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This is from a brand new teacher...

Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. Not only that, I'm to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, behaviorally modify disruptive behavior, and observe them for signs of abuse.
I am to fight racism, patriotism, the war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem.
I'm to teach them good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook and how to apply for a job, but I am never to ask if they are in this country illegally.

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I am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, encourage a respect for the cultural diversity of others, and, oh yeah, teach, always making sure that I give the girls in my class fifty percent of my attention.
I'm required by my contract to be working on my own time (summers and evenings) and at my own expense towards additional certification, advanced certification and a master's degree, to sponsor the cheerleaders or the sophomore class (my choice) and after school.
I am to attend committee and faculty meetings and participate in staff development training to maintain my current certification and employment status.
I am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that my very presence will awe my students into being obedient and respectful of authority.

I am to purchase supplies, room decorations, bulletin board supplies, supplies for children who can't afford them, and luxury items such as scissors, glue, scotch tape, paper clips, note book paper, red pens, and markers with my own money as there is no money in the budget for these items.
I'm to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a few books and a bulletin board, and on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in many states.
Is that all?
(Original Author Unknown)

The start of it all

I had been on my first trip to Kenya, it was almost at an end when on the Saturday we had a horrendous thunder storm, and on the Sunday I decided to go into the village at Ukunda to see what damage had been done by the previous day's storm. There was a lot of damage to small stalls (vibanda). Whilst walking along the road I was greeted by a stranger, who introduced himself as Duncan, one of the teachers at Shamu Primary School, and asked if I could help sponsor his school. I was a little reticent at first and told him that I would like to return to Kenya at a later time, he then ask if I could bring a map of Kenya for the school as they did not have one. On returning to the UK I decided to do exactly that, in fact I collected a number of educational items and brought then to Kenya on my next trip.


Many of the classrooms lack even the most basic essentials like desks. So In November of 1996 100 new desks were bought for the school. These desks were made by Kwale Saw mill, at a total cost of about £6.00 Pounds Sterling per desk, including delivery. A lot of the old desks had deteriorated, and vandals had destroyed some of them. Now that the school has some of the classrooms secured, they can lock these desks away during the holidays. As will be seen from this photograph many of the children are not in school uniform. Although the school prefer that children wear uniforms, some parents simply cannot afford them.

Without doubt the largest project undertaken at Shamu was the construction of new toilets, this became necessary due to the El Nino rains of 1997, the old toilets collapsed into the pit. The estimated life of the pit is about 40 years, before it will fill up. There was still some work to be done on them. The outside wall needs rendering and doors will have to be fitted, so that the toilets can be locked. This is necessary because the whole village would use them as a public convenience.

During my time at the school i.e. between 1994 and 2001 I supplied the school with many new text books, the old books being in a dilapidated state most of these were purchased in Mombasa as it was cheaper than trying to bring books from the UK and besides that the books in Kenya conform to the Kenyan curriculum. I also provide the school with many other educational items. Mr. Mraja the second head teacher during my involvement with the school needed to record everything in the school log book.

Enough prattle

Well that's enough prattle about what I have been doing in the past, what of the closer past? Well in 2000 my daughter was killed in a car accident, then a few months later my wife died of a broken heart, later the following year I had to undergo major surgery. this took a great deal of time to heal along with the other hurts, and for a long time I did not feel like coming to Kenya, but in 2003 I returned to Kenya, and of course the first place to visit was the school. Many things had changed in Kenya since I was last here, the government had abolished school fees, at least for primary schools, schools were now allocated an allowance every year to effect essential repairs and maintenance. However this buget is not enough to improve the state of the school. So I have decided to try and raise some money for the school, the WEB site has become commercial, so if you are thinking of buying books or google products, buy them from my site. Every little bit helps.

Untimely death

Recently my Kenyan mother-in-law died December 2009 she had been diagnosed with breast cancer the previous year, and had undergone a mastectomy; this had been followed by chemotherapy and was due to be followed by radiotherapy, but at the beginning of December she started to go down hill rapidly and finally died on the 29th. I thought a great deal for that dear old lady, I had great respect for her. Her untimely death affected me more than I expected, I closed my business here in Kenya and became a recluse at my house for nearly three months. Now I am feeling a lot better in myself and I am planning to reopen for business as usual, I have a small market stall in the central open market in which I sell polythene bags and various other things. Many times when I go to the market people are asking when are you going to reopen? Soon I would tell them soon.