St. Joseph’s Nursery and Primary School

10/29/2012

Today, Fr. George took me to Holy Trinity’s school (St. Joseph's) to visit his 160 students in nursery-school through class 8 (pre-school through 8^th grade).  We walked through the sanctuary, which is under construction to place the pulpit at the head of the church rather than the side, over to the head mistress’ office.  Once we walked through the door, a young student jumped up from his seat with a handmade sign that read “Welcome Destiny Moore.”  The sign was adorned with real yellow dandelions that had been pushed through the board.   Soon, another student rushed out and stood beside the other, holding one side of the artwork.  The first one told me that they had the idea to create a welcome token for me and had gotten the permission of the head mistress to create it and wait at the front door to present it.  Once I took a photograph with them and learned their names, they hastily made their way back to class.

I spoke with the headmistress, Mrs. Muhoro briefly before she took me on a tour of the school.  She explained that students in Kenya go through primary school to class 8, and then become candidates for high school, which consists of forms 1 – 4.  Most of St. Josephs’ students’ parents pay tuition for them to attend and the church sponsors 20 students from those profits.  Despite holding classes for 160 students each day, the school does not actually have a building of its own.  Rather, teachers hold classes in the church hall, a private house, and a storage container.  Fr. George hopes to raise enough funds one day to build a proper school on the grounds, which also lacks a safe play area for recess.  

I toured the classes to see their conditions, introduce myself to the students, and meet their teachers.   All of the students showed the utmost respect to their teachers and their faces shone bright whenever they laid eyes on Fr. George, who always greeted them in a particular way: 

Fr. George:  “God is good…”

Children:  “All the time!”

Fr. George:  “All the time?”

Children:  “God is good and that is his nature! Wooooow!”

 

I was surprised to find that most of them knew that Washington, D.C. was the capital of the United States and absolutely all of them, from nursery class to class 8, knew of President Obama.  They beamed with pride as Fr. George asked each class if they knew the President of the United States.  They always gave a resounding “Obamaaaaaa!” in response.  

Once I’d gone to visit each class, all of the students assembled in the church hall, where they were to perform several songs and poems to be used for their upcoming graduations.  The younger students began with an adorable version of “When the Saints go Marching In.”  They were followed by the older children, who recited two poems, one in English, the other in Swahili.  Both poems were testaments to their school, teachers, and Jesus Christ.  It was obvious how much the students adore their teachers, school, and Fr. George.  Each student performed wholeheartedly with smiling faces.  They were very excited to profess this adoration to a visitor.   

I addressed the children right after their performances.  In compliance with Fr. George’s orders, I told them what degrees I have, where I live, that I was in the Army, that I now work with the Archdiocese in Washington, D.C., that I had to work very hard and that they could achieve their goals if they worked hard, too.  I showed them photographs of me in uniform and of my graduation from law school.  The children were enthralled.  They asked me questions about my education and things I did while in the Army.  I was very impressed by how intelligent and well informed they were.  As I left (or tried to leave) the school, the children surrounded me and showered me with hugs and more questions until I promised to return to say goodbye before I left.

After escaping the school children, I had lunch at the church and headed to the National Museum of Kenya with Seminarian Peter.  Seminarian Peter was very conscious of the fact that I knew next to nothing about what I was seeing out of the windows, so he made sure to talk about things we saw along the way.  One of the things he was proud to show was the "Super Highway", which stretches from Nairobi to Thika, approximately 43 kilometers (26 miles).  The highway was recently expanded from four to ten lanes and reduces traffic time between the two cities from 3 hours to 45 minutes.  A Chinese firm completed most of the engineering and construction work, but all of the highway workers I observed were of African decent. 

We arrived at the museum, where we met Fr. Celestino.  The museum offers no-fee guide service, which we used to enhance the experience.  Our guide, Duncan, was extraordinary.   He led us through the mammals found in Kenya, the evolution of human kind (with its origins in this country) the cultural cycle of life for various Kenyan tribes, and the history of Kenya until just after the won full self-governance in 1964.  I was grateful to have Fr. Celestino with us, as he contributed lots of additional knowledge that our young guide did not know.  The most surprising thing about the museum was that they allow pictures!  Seminarian Peter is an avid photographer and was able to snap pictures of everything as we observed the exhibits. 
Duncan also led us through the snake park, which held numerous snakes and reptiles from around the world.  

We ended the day at another nice restaurant suggested by Fr. Celestino.  I enjoyed beef patties, beef sausages, and wine while I conversed with my knowledgeable hosts.