but they do not have any playing tools. “We all wish we had balls and toys to play with during our small breaks,” said another young student.
· The students do not have a nearby water source. “If you are thirsty or you want water to wash, you have to walk into the village and get some water,” said Fatuma, a student. The toilets are also in a bad state, especially when considering they lack water as well.
· The books and school supplies are not enough for all the students. They often find themselves sharing and this affects their academic performance in many cases.
· There is no storage space for the students in the classroom. They cannot store any of their books in the classroom because of this lack of space. Some students want to leave their books behind, especially on days where it is pouring rain and they do not want to get their books wet.
· The windows allow in too much wind and rain. A lot of water gets in and this, as a result, affects the academic performance of the children.
· Their only teacher does not have a reliable source of transportation and as a result, he often finds himself walking 5 kilometers to school every morning and 5 kilometers back every evening. “If he stayed here in the village, he would never have to be late,” said a student. The issue is that there is no available housing for teachers in Nali Muru.
With the day coming to an end, the students were encouraged to stay well, respect their elders and to keep on studying, although school is closed. The teacher reminded them to take care of their books and their uniform and shoes, as well as to have good manners at home. These children know and believe that they are the nation of tomorrow – they are thankful for all the gifts and assistance they have received in improving their lives. They send their warmest regards to all Canadians.
MultiMedia
-Pictures
· ClassOneGraduation1 – Girl wins First place at the Class One Graduation ceremony.
· ClassOneGraduation2 – Boy wins Second place at the Class One Graduation ceremony.
· ClassOneGraduation3 – Boy wins Third place at the Class One Graduation ceremony.
· ClassOneGraduation4 – Girl wins Fourth place at the Class One Graduation ceremony.