The Ursuline, Cork visits partner in Kitui, Kenya
Report on Teacher visit to Kenya 21 October – 30th October 2009
Teachers: Mrs Rena Hennessy; Ms Paula Goggin
Schools: Ursuline Secondary School, Blackrock, Cork and Mutane Social Centre, Kitui, Kenya
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We departed Cork on the 21st October arriving in Nairobi (connected at Heathrow) on Thursday 22nd Oct approx 5.45am. On Saturday 24th we met Sr. Clare Tobin in Nairobi and travelled with her to the school in Kitui. The school is called the Mutune Social Centre and is a polytechnic with approximately seventy students. It is a boarding school and all the students are female.
On our first day we met with the administrator Ms. Anna Gakuhi. We got a tour of the school visiting the chicken house, the rabbits, the ‘shamba’ and the cow house under construction. We met with the girls and got to see them in their computer class. There was an opportunity to meet the staff at break time after which we attended a welcoming ceremony in the school hall.
The school offers students a chance to develop life skills and prepare to be self sustaining. It mainly supports girls/young women who have not been accepted into mainstream secondary school. Courses offered include English, Maths, Life-skills, Business Education, Christian Ed., Tailoring and Dressmaking, Cookery, Craft, Knitting and Agriculture. One of the major problems in the Kitui area is recurring famine so there is an emphasis on the importance of planting drought resistance crops.
We (Rena and Paula) took part in some planting even trying to use the ‘jembe’ and the ‘panga’. Together with Sr. Clare we planted some trees and Napier grass. We are looking forward to getting our students involved in similar activities.
We worked with the First Year group on creating cards for the Irish students who will visit in June 2010. We helped them with their English while learning more about the individual students. It took them a very short while to open up and share their stories with us. A particular cause of excitement was the camcorder we brought to the school, purchased using part of our joint WordWise project grant. The students and staff were excited to be on film!
During our visit we spent time in the school everyday seeing the different activities the students are involved in. Together with the Director, Sr. Clare Tobin and the Administrator Ms. Anna Gakhui we worked on the partnership agreement. This was a worthwhile and interesting activity. Visiting the different classes in the school gave us an opportunity to plan activities for our own students. We think they have a lot to learn from the Kenyan students!
During our time in Kitui we visited a project called Nyumbani Village. This project aims to look after children orphaned by HIV Aids in ‘family’ structures. This project aims to be totally self-sustainable. It was a very interesting place to visit and we hope to take our students there in June 2010.
Our own students were very excited to see the photographs and receive the cards from the Kenyan students. They are currently engaged in a range of activities in preparation for their visit next year and to strengthen their link with Mutane. We are grateful to WorldWise for funding the teacher visit. Both of us feel very excited and prepared for the months ahead and the return visit by our partner colleagues to Cork in April.
Paula Goggin, Rena Hennessy
