Around Chekalini

Children from Koromaiti Primary School

The Special Needs Unit

Creative work

The parachute

Visiting the home of one of the children

Building the cow shed

Barbara with girls from Archbishop Njenga Secondary School, Chekalini

Ali walking down the road with children from Koromaiti Primary School

Rudi tena! (Come back!)

In the early hours of Wednesday the 5th of July, fifteen 6th year girls from the Sacred Heart Convent Mount Anville, Mrs. Tierney, Ms. Fitzgerald, Ms. Kavanagh and my mum (Geraldine Feeney) set off on our journey to Kenya.

The first night we stayed in a Sacred Heart House in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. The following morning our bus arrived and we began our long and interesting journey. There were many sleepy bodies on the bus, not capable of functioning in the early hours of the morning, however we were soon awoken from our slumbers by a heard of zebra on the side of the road, accompanied by baboons and flamingos. Our journey through the Rift Valley, was far from boring, having seen wild animals, bustling towns with teams of people waving at us excitedly, and experiencing uneven terrain (to say the least).

Having spent three days travelling we were rearing to start our work and go to Chekalini. On arrival, we were greeted by so many enthusiastic people, each person so eager to shake our hands. We were led to an area in front of the church where Confirmation was being held, after taking our seats under a canopy the mass began. For three hours the congregation sung, danced and let out joyful cries, African style. We sat engrossed for the duration of the mass, watching in such amazement as goats and hens were presented to the priests at the offertory, it would certainly put an Irish mass to shame. At the end of the celebration, we were called to the altar, where we stood and introduced ourselves to all the parishioners, who excitedly repeated our names and clapped.

On Monday morning we were brought to the local primary school to be shown around by the Head Teacher, on our arrival we were flocked by excited children, many of them reaching to touch our hair and skin. Their classrooms resembled brick huts, with no doors, many of them hadn't adequate space to accommodate all the pupils, 1068 in the school.

Later that morning half of us went to work in the Special Needs Unit of the primary school and the other half went to help build a cow shed. The Special Needs Unit is another small room in the primary school, divided into three even smaller rooms to separate the three classes. There were about fifteen students in the unit, but this varied as some were unable to come to school some days. These students had little resources or stimulation in their small classrooms. With the art materials and resources we brought with us we designed a variety of creative work that we adorned the walls of the classrooms, making it brighter and happier for the students. Often during the day we would go outside with the children and play with the parachute, or play bowling. Each day we returned to the unit, the children were so eager to do all the activities we had organised for them, and their teachers were equally as keen to join in too. It was amazing to see how happy all the children were, despite the hardships that they face in their lives.

Every second day the groups rotated, those not working in the Special Needs Unit worked on the building site helping to build a cow shed. The building work was no easy task; each day there was different things to be done. On our first day we were shoveling stones and cement into wheelbarrows and the next day we set up an assembly line and moved 700 bricks. The small children who lived beside the building site took our mind off the tough work at hand, when they attempted to sit in the wheelbarrows and chase us through the site, making our work more enjoyable.

Each day a social worker named, Rose took two or three of us with her to the children she visited. She visits children with special needs who are unable to attend the unit. The day I accompanied  Rose we went to visit a nine year old boy named Kelvin. When we arrived at Kelvin's home he was sitting on the ground outside their small house. He was overjoyed to see Rose; unable to walk properly he shuffled along the ground. His younger siblings were sitting on the grass a small distance away, minding their three month old brother. Rose lay Kelvin on a mat and began to do exercises with him, massaging his face, in order to improve his speech and exercising his legs and feet to aid his mobility. Kelvin's family can't afford for him to stay in the new residential unit for children with special needs close to the primary school, but he is going to be sponsored next year.

One morning before we began our work we visited the local dispensary and were shown around by Sr. Rosemary. This is the equivalent of a small hospital for the local people, as the nearest hospital is forty minutes away; however this building has no running water or electricity. We were shown each room, where different procedures take place; we were most stunned when we were shown the labour room. Sr. Rosemary explained to us that when a baby is being born during the night, they must work using gas lanterns. In order for patients to receive treatment they must a small fee, but for those who have none, they can give payment in the form of animals or crops.

On our last day in Chekalini we went to the primary school where we put on a performance for the children. Before we could begin, they did a magnificent display for us, with dancing and singing and a routine by the scouts. We then began our small performance of singing, Irish dancing and tin whistle playing, and they were delighted to see us perform and clapped despite our lack of dancing and tin whistle skills. Rachel Murphy then said a speech to the school in Kiswahili, thanking them for their hospitality; they were so impressed that an Irish girl could  speak their language and clapped and cheered when she finished. Having done our performance we presented the school with all the books and equipment we had bought, and they presented us with some gifts that the students in the Special Needs Unit had made.

When we left the school that afternoon in the buses all the children gathered around to wave goodbye, as the buses pulled away all we could see were hundreds of little faces and hands waving, some even hanging from the barbed wire fence to give their final farewell. Lunch that afternoon was a silent affair, everyone contemplating our stay in Chekalini, thinking of all the people we met and everything we had done.

On Wednesday morning we bid a sad farewell to Kenya. Our time in Kenya was short but in that period our eyes were opened to a world so different from where we live. We witnessed unpleasant and upsetting things, often rendering us to feel helpless, but we brought some happiness and joy to the children we met.

Barbara Feeney and Ali O'Mara
Sacred Heart Convent, Mount Anville
Dublin, Ireland