Olives Olympics

So we got to the school, and it looked like this:

We waited for it to clear then quickly tagged and painted our teams. I was Team Elephant with 25 kids from Standard 7 to Standard 1. "Elephant" was too long and awkward to chant, so we settled for screaming the Swahili word "TEMMMBBBOOOOO!" in opposing teams faces instead. We actually managed to get the kids from the other teams to start chanting for Team Tembo, that didnt go down well. :) When we got to the field Mr Joseph led the proceedings with the aid of a megaphone held so close to his mouth that it muffled 90% of what he was saying, and I rounded up the giggling kindergarten kids as they ran repeatedly onto the pitch.

We ran the sack race-and won it. Then we won the wheelbarrow race.We came second in the 100 metres boys and tried to remain calm and non-competitive about the whole thing.

Before we could win anything else, the rain decided to make another appearance. It bucketed down, we had to leg it to the school dripping wet and smeared in rapidly melting paint.

We waited it out, went home and changed, and came back for more. We marched to the field through the mud, 500 kids chanting "Rain rain go away, come again another day!" at the tops of their voices.We couldnt have our egg and spoon race as the children in charge of the eggs had eaten them and lost the spoons, but we had our 3 legged race and then the tug of war. Our finest moment.

All my Standard 5 kids were screaming "Pull Madam, puuuuulll!" and boasting to their friends that their madam is strong like a man. Not sure how to feel about that one, but our team was mostly tiny girls and the team against us had huge Standard 7 boys, so I pulled alright.I pulled for Ireland! And aww yeah: we won!! I got home at 5.30 after an 8am start covered in mud, paint, grass and sweat, my voice gone from screaming and cheering. It was epic. :)

Cave Goodies!

Thanks to one of the volunteers, Jen, we had funds to buy loads of supplies for the cave classes, including a blackboard, basketball, and storybooks with pictures of Kenyan children that actually relate to their lives. The kids were so excited, they made me write "Property of Ngome Giriama' on every book so no one would take them! It was a lovely lesson, we learned about the continents, read "Handa's Surprise and answered questions, then unwrapped the basketball. That disrupted the tranquility somewhat. :) Next week is my last week in Kenya and I've been so worried that things would just fizzle out with the cave but all the other volunteers have gotten really enthusiastic about it and promised to keep up the lessons. It's going to be hard to leave,but at least I know they're in good hands.

Using our new blackboard

Checking out the new books.

Cheesy grin time. :)

Everyone say "Shiny new basketball!"

Standard 5

Three musketeers: Ayub, Winnie, Joseph K.

Zakiya and Faith singing the national anthem.

Blocking Madam Ceri's face for the photo.

Standard 1.

Relatively calm...

When I say they swing from the rafters, I aint being figurative.

Embrace the chaos!

Composition Time!

It's exam time down Olives way, compositions were first up. The blindingly exciting title "A Rainy Day" had everyone a tad panicked until I explained that they could still write about an interesting day they had, just pretend it was raining at the time. Pauline wrote a very moving account of the day she went swimming with Madam Miriam, conveniently skipping over the part where she sat on my head and almost drowned me.
My favourite bit was "Madam she swimmed fast fast to the wall. Are you fine Madam Miriam? asked Madam Trinity? I am not fine said Madam Miriam. There was a heart sadness in Madam Miriam and she made many coughing. I like for to swim with Madam Miriam."

Some of the best bits are the proverbs. The kids learn them off without ever learning when to apply them, and some make up their own bizarre versions. A few of my favourites:

"He was as happy as Sir Isaac Newton discovering force of gravity."

"She was as happy as a barren woman to whom has been borned a baby."

"I went into the bathroom for to make water in the frog's kingdom."

"They were as a Christian man who has seen Jesus walking and eating bread."

and the best:

"She was as confused as a pregnant rat crossing a tarmac road."

Words fail me. :)

Nervous Breakdown a la the Holy Spirit.

Today was intense. I was in class with Standard 5 when I heard noise and saw kids running across the yard. I heard Joseph Katana yell "Mr -s gone crazy, lets go!" and my kids rushed out too.
I followed them to find one of the teachers (who had recently just returned to Olives after a long break) standing in the doorway of Standard 6 screaming and shouting and beckoning the children. As I got closer I could make out that he was praying, calling upon the Holy Spirit to cleanse and forgive him. He was crying and frothing at the mouth, screaming like a man possessed-which is what he was claiming to be.

The kids stood gazing in fascination, the little ones coming to me for comfort,the older ones to laugh and snigger. One of the Kenyan teachers rang the headmaster and we tried to disperse the children. He went on and on for at least 20 minutes as we tried to move the kids away. It was only when Mr Stephen came and gently led the teacher to the staffroom that I realised that the Standard 6 classroom was full of hysterically sobbing children. His class had been sitting inside in terror the whole time.

