A Visit to Kiwimbi

1. Who were the people in your group that visited Kiwimbi? 

Alan & Saade with our son Ross (age 20) and Saade’s brother (Boku)

2. When did you visit, what time of year, month? What was the weather like?  

We visited in December.  The weather was beautiful.  The mornings were cool, and it would get quite warm in the afternoon. We experienced intense rain, which caused the power to go out for a period of hours.  Our hosts took everything in stride.  We had a memorable candlelight dinner.

3. What was going on at the Library and in the community during your visit- was school in session, was it a school holiday time?  

School was not open because we visited just before Christmas.  Yet, the library was still buzzing with activity.  There were children everywhere, people were playing chess (our son even found a game).

4. What activities did you observe and participate in while you were at the Library? Tell the story of something that you really enjoyed or were really struck by.  

We enjoyed watching the Christmas Cantata (Christmas show).  The students performed with great enthusiasm.  We enjoyed and even participated in the dance portion (Alan especially enjoyed showing off his dancing skills (lol).  After the show there was a community feast, followed by a golf clinic.  

We toured the museum and the Kiwimbi facilities (including the art and sewing workshops).  Ross and Alan played basketball with some of the students.  Ross is a passionate skateboarder and was able to share his love for skateboarding with new friends.  It was very nice to see him make that connection and he ended up hanging out with them for the better part of a day.

5. Tell the story of at least one experience that you had while you were there that really impressed you as to the impact that the Kiwimbi Library, the programs or the staff is having on the community.  

Ross and Boku stayed in the Kiwimbi apartment.  We were very impressed to learn that the apartment was furnished with things made in Kiwimbi programs including chairs, tables, drapery, art on the wall.

6. Tell the story of the feelings you had while visiting the Kiwimbi community- how did what you saw and learned, and the people you met make you feel. 

We were very impressed by the sense of community.  The children all seemed happy and secure.  The saying “it takes a village to raise a child” most applies.  It has hard to imagine what the community would be like without Kiwimbi.

7. What was one thing you learned or saw that impressed you the most? Why?  

We learned that Kiwimbi prepares people for a life in their community rather than focusing exclusively on an education that might/or might not prepare them for work in a far off city.  This approach seems very sensible, and we saw examples of former Kiwimbi students contributing to the community.  We were also impressed to learn that former Kiwimbi students are working as tutors for students in far off cities.

8. Anything else that you would like to share about your time at Kiwimbi Kenya?  

We were so impressed by professor Olubayi’s passion for education.  He understands, how a proper education is lifechanging.  Whenever he encountered a student he would ask them about their studies – – encouraging them to read and testing their math competency.  

As a side note, we were very concerned to learn that there are serious issues with education in Kenya.  Professor Olubayi explained how many students are lacking basic skills like knowing multiplication tables.  Students in Kenya spend many hours in school, very long days and some learn very little.  The class sizes are so large that teachers spend much of their time just trying to control the class.  This made us sad, as Saade received a solid education in Kenya – things have really declined!  Kiwimbi is helping local schools reverse that trend.