His goodness restores my soul

This is Khobosso, who lives across from me. Last Sunday she ate lunch with me and we tried to talk to each other, me using my limited Rendille and Swahili, she with her limited English. She found this tapestry of Psalm 23 written in Rendille and as she is learning to read and write Rendille at school she was keen to try and read it, sounding each word aloud. And I read it in English. The picture of God as a shepherd, leading his people to pastures and water and guarding from danger is something Rendille pastoralists can identify with particularly well.
 

Farewell Form 4

This week we bid farewell to the Form 4 students who are at the end of high school, a bit like Year 13. All very last minute, we discovered that unfortunately the school is not able to be registered as an exam centre. So our students had to pack up all their books, personal belongings and mattresses and travel to Laisamis where they will stay for the next month whilst they sit their KCSE (Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education) exams. It was a sad day as these are the first students to go through the school and it will be a big upheaval for them to be in a different place as they sit these incredibly important exams. However, we know that our heavenly father, who is at the centre of the school, is in complete control and will be with the students.

In this photo you can see the truck all packed and ready to leave, with the students on top! It should have taken them a couple of hours to get there depending on what the roads are like following the rain.

We pray for the students as they sit their exams away from school and then as they await results which will determine future studies and/or employment. For many of them it’s not just their future that rests upon their exam results but also that of their extended families who will be supported financially by these students.

What's for tea?

These are some children I met on my way home recently. They had been to town to get supplies – cooking fat, rice, flour, sugar and a sachet of seasoning. Brought in small quantities from one of the traders in town, these are the main food stuffs for local people. Along with tea, little else will be eaten.

I eat quite well at the moment. We have food brought from downcountry. There's also a fridge for storage. In January I move house where facilities will be more basic so far more canned and dried food.

School uniforms

I've noticed a few local children wearing UK school uniform jumpers. They must have got here through some charity donation or secondhand clothes dealers in the cities. The children have no idea what the logos mean (you see all sorts of other 'western' logos on clothes worn along with more traditional garments) but are pleased to have an extra layer to keep them warm on chilly mornings (mid twenties!) In the picture on the left the children are on their way to school - you can see their school uniforms. I have taken photos of a few of these, googled the school and sent the headteachers a copy of the picture! Suddenly the world gets a lot smaller!

Our borehole

Some of us in Korr are very blessed to have this borehole provide us with water. It is just by where I live but the water has a bit of a journey before we can use it. The solar panel is used to pump the water from underground up to the big black storage tank on the hill (you can see it in the distance in the picture).This provides the pressure to get it to the individual houses nearby. In the compound where I live it is used to fill a storage tank that feeds the tap and shower.

There is another similar borehole that connects to taps at the schools and other community taps. People walk a long way to get water. Often children are sent to fill barrels of water which they then roll home. People also use the wells, especially for the animals.

It is about the time for Kenya's short rains. Korr normally gets less rain than other parts of the country and often it comes later. But we have already had a few rain showers this week. Last night I watched some stunning lightening on the horizon just after sunset. The rain is much needed but can cause real problems getting around as roads turn to mud and rivers can make roads impassable.   

Tales of a school nurse

One of my duties at school is that of 'nurse'. Students who are unwell during the school day or who have an ‘injury’ (usually cut feet from playing football barefoot) see me for first aid or basic medicine eg painkillers. Or they would like a note to be excused for wearing flip flips instead of shoes. I also have a supply of medicines for including antibiotics, anti-malarials and antihistamines. In the UK some of these medicines would only be prescribed by a doctor. However, there is no doctor in Korr, and students live at school so parents are not responsible for their ill children. There is a dispensary with a nurse but it is not always open and can take a lot of time to get seen. Seriously ill students are taken to hospital in town if a vehicle is available.

I am conscious that there are illnesses here that are not common in UK and that students’ immune system and general health is often not great. I brought a book with me called ‘Where there is no doctor’ and refer to it for advice on African ailments and best treatments. In most cases a plaster will do the job. For most other things painkillers, water or rest is sufficient. Surprisingly, some students are already sure of the diagnosis when they come to me (it’s always very serious!) and determined to take medicine which will deliver an instant cure.

Last week I saw a boy with a sore foot; a football injury. He was keen for bandage/painkillers/antibiotics… I told him that he’d probably be OK by the following day and prescribed rest, teaching him the phrase ‘time is healer’. He left me rather put out that I hadn’t at least given him a bandage. However the next day he came to see me and quite proudly told me that his foot was almost better. The swelling had gone down and it wasn’t sore anymore!

 

Visit to a go'ob

Not long after I arrived in Korr I visited a go'ob, the name given to the traditional village. Several families live in go'ob, surrounded by a thorn fence and with smaller thorn enclosures inside for animals. The houses are called mins and are made from acacia tree wood bent into a dome shape. Over these are put fabric, animal skins, cardboard boxes.

An outside view of a min



I sat on camel hides and it was surpisingly spacious inside. It was also smoky as the fire, on which our chai was brewed, is in the corner.
 

Word soon got out that there were visitors and these two children peered in to the min to get a glimpse of the mzungu.

Assembly

I took this photo in assembly this morning.  Students stand in rows marked out with stones.

The scouts do some marching, the flag is raised and then students sing the first verse of the national anthem:

Oh God of all creation

Bless this our land and nation
Justice be our shield and our defender;
May we dwell with unity, peace and liberty;
Plenty be found within our borders.

Form 1

I teach Form 1 Biology (four 40 minute lessons) and English (seven 40 minute lessons including one on Saturday). There are 20 students in Form 1, ranging in age from 14 to about 18. Some students do not know exactly how old they are and their age can change from week to week! Tirrim Secondary School is still quite new. These are only the fourth year group to start the school. They love having their photo taken, don't like doing homework (or preps as they call it as they live at school), are reluctant to wear their ties properly or tuck their shirts in (kind of forgivable in 40 degree + temperatures) and complain if I make them remove their non-uniform jumpers, insisting that they are cold (it may be 35 degrees!). Yet many are keen to learn and for some great sacrifice has been made by their families and communities to send them to school, despite their being no real fees. This morning a student asked if he could apologise to me.Yesterday he had been late and, along with some others, had been argumentative and uncooperative. Whilst that sort of behaviour isn't unusual to me, the voluntary and genuine apology was!