Apart from getting all of the boarding students back to school, last week Precious Kids School opened it’s doors for the final term of the year. It was great to see all the kids again after the break.
A beautiful day for an outdoor lesson.
Christine and Moses enjoying their break.
Boniface modeling his new uniform.
At our school we’ve almost reached our max capacity. The classrooms are full and our current compound is a little small for the 80 children that come for school each day, so we haven’t been taking new students. The struggle comes when we meet kids like Gideon, Allan and Gloria who have a disability. If they are not accepted at our school there is no where else for them to learn, play, grow and have their individual needs met.
Gideon is four years old and has cerebral palsy and cannot walk or talk. His mother has done a wonderful job of trying her very best to give him all the love and care he needs. She knows all the people from the offices in town that provide aid to children disabilities, she takes him to therapy twice a week, and she told me that she is willing to love him for who he is. He is a sweet little boy who is on his way to being able to walk and talk. We are excited to see him getting the chance to play and interact with his classmates and have already seen him making improvements.
Allan is a happy ten year old boy who is constantly giggling and squealing with joy. He has hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around. His mother loves him and cares for him as well as she can, but is struggling to provide for him and his brother and sister on her own. When Allan was younger, she took him to get a life saving operation in Uganda and when she came back found that her husband had packed up the house and disappeared with everything they owned. She is such a sweet lady and loves her kids so much, but has the added pressure of caring for Allan while trying to find a way to provide for the rest of her family. Now she can work and know that Allan is in a safe place where he will receive therapy, proper care and an education that fits his individual needs.
Allan is doing great at school and adjusting to being around all the other students. The first day that he was at school he ripped off all the posters on the wall and his sweet teacher came told me that he was going to be a decorator because he knew it was time for new posters. Allan isn’t used to being around lots of people and sometimes gets overwhelmed. I am very proud of all of the students at Precious Kids Center for embracing him and taking turns wheeling him around the compound during breaks.
Gloria also joined us at Precious Kids School this week. I met Gloria when she was just seven months old. She had spina bifida and her mother had raised half of the money for her operation and was waiting until they could get the rest to take Gloria to Kijabe. I told her story and some friends of mine decided to help, so we loaded her up on the bus with her mother and off they went.
Gloria and her mom before the operation
Now Gloria is ready to learn and is four and a half years old. She is my little buddy at school and follows me around on all her breaks. It’s amazing to see her walking around and playing, you wouldn’t even know the challenges that she faced as a child.
We are grateful for these three new blessings and are excited to watch them continue to improve.
At the end of the last term we realized that having Pre-K and Kindergarten combined in the same classroom was making things a little confusing for some of the students. The Pre-K class only has 8 students so we got a few posts, iron sheets and a tarp and added an extra classroom.
One of the builders wrangling kids and the other one working on putting in the iron sheets.
The kids were excited to have a little more space and we are excited to see how they improve this term.
The students hard at work in their new classroom.
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