"Faith is the size of a seed"

We had another full day today. This morning we went to church. Alice was preaching when we arrived and a young girl called Margaret translated for us in English. Alice talked about how to believe in the lord and how if you believe you can do anything, Alice was very passionate about what she was preaching and had tears streaming down her face. The church was full of children from a very young age who sat quietly throughout the 4 hour service. The church is located at the primary  school which is in the middle of the slums which is just a metal hut. As you can imagine in the temperatures of about 30 degrees today how hot it was for us sitting in there for the 2 hours we were there. After Alice finished her preaching a young girl started singing on her own, then the bongo drums started and everyone joined in. Some of the little children started dancing in front and Maryanne joined them along with Jude and Kathy. We noticed as we looked around that everyone wears their best clothes on Sunday. This is probably the only time they don't wear their uniform. Some of the children's clothes were too big for them and some too small. Paul got up and said a few words to everyone and introduced us all. We all went up the front and said something each about how thankful and blessed we were to be here and how welcoming they had been to us, they all clapped and rejoiced. Shirley then got up and talked to everyone about how the seed is the beginning of faith, how it grows with belief and prayer. While the church service was going on there were still a lot of children on the streets, some came looking through the tin windows to see what was going on.
After church we all went to James and Alice's house. C4C (Asante coffee shop) rent the house for them as they house street children and try to reconcile them with their families or reintergrate them into other familes. It was a modern house with basic facilities. They showed us around the house. Its a 3 bedroom house with a lounge and a small kitchen although they still do all their cooking outside on a fire. They have 2 children themselves Becky and Mary. Mary is adopted, she was found in the streets when she was 18 months old and is now 9 years old. They have 8 street children living with them who share one room which has 2 bunk beds, 2 share each bed. We noticed they didn't have mosquito nets over the beds, which becomes a problem when the children get ill they don't have the money to pay for treatment. Alice and James feed a lot of the children that don't have much. Today we counted upto 52 children that were there and more came later, they fed them a piece of lime which all the children seemed to enjoy, then we followed the children round the back of the house where they all got 2 pieces of bread, 3 biscuits and a cup of pineapple juice. The children all lined up quickly and without any fuss, youngest children first and oldest last. James says during the holidays and weekends this is the norm.
The older children put on a show for us. It was acted out very well and their English was very good. The children who put on the show join in with an annual school music competition. The Life Centre primary school have been rated 16th out of 4000 schools across the nation. The is a massive acheivement for a slum school who has no electricity.
We all joined in afterwards with ring games with all the children. They made us dance inside the circle infront of them all and they all laughed at us as we didn't have their rhythm. It was a great atmosphere of fun and laughter and "such fun".
Today has been a day full of love and we all feel thankful and humbled.
P.S we have have now learnt the Kenyan term of "almost". It means upto 2 hours!

All shopped out

While waiting for the tuc tucs to arrive Shirley talked about how Yellow Dot came at the right time to help with the charity as their Chandlers Ford shop had just had to close due to a competitor in the area and how they had commited to help with the nursery. Shirley got a little emotional at this stage and wanted to thank Yellow Dot and all the parents for their support.
Today was a day of shopping with Alice. We travelling to the town centre and priced up the equipment needed in 3 different shops and bought whatever was cheaper. We were able to buy:
10 chairs
5 Potty's
3 Buckets
12 Spoons
1 50ltr cooking pot
1 36ltr cooking pot
12 plates
12 Cups

10 Small Basins
5 Large Basins
1Water Station
4 Lidded Drinking Beakers ( thats all they had we will buy more later)
While all this was being loaded into the car a man came over and told us about how James had taken him in off the streets as a child and given him an education in the school. He spoke very good English
And shook hands with us all. This shows education is essential and this is what the charity is all about
We took it all back to the school and unloaded before travelling to the food market to buy rice and beans. This was an experience with lots of different smells and sounds. It was filled with locals selling anything and everything. We got a lot of attention being white and had a nice refreshing water melon while we were waiting.
After this we went to Mega City to do a shop for Alice and Jame's house and to look at toys for the nursery. This was a bit more civilised. While they were doing their shop Carolyn, Maryanne and Steph had a look at the toys. We were able to buy rattles, mega blocks, stacking cups, stacking rings and story books.
Our journey back to the hotel was another experience. We travelled along the dual carriage way which nobody had a clue how to use. Cars, tuc tucs, motorbikes and people were travelling both ways up both sides and then the road ended and it was chaos.
We finally got back to the hotel in one piece and had lovely dip in the pool again to cool off.

