Kupenda for the children

2007 Volunteer Trip to Kenya

2007 Volunteer Trip
(keep scrolling all the way to the bottom to see the full story)

Led by: Cindy Bauer, Kate Schuit and Andy Bauer
Participants: Julie F., Julia S., Evan, Tracey, Adam, Pat, Lauren, Holly, Mike, Laurie, Brianna, Leslie, Eric and Chas

 

This was the second time Kupenda has had an organized volunteer trip and again it was a success. Everyone contributed their unique skills and abilities but most of all the children were loved. Lauren had a clothing drive at her church and Kate had supplies donated at her school. All of this was handed out to the children. Volunteers helped with afternoon activities, teaching, construction, painting, occupational therapy, working with the autism center, and even welding. In addition to all of this Pat and Adam officially opened the Marafa boarding facility which they spent last summer raising money for. This happened during the disabilities awareness day which the group help prepare for.


 

Afternoon Activities

 

Every afternoon after classes, the group led craft and outdoor activities. Holly took the lead on developing crafts like making “God’s eyes” and macaroni necklaces, which none of the children had ever done before. One of the teachers commented that she wanted to do some of the activities she observed because it would help the children with cerebral palsy with their fine motor skills. Leslie took the led the outdoor activities which included games of “duck duck goose” and soccer. The kids especially liked “duck duck goose” and the children who walked would push the children in wheelchairs around the circle. One evening the group stayed late for a movie night. We watched the Lion King on the wall of the school using the projector so kindly loaned from a local hotel. One of the team members brought glow sticks for some added excitement.

 

Teaching

 

The original plan was for some of the volunteers to work as aids to the teachers. Instead, because of staffing shortages, some of the volunteers we teaching classes all by themselves. It was amazing to see how people just threw themselves into it. Brianna, a social studies teacher, taught a group of older deaf children even though she didn’t know sign. However, since the children could write and read English they were actually able to learn from each other. During one discussion on the “family unit” the children told her that the children at the boarding facility were their family. They said that the school and Kupenda provided them with food and shelter. However, they said the biggest provision of Kupenda was love. Holly also impressively taught a group of deaf students. Lauren taught the second level cerebral palsy class. She was able to teach some of the children things that she was told they could not learn. Julie F., Leslie, Chase, Tracey and Laurie helped in this class and the first level cerebral palsy class. The children in this class need one on one attention if possible because many of them are unable to walk or communicate.

 Construction

 Adam and Pat spent most of the mornings at the Gede school assisting with plastering and installing windows into the new classroom. They worked really hard and had blisters to show for it.

 

 

Painting

Julia F. and Holly worked with some of the more artistically inclined children to paint the outside walls of the Gede school. They were able to paint a map of Kenya with all its provinces.

 

Occupational Therapy

 

Mike spent the majority of his time assisting Koffa (the Kupenda funded therapist) in the occupational therapy room since Mike works in pediatric occupational therapy (O.T.) at home. Mike learned a lot from Koffa in regards to how to conduct therapy with very little. Mike discussed his experience with “sensory integration” which was an area Koffa is interested in learning more about. Evan, who is majoring in “movement science” also, helped out some in the O.T. room. 

 

 

Autism Center Assistance

Some of the members of the team visited a newly started autism center which currently only has two children. The first day Holly, Mike, Tracey, Laurie and Brianna visited to see how their experiences working with autism could help out the teachers there. Mike, Holley and Tracey returned to spend an entire morning answering question about autism from the staff there.

 

 Welding

 

Eric is a welder and volunteered this skill by building a specialized swing set geared towards the children that are confined to wheelchairs. Eric worked with a local welder, Henry, to combine their two skills to come up with a great end product that the kids began using immediately.

 

 Disabilities Awareness Day

This was the second disabilities awareness day sponsored by Kupenda. This year is was held in the very remote Marafa area which is about a 2 hour drive from the town we stayed in, on very rough roads. There were about 600-1000 people from the community present and 100’s of children from the special needs facilities performed. The group sang the Swahili part of the “kupenda song” with the children who sang and signed the words while I led and Andy played the guitar. The children performed amazing skits, poetry, dances and songs. There were several speakers (including Leonard and me) that talked to the community about the value of children with disabilities. People in this region were not previously aware of all that these children were capable of.

 

 

 Official Opening of the Marafa Boarding Facility

 

The disabilities awareness day began with a parade which ended at the newly constructed boarding facility. Pat and Adam (Adventures for the Cure) took turns carrying one of the girls who will go to this facility, in the parade. They were then able to do the official ribbon cutting and declare the facility open. Each of them planted a tree and three additional trees were planted for Jesse, Andy and Phil who were unable to make it to Kenya but help to raise the funds for the facility through their cross country bike ride.