Mombasa is one of the most beautiful locations I have ever visited. It was a hectic trip in! We arrived at our new hotel as it was getting dark. It was extremely humid and for the first time on this trip I felt like I was somewhere tropical. The hotel was gorgeous. It was a huge white building with beautiful tile floors and expansive ceilings. The doorways were arched and the wood was a lovely ebony colour with intricate carvings. We could smell frangipani flowers mixed with salty ocean and tropical fruit.
We went to our rooms which reminded me of ‘Out of Africa’ with mosquito nets over our beds. The balcony in my room was a stone’s throw from the ocean. I sat out there looking at the stars, watching monkeys jump from chair to chair, while listening to the wind and the waves. I went to bed early knowing we were visiting preschools the next day and I wanted to be refreshed.
Day 6
In the morning we got onto new shuttle buses and after a short drive into town we arrived at the first Madrasa (pre-school) for children aged three to six. Madrassas typically offer a Muslim education. In these particular preschools the curriculum is based on both secular and religious teachings. This dual curriculum was born out of a need identified by Muslim community leaders who realized that their children were falling behind once they entered the first grade. They approached the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and asked for assistance to open their own Madrasas. Four years later, after much research and planning, the first Madrasa was opened. In this case the AKF conducted the research and the community elected the women they wished to have as teachers. The teachers were trained and provided with resources to facilitate their training and the children’s education.
When we came in into the first Madrasa I couldn’t help crying. All the children were sitting on the floor learning their colours. There were about twenty children sitting on a concrete floor covered in straw mats. The walls were covered in posters that don’t think I would see in a North American classroom. There ‘Cholera, major infection sites’ posters ‘Possible injection sites for antibiotics’ posters, as well as Muslim prayer posters and more usual classroom fare including colours, body parts, and hand washing.
These children are typically in class from 8 am to 12pm and receive what we were told was an ‘active learning approach’. They were singing their colours and dancing and I don’t think I saw of them not smiling from ear to ear the entire time we were there. They loved seeing themselves on camera, and at times were clamoring onto my lap to touch my hair, blow me kisses and see themselves on the video camera. There were all kinds of personalities too – quiet, very rambunctious, and cuddlers. It was an eye opening experience. We found out that these children only have one pair of shoes and two t-shirts and that they travel a great deal to get to school each day. They were so excited to be the focus of our visit and once again I felt overwhelmed by the happiness of these children.
As I mentioned above, the AKF trains the teachers who are elected by their community and provides a resource team, as well as faculty and administrators. We again witnessed the long term work that goes into these successful projects. After two years of training, a bursary is awarded to the newly trained faculty. The way the bursary works is $2500 can be used towards other projects, as long as the planning and sustainability of the project is considered in its use. This was really an example of a grassroots initiative using community training to empower local women.
The second Madrasa we visited was almost identical in size and structure to the first. The children were equally beautiful, ever smiling and eager to have their pictures taken. The toys were sparse to say the least. Cars were made from recycled and revamped jugs or molded from thin scrap metal. Soccer balls were made from old garbage bags stuffed together and bound with twine. It was remarkable to witness this level of ingenuity and resourcefulness. As with the first pre-school, I would have been content to stay there all day and was the last of our group to exit and make my way to the van.
After our visits to the Madrassas we made our way to the internationally acclaimed Aga Khan Academy. Students from outlying areas attend this boarding school and are taught alongside local students who receive scholarships to attend this institution and room with non-scholarship students. Our guide, Peter McMurray, is the head of the Academy and spent an hour showing us the campus and explaining how the education is delivered to these students. If a student has the grades, ambition and the fortitude to do well at this academy, we were told that the tuition costs can be reduced or waived. He spoke of many cases where two boys may share the same classes, same room, and very similar experience; however, one comes with five pairs of shoes and golf clubs (and a myriad of other privileges) whereas the other only has two t-shirts to his name.
The campus was full of activities! There were two full length soccer fields, an amphitheatre, and a children’s playground. The bedrooms overlooked the ocean. The curriculum teaches the value of volunteering and giving back to the community. The students must all learn another language (other than English) – one that is soon to be implemented into the curriculum is Kiswahili. I understood that keeping this local language alive was a significant priority for the academy.
After visiting this school we went to the offices of The Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya (EMACK), which includes a school. This program receives funding from USAID and the Aga Khan Foundation administers the funding. This aid reaches the most marginalized and poorest children in Kenya. At the school we were visiting the students and teachers had selected a student to coordinate our visit. It was heartwarming to see how proud she was to be introducing different guests and announcing which skits and dances would come next. EMACK oversees the education students receive in primary schools. There was a definite emphasis on empowering girls and the curriculum touched on areas I was crushed to know any young girl would have to worry about in day to day life. The girls have leaders set up in their classrooms that run weekly forums to discuss issues that affect them and how they can work towards solutions. They showed us meeting notes about topics like menstrual cycles, how to stay in school in spite of being asked to marry as early as twelve years old, not being swayed into dropping out of school and so many other serious issues that I can’t believe affect the ten to thirteen year old girls that we were visiting.
I cried that afternoon when our guide Margaret told us they had lost a twelve year old classmate earlier that day because she got pregnant and had performed a botched attempt to terminate the pregnancy. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be that young and experience that degree of pain and suffering. The girls talked about wanting to be lawyers, doctors, dentists, and pilots. I could also tell that these girls knew how hard they would have to work to establish such careers. These girls are taught to work hard and believe in their futures because as women they have a right to have a career.
After visiting this school we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner cruise we were scheduled to attend on the Tamarind Dow, one of the sister restaurants to the Carnivore that we had visited earlier in the week. I was grateful to have these evenings with my fellow travelers so we could debrief, unwind and relax after the intense and sometimes overwhelming experiences. We boarded a bus and which took us to the boat. We had a wonderful dinner cruise in the harbor while our food was grilled over charcoal directly below us. I ate amazing prawns and asparagus salad which honestly felt like a pretty extravagant way to spend the evening after the visits we had conducted that day. It made me think about the extent of my own privilege.
After the cruise we relaxed on the patio in the warm summer air. We all sat on huge pillows and talked late into the evening. I then went to bed because I knew the next day at the Coastal Rural Support Programs was going to be long.