Teacher Celebration and Adversity

After being with the students in the morning and playing with them on the field, Ann, Judy, Nina and I would return to the Noble Guest House to present our Jamii teacher training. At the conclusion of our five teacher training sessions Judy (aka The Producer) orchestrates a certificate ceremony for the teachers.  Sanna opened with a beautiful solo and then we called the teachers up one at a time to present them with a certificate of completion for the topics we presented (learning styles, assessment, geometry, learning difficulties and trauma.)

Here we are with Teacher Kariuki who teaches levels 4-6.  Ann is also handing out envelopes.  These were monetary gifts of hope for the teachers that were anonymously donated.  We learned that Jamii has been struggling recently to meet payroll because the majority of the families have been unable to pay school fees.  (and Basilus and Esther do not turn them away, unlike other schools)  Most of these families are very small vendors who go into town to "hawk" their wares.  Kenya recently has "decentralized" their government system by placing governors over provinces.  The governor in Eldoret recently decreed that hawkers are no longer allowed within the downtown area, effectively taking away these slum families' meager livlihoods.  

The actual story here is that the governor is of the main tribe currently in power, and all these families from the Langas slum community are of the "wrong" tribes.  This is going on all over Kenya now.  Decentralizing the government has, in effect, increased tribalism and discrimination and Miriam is worried that the next round of elections will be as viscious as it was in 2007, and Eldoret was one of the worst areas for election violence at that time. 

 Here we are giving Esther and Basilus their certificates.  Basilus is always quick to say that Jamii means "family" and if you are at Jamii, no matter what your tribe, you are family.  The teachers are from a variety of tribes and they intentionally teach all the students about the cultural heritage, dances, and songs from their different tribes.  Jamii is in essence an oasis in the midst of the tribalism turmoil that surrounds them, making the monumentous effort to teach respect for all. 

 Because I knew how difficult the last few months had been for everyone at Jamii, I asked Lance to come and sing the song "My Hope is in You" at the closing of our time together.  The lyrics are below.  Basilus and the whole team of teachers then thanked us and sang and prayed for us.  Saying our goodbyes was so difficult as we left them for another year, praying that they continue to be strong in the face of so much adversity.  

"My Hope Is In You"

I meet with You and my soul sings out
As your word throws doubt far away
I sing to You and my heart cries
"Holy! Hallelujah, Father, You're near!"

My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long, I won't be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing my hope is in You, Lord

I wait for You and my soul finds rest
In my selfishness, You show me grace
I worship You and my heart cries "Glory
Hallelujah, Father, You're here!"

My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long I won't be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing my hope is in You, Lord

I will wait on You
You are my refuge
I will wait on You
You are my refuge

My hope is in You, Lord, all the day long
I won't be shaken by drought or storm
My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long I won't be shaken by drought or storm

A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing my hope is in You, Lord
My hope is in You, Lord, yeah
My hope is in You, Lord