3 June 2016
Today (Friday) was a sad day. The final day before I leave to come home to England. The day I say goodbye to St. Trizah’s School and say goodbye to James for another year.
But I had a day of building ahead of me. I started the day by continuing nailing the wooden posts. I then removed broken or unwanted bricks from two classrooms outside. After we finished, me and the team had removed approximately a tonne of bricks.
We spent a lot of the afternoon with the children, especially James. James is currently living with his Auntie, his mother is currently in hospital and is very poorly. He isn’t sure that she will make it. I gave him a bag full of items, such as teddies, pencils, pens and a toothbrush. Best of all, I gave him a blanket. Believe it or not, this is winter in Kenya. It was averaging 27 degrees! Kenyans think it’s very cold. This blanket will keep him warm in the colder nights. I told him to keep warm and whenever he is feeling down to look at the photograph and know that I’m thinking of him. James gave me a letter that he had written, thanking me for coming back and saying that I’m like a Father to him. We both broke down in tears.
The slums are a very, very hard place to live. The letter from James symbolises the importance the work that we are doing, not only is is important to build classrooms/school for the children now and the future, but also the importance of being there for the children, listening to their lives, fears and ambitions.
The day finished by me giving out many, many teddies to the school children. I have said previously, that I believe that every child should be educated, but also have a teddy to cuddle at night when needed, especially here in Kenya. The nights are dark with no light, electricity and warmth.
Meeting children, old and new, is the best part of this trip. They are so happy with what they have got. The only tears you get from them, is when we say goodbye to each other. I’ve met some amazing children on this trip, Valerie, Jemima, Brian and of coarse James, to name but a few.
So there it is, as the coach left with me waving and crying to all the children, my third trip to helping the children in St.Trizah’s School in Nakuru, Kenya, is nearly over for another year.