We currently have 14 students...eight girls and six boys. The girl's names are Dolli, Casi, Magi, Aglipina, Justina, Naomi and two Mwaju's. We call one Mwaju Mkubwa (big), and the other is Mwaju Mdogo (small). The boys are Thobiasi, Shalo, Boniface, Omari, Jeremia and Peter. Buseleke was the name of the student who lost his mother in April. He has moved away to live with extended family and no longer attends our Shaloom kindergarten class.
Recently, we had a new chalkboard made for the classroom. The previous one was in pretty rough shape, with nails protruding all along the edge. I thought, since the carpenter I've been dealing with gave us a good price, within our budget, it was time to upgrade. In Kiswahili, a skilled person is called a "fundi". Our fundi's name is Kharidi. He also replaced a door handle and lock on our classroom door. He's kind of a "jack of all trades". His shop is close by and so it's easy for him to drop by whenever we need help with anything at Shaloom! We appreciate him very much!
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| Kharidi replacing the door handle |
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| Using our new chalkboard |
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| Rehema works with the children who are struggling a little. |
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| These students are enjoying more challenging work! |
We like to have the students use their imaginations from time to time, so we bring out a large basin of wood scraps and the children build houses. This activity seems to be one of their favorites! I enjoy watching their creative minds at work.
More recently, we planted seeds in large, plastic cups. I wrote the student's name, and the type of seed planted, on the outside of the cup. I brought several packages of seeds with me from the US. There were watermelon, tomatoes, green peppers, carrots and a variety of different types of flowers. Most of the children chose watermelon seeds, but some did ask for carrots, tomatoes and green peppers. The students put a few small stones in the bottom of the cups for drainage, and then they went to the gardens outside the classroom and filled their cups with soil, using tablespoons I brought from home. Finally, we planted the seeds and put some water over the soil. The cups are kept in the classroom for safe keeping, when school is not in session. When we are in the classroom, we set the cups outside in the sunshine. Once the plants reach a healthy stage, each student will take his or her cup home to plant in a garden of their own. We are asking for prayers that our seeds will bear fruit.
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| Rehema with Thobiasi, Shalo, Mwaju & Boniface |
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| Naomi, Dolli, Casi and Thobiasi |
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| Magi, Naomi and Dolli |
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| Peter |
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| Omari |
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| Young gardeners |
Hopefully, we'll have a favorable update soon on how our plants are doing!
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