Mr Stephen left the teacher in the staffroom with Mr Micheal sobbing "Jesus forgive me, Jesus forgive me" over and over and went in to calm down the Standard 6 kids. Myself and the other volunteers shooed the other curious kids away and tried to distract them with footballs. Standard 5 were their usual sensitive selves roaring "Why are they crying Madam? Is it because Mr- went crazy?" and doing horribly realistic impressions of the poor man. I managed to get rid of most of them but a few were still gawking in the windows.
It turned out that midway through his lesson the teacher had begun shouting and screaming and saying that one of the children had the devil in him. He began praying to cast the devil out and accusing other children of having the devil in them too. His class were terrified and began to cry, and thats when he began to summon the whole school. The poor man obviously had a nervous breakdown on a major scale, he's always been a bit nervous and on edge. It was quite unnerving to see him, really shook me up. The kids in his class were shaken but the rest of the school found it hilarious. Joseph Katana and Samuel have perfected their "Holy Spirit" routine and Standard 1 kept giggling and saying "Mr-was crying!" Hopefully the local teachers will treat it with the seriousness it deserves and make sure he gets appropriate help. The last I heard they were taking him to the church, but I think its medical help he requires rather than spiritual.
Just another day in Olives...

The Bits I Leave Out.

Someone mentioned to me recently that I tend to focus on the positive and that this blog is mainly about the triumphs and successes we've had and may not reflect the reality of how hard it can be. They meant hard as in hard for me, it was a compliment, not a criticism, but it got me thinking that maybe I'm not truly representing how hard life is for my kids.

 I talked about how great medical camp was, but not how every single day we have to treat kids with huge open wounds that at home would warrant a visit to ER, like the girl whose leg is infested with maggots because her mother refuses any treatment other than her own remedy of boiling water, or the little boy whose skull was rotting under his scalp, or the kids who show up late to class and sleep all day because they have malaria and thats no reason to miss school. I talked about how smart and energetic and funny the kids are, but I didn't mention how thin they are, how they fall asleep in class from sheer hunger and exhaustion, how they come from homes where the oldest girl sacrifices her education to care for her orphaned siblings and the oldest boy to find work to feed them.
I never mentioned the drought thats all over the news back home because honestly, I didn't know til I read it online. No one talks about it here because its not news here. Drought is a fact of life: millions of people will suffer and die, money will be pumped in to save a few and the West will feel satisfied and find a new cause. People here don't care that people are starving in Somalia, they're too busy trying not to starve themselves.
I blogged about the nightlife and how much I love dancing over here, but I left out the bit about the rake-thin prostitutes grinding themselves against elderly white men who smirk proudly at them, smug in the knowledge that their work colleagues and grandchildren will never know. I left out the bit about the girls in my Standard 5 class who get paid to "go to discos" and the knowing questions they asked during sex ed class.
I leave these bits out because they're images of the only Africa people ever see: famine, poverty, rape, genocide, AIDS, misery death. I wanted to show people the Africa I found: laughing, smiling, spiritual people who welcome strangers and give you the last of their food without a moments hesitation; bright, funny kids who burst with creativity. But I've done them a disservice. What makes their positivity and strength so incredible is the fact that it exists alongside the other Africa. They live with the realities of life and death every day and rather than being broken and resigned they live their lives gracefully and share what they can. I'm not trying to wax lyrical or idealise suffering: its all relative, their problems are normal to them and we're the ones living a life unimaginable. I just want to make sure I don't paint a rose-tinted view of the happy, smiling African. The Africa we see on tv is real, but it's not the only one. If you want to know about Africa, come and see for yourself.

Give me a G!! Give me an E! Give me an N E R A T O R! :)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a working generator in the caves! We had music all afternoon for the acrobatic show and dance competition. I managed to get hit on the head 4 times with an American football and sit on a sharp rock, but I reclaimed some dignity with my epic gymnastic contortions. Still aching!

I miss Maweni!

Went to visit Maweni with my teaching partner Trinity today after school, it was weird seeing all the new Suas guys, keep expecting my old team to be there. Madam Gona was looking fabulous, told me shes going for more of a Rhianna than Michelle Obama look these days. The kids came up and shook our hands politely while murmuring in Swahili "Who is the new Mzungu?" Then I heard "MADAM MEEEERIYAMMM!" and saw a bunch of my old Standard 6 girls running towards me. I got a hug that nearly bowled me over and they made me show off my new Swahili. I also had to perform the Maweni rap a total of 4 times and got sucked into a rap battle with a Standard 8 boy who I managed to beat solely because he was laughing too hard to respond to my killa rhymes. :)

I also got a church invite from Madam Maria, a dinner invite from the volunteers, and promised to come on Friday for Irish day. The kids sang for us and informed me they'll be on the beach on Saturday to meet me. So no bikini for Madam Miriam this weekend! They waved us off after a lunch of goat stew and chapati, still singing after us.
I love my Olives kids, I'm so glad I'm there, but a little part of me will always miss Maweni.

Teaching the solar system-6B

Maweni kids

Standard 5 and Standard 1 update.

