The neat thing about Maua Methodist Hospital is that things rarely seemed set in stone. You could wake up one morning thinking you would be doing something in particular, and then discover your day ended up completely different than expected. Now, if that happened while I was at home and in “control”, then I probably would have a meltdown. But in Maua- where anything can happen and others have control of the schedule anyway, we went with the flow.

One morning before we went to the House Build, Stanley Director of Community Health Outreach and John (Social Worker who is also the Principal of the School) asked if we wanted to visit an area school called Clark MCK Athiru Gaiti ECD (Early Childhood Development). The school is very close to the hearts of Stanley and John- plus Dad and Sue, so we of course said we’d love to see it. We had school supplies set aside so we brought some along even though we wouldn’t be doing a deworming at the school. The ages of the children at the school are between 3-6 years.

Sue needed to rest so we went with just John- the Social Worker and the guide who helped us invaluably over the week- and Morris, the driver. Well, at least we thought she just needed to rest. Once we were about ten minutes along the road to the school, we discovered why she needed “rest”. The road was extremely bumpy. There were deep potholes and we had to hang on with dear life in case we went flying to the back of the van. I took a video of the trip and at one point I caught Tim bouncing up and down from the potholes, the seatbelts are banging against the side of the van, and a motorcycle from the other direction goes riding by with a couch sitting on it horizontally. Kind of sums it up. (*Note- Sue really did need to rest – she helped us SO much with all our projects over the time in Maua.)

But once we got there, we were on flat ground. Clark ECD is a wonderful school in a village close to where Stanley grew up. It is a school that Maua Methodist Hospital (MMH) helps to support through donations and other gifts. It is a school for orphans and vulnerable children. Usually, the children are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. The children need a place to have a community and where people understand how to support the sense of loss and need to learn.

Clark ECD is so important in that it provides early childhood education to orphaned children during really important years of development.

The program started in 2010 with ninety children through a gift from USAid and through partnership with GRACE-Africa. The support through USAid lasted for two years until other support was needed in order to sustain the services. Originally, the school took place in a public school and those ninety children shared one classroom. Food and nutrition was provided through daily porridge and lunch for the children. In addition, school uniforms were provided. Sometimes, the porridge and lunch served by the school was the only sustenance the children received during the days.

In 2012, Clark ECD needed to find a way to continue. Through support from Stanley and his friends (including Jim, Sue, a gentleman by the name of Ed Clark, those in the Oregon-Idaho UM Conference, and other UM Conferences), the school was able to continue. The school became sponsored by a local village church. They now have a six classroom building that houses 205 children. Not only that, the school has a lunchroom, a kitchen, a teacher’s room, a place to store animals, a massive water cistern, and a garden.

School leaders decided to mix in 20% children from more affluent families so as not to stigmatize the children who attend the school. This makes sense to me. No one wants to go to the “orphan” or “poor” school. Instead, it is the Clark ECD school.

The programs we learned about from the head teacher, Judy, were amazing. At 10am, every school day, the children receive their porridge. There are small animals, including rabbits, chickens, and pigs, that the children learn how to raise. This gives the children a tangible skill that they may have one day learned from parents – but as they are now orphaned- they can learn from their school community.

The school also helps to support and educate the guardians of the children.

In addition, they have a gorgeous garden where the children and guardians learn how to garden. There is kale, lettuce, tomatoes, and more. Apparently lettuce is not popular in Kenya so we saw the children carrying armfuls of the green stuff to the rabbits to feed them. John had us pick some lettuce as Sue and Stanley are the only humans in the area who find it edible (strange! I love lettuce!).

The children also learn how to prepare food and other important skills. One such skill is taught to the children’s older siblings (who are sometimes the guardians): computer skills. Currently, there are three computers and nine youth who are learning about computers in the program.

Again, it serves as a reminder of something that we learn here in the States as part of the general curriculum. Even back in the 80s (GASP!), I learned how to use the ol’ Commodore computer and how to play the Oregon Trail in first grade. Computers are such a part of daily life. This program allows these youth to become more familiar with technology and be competitive in the job market.

The children were so well behaved. We walked onto the campus during their break/play time and they were all intently doing something active. They were wearing their uniforms as is required in Kenya of school children. Some children had little navy blue track suits that were adorable.

John introduced us to the head teacher, Judy, and she gave us the tour. The classrooms are well organized, brighter than some we had seen, and there simply seemed to be so much “life” at the school.

Judy told us that many of the teachers themselves are orphans. This makes it easier for the children to confide and relate to their teacher as they truly understand. Judy told us that a student had become orphaned a couple weeks prior to our visit. The teachers were able to support her and help her grieve as they too had been through that horrible process.

The children fed the rabbits which were being raised in a smaller cage. The children also fed the other animals. I put my “big girl” pants on and tried not to worry about what would happen to the animals soon. The children were gaining valuable skills and valuable protein that they dearly need.

One little girl was playing with a tattered rope and using it as a jump rope. I couldn’t wait to share with the school some of the jump ropes we brought that had been donated by my coworker, Tamra. Other children were playing with hula hoops that Judy said a recent group who came to visit had shared. All I could think was the practicality- how in the world did they get that on the plane? I have to investigate for the future.

The teachers gathered the schoolchildren with a bell. They all came running and stood in rows before us. Uh oh I thought. Sue’s not here….who’s gonna give the speech. I looked at Tim and he shrugged as I shrugged. I’d take this one.

I gave the speech I had heard Sue give several times. And I meant every word. We were honored to be there. We had heard so much about the beautiful children at Clark ECD. We were so glad to finally meet the children and learn about their school. And school is so important! We’d tell all of our friends in America about these beautiful and important children.

The children sang to us – complete with motions. Judy interpreted for us, “God is before us, God is behind us, God is above us, God is all around us. God loves everyone”. It was so sweet. Tim and I both recorded them singing and then put our cameras down to just listen and absorb.

After we presented the futbal, jump ropes, pencils, and more (this time, jump ropes got a massive cheer), Judy took us into her class while we waited for John. As we walked, I saw a woman trim the grass with her Panga. I really need to try that at home.

I loved watching the children do their schoolwork in the classroom. Most of them stared at us with wide eyes. But one little girl couldn’t be distracted. She was intently doing her schoolwork in her book. She smiled when she saw me looking but then went back to writing and adding check marks on paper. She’s the future they are building at ECD. All of those children can do so much with their lives if given the chance. And these children- because of generosity of so many and Maua Methodist Hospital- have a chance.

What a morning.

How to Give: http://www.umcmission.org/Give-to-Mission/Search-for-Projects/Projects/09613A (Note on donation form that it is for Clark ECD)