It's all about giving....

After 13 hours of sleep we feel much more alive, and ready to tackle today's challenges.
It was a slow start, due to "Kenyan time", 2 tuc tuc's, 1 big car was ordered to take all of our luggage to the school and us. Once we got to the nursery we unloaded our suitcases onto the "carpet" and looked at all the things that have been donated by all the parents of Yellow Dot, we were overwhelmed by the generosity and couldn't be more thankful for everything you donated.
We unpacked it all and put them into piles and counted what we brought with us....
Paracetamol= 79 packs + 2 big bags
Erasers = 13
Packs of pencils = 50
Plasters = 21 packs
First aid kits = 2
Vaseline = 29
Packs of pens = 28 (total about 200 individual)
Bike repair kits = 31
Toothpaste = 98
Soap = 29
Yellow dot bags = 77 ( kindly donated by Jane)
Crayons = 37 packs
Felt tips = 11 packs
Rulers = 3
Toothbrushes = 289 ( yes you read that right)

and now we ask ourselves how we managed to get that all in our suitcases and carry them!
We then unpacked the shoes that we all brought over, these shoes were collected over the summer last year by Yellow Dot Parents. We didn't manage to count them but have taken a picture of them. We discussed how the shoes will be used, and have come to an agreement with Alice that they will be sold by the school so that the profit they make will come back to the school, which is what the long term goal is for the nursery to be self sufficient.

Carolyn, Steph and I stayed at the nursery for the day, we made plans with Alice regarding equipmenting the nursery, we talked about the essentials and what does the nursery really need to begin with, as what our needs are, are very different to what their needs are here. We then plan to go "window shopping" to try and see the best deals and then go next week to buy. We want to make sure that the money is being well spent and for the right reasons.

We spent time with the children in the afternoon. They were excited to see us and all wanted to hold our hands, touch our skin and commenting how soft we were. They played big ring games outside in the heat, it was nice to see the teachers interacting with the children, as the last time Charlotte and Maryanne did notice that the children were left to entertain themselves a lot. We got summoned to take over and teach the children some English games that we play/sing. We taught them, tiny turtle, 5 speckled frogs, along came Mr Wolf and the Hokey Cokey!!

Our luxury lift arrived and brought us back to the hotel, we

re we had a swim to cool down and reflect on our day.

First day in Africa

13 bags, 7 hand luggage, 6 handbags and 1 manbag...... And we didn't lose a single thing.

After a very long journey we have arrived in Kisumu, we have not slept and are all feeling it now.
We quickly put our bags away and had a quick change and freshen up and then we went to the nursery school and  primary school. Carolyn and Steph experienced their first tuc tuc ride, and what an experience that was for them, they quickly learnt that there are no road laws, people drive on the pavement, and holes the size of meteors!

We were greeted by all the nursery children lined up at the gate ready for our greeting. As the gates opened they all sang to us....we found this emtional but very welcoming. It was lovely to see their faces lightening up as we shook their hands and gave them a smile. We were quickly hurried to the new kitchen area which Yellow Dot helped fundraiser for last year, it is very different to what Maryanne saw the last time she was here ( see photo with blog of the new kitchen). We then got shown the nursery and it was lovely seeing all the children learning and being inspired by their teachers, the all welcomed us with open arms and of course singning. Maryanne could see a massive improvement and development of the teaching that was going on, and she was also exceptional pleased that they had lots more books, and have even got a small lending library going on, which is something that her and Charlotte spoke about with Alice.
We briefly got shown where the new 0-2 nursery was going to go and have made plans with Alice to go shopping to find the right resources for the nursery.

