It is now the first day of workshops at the IGE, and I have finally found time to sit down and catch everyone up on my progress!
Upon arrival into Kenya, from saturday to monday, we stayed at Savage Wilderness Camp in Sagana and as an entire delegation participated in outdoor activities which included hiking, cycling, rock climbing and white water rafting! Many scraps and bruises have been collected, yet our war wounds are a testament to the great amount of fun that we have been having!!!
On the sunday, at lunch time, between the hiking and water rafting, I was able to escape away with James Kinyanjui to visit the Riandira Primary School at the top of the road! At last! There to greet us was the Director of the school, and welcomed me back to the school with huge smiles! I was able to give him the school supplies and display for him what 24kg of supplies look like! I explained that everyone back at home felt compassion for my cause and everyone was generous with their donations. That my friends and family from Canada are generous and great people who all care about the future of the students of Africa. We then posed for a photo shoot with the IGE media, and I got in some good shots of my own (pictures to come soon). After the photo shoot, we moved to the library itself, and I was given the opportunity to see how the library has stood the test of time.
They have stenciled the letters "LIBRARY" on the door, and have it locked up during the weekends and evenings for security. It looks even better than ever!!! The chalk board is pristine without any cracks, and books are all piled neatly and in order. The tables and chairs were pushed to one side, as they were in the midst of renovating another room of the school, and getting ready for the new school year, but it was easy to imagine the beauty of the place and students fully taking advantage of the room! You can fully see the amount of care and pride that the school has for the library and I am extremely proud to have been able to contribute to the education of these primary school students.
Yesterday was the official launch of the IGE, with the President of Kenya gracing us with his presence with a lovely ceremony which included traditional dancing from the Kenyatta University and other local schools. We are being treated with great respect at our conference location at the Great Rift Valley lodge, and our accommodations are beyond amazing.
I have just completed my first workshop on online e-learning/training, and am about to attend the next one on Policy.
Pictures of the school to come!!! Stay tuned!
With love from Kenya,
Julia
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