Today was one of those days when everything seems to run smoothly, despite a few wounds and shouting matches here and there. I was worried Standard 5 would be bored cos their reading comprehension was about sheep, but they were surprisingly animated on the subject, especially when Joseph Katana asked if sheep and goats could "sex a baby" and did quite a realistic impression of the act. This then led back to the subject of human/goat relations and I once again reiterated that it is unadvisable to "make the sex" with any kind of animal, even if you do own it.

We had a lively debate on the benefits of farming Merino sheep rather than Masaai (they have thicker wool while the Masaai sheep has better meat: we all learned a lot of valuable information today) and discussed the benefits of farming sheep rather than goats (sheep are dumber and easier to manage.) Library class was also pretty cool, they kept calling me over to show me their books and exclaiming over dinosaurs ("They lived before people Madam?! How do we know they did if we never saw them?!"), penguins (" Madam, these birds, can you eat them? They must be easy to catch, it says they cannot fly") and parachuting ("Madam why are these people doing this foolish thing? They will fall and splat like mucus.")

Standard 1 were good too, we wrote our news (everyone spent the weekend praying apparently, quite a devout bunch of 6 year olds) and practised our handwriting. I got a bit teary when we tried to think of words beginning with b. When I first tried to get them to do it in January they came up with "ball", "banana", and after 10 minutes of me gesticulating frantically, "bag'. Today we got 41 words! Without any help from me, and including such gems as "bless", "bandage", "basketball" and "bounce". I was so proud of them and they were chuffed with themselves, we had a clap and a singsong to celebrate."Bottom" caused as much hilarity for Standard 1 as Joseph's goat sex impression had for Standard 5. Ah, kids. So precious. :)

Moses Jr and Raphael, St 1

Pauline, Rael, Molly and Anna, St 5

The famous Joseph Katana and Samuel Kizito, St5

My angel

Earlier this month at a visit to the cave I asked why they no longer had any music and discovered that the generator had broken and they needed 8000 shillings (80 quid) to get a new one. I asked around and all the volunteers chipped in. Last week I gave it to Katana, the guy who runs the youth club, and he thanked me and said they would have the generator for this weekend. During the week another youth club leader, Juma, texted me to say they would have a present for me, I got all excited and assumed it was the generator.

When we got to the cave (me and all the new volunteers, wazungu on parade!) they asked us to sit on the performance platform.  We were a bit puzzled but obliged, and Juma stood up and made a speech about how grateful they were to have our company and friendship. Then he gestured towards me and said "Miriam, you have done so much, we have little to give you but we wish to show our thanks." He handed me a handcarved stone angel and everybody started clapping as I burst into tears like an ejit. :)

It was so lovely and unexpected,I love going to the caves and seeing the kids, its not a sacrifice or something noble. They're there every single day devoting the little free time they have to helping any kid who has no place to go or no one to look out for them. The new generator was there too-broken! They're bringing it back to get it replaced tomorrow and they had an old radio instead, so we still got to dance. They had brought professional tribal musicians to play in our honour as well, we stayed for hours dancing and playing with the kids. The kids showed off their acrobatics and we were once again forced to attempt to limbo as the ridiculously bendy children giggled at the stiff wazungu.
The cave was full again-with volunteers, locals and kids playing, dancing and laughing. It was so cool to be a part of that, to get past being The Mzungu, to just be Miriam.
I'm so so happy right now. :)

Acrobats in action

My Friday

Friday is swimming day for standard 5, always an interesting endeavour. Particularly so this week as I nearly drowned. One of the older girls swam out too far and grabbed onto a volunteer in panic, dragging her under the water. I went over to help and held out a float, but she grabbed me instead and pushed me under. She had her hands on my head, I couldn't breathe, move or see. The other volunteer was still trying to get her breath back and pull the kid off me, but she wasn't strong enough. I kept trying to resurface but I couldn't get up from beneath her.
It was terrifying. I genuinely thought I was going to die in a pool full of people who just hadn't noticed because we weren't making any noise. Eventually I managed to push the child off and find the wall. I hauled myself up and wheezed like a beached whale for about 10 minutes, much to the consternation of everyone else who had no idea what had happened. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack, I was shaking and my chest felt like someone was punching it from the inside. I managed to reassure the kids before sneaking into the loo to hyperventilate and reassure myself that I was actually alive.

So not a great start to the weekend, but I was so thrilled to be still breathing that I made the most of our night out. We started dancing around midnight and I was still on the dance floor at 5am after only 3 Fanta breaks. It was one of those nights when you forget theres other people on the dancefloor and just dance and dance like the music's in your veins, like you'll die if you stop, regardless of how cheesy or repetitive the music actually is. We stopped at 5.30 for cheeseburgers and I convinced everyone to come to the beach to watch the sunrise.
We got there at 6am and there were already people swimming and running, setting up stalls, getting ready for the day. We found a quiet spot and snuggled up for warmth listening to the blues on someones phone. A couple of people got tired and left, but 3 of us stuck it out and got to see the sun blaze into the sky and across the water. It's funny to think that sunrise is something thats happened every single day of my life yet I've rarely seen it. I went for a walk along the water's edge as the sun began to fill the sky and the water turned orange. Drowning, dancing and sunsets on the beach: my Friday in Mombasa. :)