Another tuc tuc ride and more meteors in the road and we reached the primary school with some very excited children to see us. We were introduced to the Head of the school and all had to sign the vistor book. He then took us personal round to each class from year 3 to year 8. These classrooms haven't changed much since the last time Maryanne was here, they are still very cramped and dark, which we still find astonishing how the children can actually read what is in front of them. Never the less the children are still exceeding excellent grades and all of year 8 want to further their education and contiune with high school. They are all very passionate about the "life centre school" and all sang a school motto as we came into their classrooms.

We have returned to the hotel for an early dinner and much needed sleep!!

Steph's thoughts

Passport-check
Tickets-check
Vaccination record-check

I am still in shock that I am going and not sure it will sink in until I am Sat on the plane getting ready for take off 😁

As I sit here staring at my 2 big suitcases filled with stationary, toothpaste, toothbrushes, paracetamol, bicycle repair kits, sponges, flannels and shoes, I think to myself I still have so much to go in them, but I have no room!!!! My clothes have been packed into my hand luggage!!!

Tomorrow I embark on a trip of a lifetime, I will be packing the last minute bits tomorrow morning, I am very excited about this trip and all I have done over the past few weeks is talk to many different people about it, I am very privileged to be sharing the experience with Maryanne and Carolyn and I hope we can continue the good work that has already been done over there.
I am looking forward to sharing what Yellow Dot are about and sharing our knowledge with them all. I am excited about the challenges ahead of setting up the under 2's nursery and delivering all the bits and bobs we have collected across the nurseries.

Last of all I would like to say a huge thank you for the huge contributions made by parents at YDO and across the Yellow Dot settings, your generosity means a lot and we can certainly make a difference to these children.

Enjoy reading our daily updates and enjoy this incredible journey with us.

Thank you for all your support
Steph

Carolyn's pre- trip thoughts

Hi everybody
I'm really excited to be going to Kenya and really looking forward to it. I'm sure i won't sleep much tonight with excitement. It's a great privilege to have been chosen to go and an experience i'm sure i will remember and recall for years to come.
We have sorted lots of shoes and our suitcases are full with them and other stationary and toiletries that have been very kindly donated by our Yellow Dot families and team members. Not much room left in the case for my own clothes but i'm sure i won't need much. I've checked the temperature in Kisumu and its 28 degrees so just some shorts and t.shirts will do.
All my vaccinations have been done and there were a lot 😩 and malaria tablets all ready to start taking tomorrow.
This is going to be a life changing experience for me and i'm sure i will look at my own life differently when i get back and appreciate more what i have.
 Please keep reading our blog which we will be updating daily to let you all know what wonderful things we have been up to.

Thank you all

Carolyn

Maryanne's thoughts and thanks

Wow, just reading the last blog that Charlotte and I did, it feels like yesterday we where there.

Tomorrow we embark on this journey again, I have packed, unpacked and packed again. As I was sitting packing my heart felt so overwhelmed by the generosity of all then parents, children and staff, my 2 big suitcases are full to the top with toothbrushes, stationary, toothpaste, paracetamol and bike repair kits, my other suitcase is full with shoes, this is something we did last year at YD, my hand luggage is what I have had to put my clothes in for the duration we are there!!
I am excited to be sharing this experience with Carolyn and Steph, this is a first for them and I'm  sure it will be a memorable one.
Our project for when we are out there is to help start a 0-2 year old nursery. All the Yellow Dots did some fundraising, the money we raised has been changed into Kenyan shillings and we are taking it with us, we will be going to the market and personally equipting the nursery....photos will follow. We will also be based at the nursery school every day to give our knowledge and experience to the staff there and bring back the experience we learnt from them. Making bonds with the children and staff and the community is key, as this is something we have learnt from Yellow Dot, building up that trust and security is what every child needs.

I would personally like to say a huge thank you to each and everyone of you who has helped raised the funds and for all the things that you kindly donated, I know it will make a difference to the children in kisumu. Also a big thank you for those staff in the nurseries and YDK who helped with the fundraising, I know it was a short time scale....but YOU DID A FAB JOB!

I hope you enjoy our blog and keep checking everyday to enjoy this amazing journey with us.

Asante
Maryanne