Ninja vs Penguin

Penguin June 10th, 2010

Pray for:
- Rosemary gets the provision to return to school
- Wisdom and insight of what to do about Rosemary and what to say to her parents

What happened:
- met with Koo at Java House to talk about climbing Mt Kenya
- went home and converted footage from MOV to WMV for Windows Movie Maker
- went to Prestige to meet with Pastor Faith, who didn’t show
- went to Kibra Academy. Futama finished shooting today. i brought the kids chocolate cake that Helen, from my small group, had made

Yesterday, Rosemary, one of my students, at Kibra Academy came up to me and apologized for not being around. She hasn’t been attending school because she can’t afford school fees.

I talked to the principle today, and he told me that he had already let her come for one term, waiting for payment. She has since started her second term.

In total, Rosemary owes 12,000 KSH ($250 USD) for this year. And most likely the same amount for next year, where she’ll be a senior. Then 5,000 KSH ($75 USD) for the national exam. For a total of $575 USD to finish high school.

It seems like a shame that she should be kept from her future because she can’t afford to go to school. Sadly, her story is indicative of many in Kibera.

My heart goes out to Rosemary. She’s bright, she’s eager, and she’s studios. I would consider her one of the stars in my class. I want to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about school, that it’s covered. But is that the wisest solution?

This is one of the problems Filamujuani is looking to fix. But how best to fix it? How do you make it sustainable?

I asked the principle if I could meet the parents on Monday. I don’t know what I’m going to say or ask. But if I can figure out a way to keep her in school without directly sponsoring her, that would be preferable. But if we can’t come to a decision, am I willing to sponsor her?

Say I do sponsor her. What about the other kids who can’t pay school fees?

Today, Futama wrapped production on her first short film today, Sumatra.

It was really great seeing a crowd form to watch them shoot. It was to the point where they were getting in the way of the wide shots that Futama was shooting.

Monday, we will start production on Shaban’s film.

• Kenya: Day 30 – Entrepreneurship (1)
• Kenya: Day 24 – Cheers! (1)
• Kenya: Day 19 – Production (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 3 – 7/9/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 2 – 7/8/08 (0)

Tags: Kenya 2010, Missions, Production, School fees, Trips

• Missions , Posts by Penguin
• Comments