Tumebakisha corner moja Tu!

As we set foot in the busy streets of as it is commonly known “CBD”. At an early hour of 7:00 am the people seem to be at the peak of their bee hive activities. However a different group stands near bata Hilton. They ready themselves for a voyage, to a place known to all as Vihiga county, a daunting 7 hours trip. After the last member of our little crusade of 10 ninja’s arrives we head to the booking office and shortly after 9 our journey begins.

Have you ever been to the Kangemi suburbs past westlands in the morning? If yes then you should have no qualms with my present predicament. Otherwise you have seen nothing yet, where we see the good, the bad, and the drunk side of ghetto life. Well in a city full of so many vices and injustice getting out for a while is always so refreshing.

The journey was somewhat uneventful making only a brief stop at Nakuru and away we went. We got to chavakali at around 5:30 pm shocked that foreigners from Nairobi could so easily blend in with the locals. Kids comp camp has been here before, this was the second installment in Vihiga county. it’s very refreshing to come to a new place in this beautiful country, where you don’t find any discrimination or volatility in the atmosphere.

We waited in our bus stop for a few as our gracious hosts came for us. Rose followed in her steed by Eugene arrived and orders were issued and the troop begun to make arrangements. The home where we were meant to nest for the duration of the camp was unfortunately not as big as we had hoped, the fun was checking into hotel rooms, which later would become our home for the entire camp.

The plans were set and off we went first for four of us a 3km trek to the hosts home where we would dine. And another back to our sleeping quarters. And that was the first day. On the second day we made the same trek to go have breakfast with the rest of our group. After breakfast we embarked on a journey to the school with a common directive lies with the locals of the western area, “tumebakisha corner moja Tu!” For whatever reason do not believe anyone who pulls this line out of their treasure trove.

We arrived at the school after another 2 and a half kilometers the ninjas had arrived totalling 10 in number. Reinforcements would join them from the local community making us 15. The kids were as always a sight to behold and as the team was introduced full circle and we begun, the nauseating feeling of what we do as kids comp camp came over me again. It never really goes away, your touching a heart, a life. Through imparting a basic principal you are giving the children a fighting chance, dont get me wrong, I never said its easy, far from it. You become your class two teacher having to repeat over and over, demonstrate, illustrate and sometimes compensate, and translate. However when they do get it, then you have a free dose of adrenaline and ………….. Without prescription.

After work its time to feast, where the teachers have arranged a small breakfast for us, the tea and mandazis are welcome as we prepare for the next session. The kids are engaging and excited as the first day guess who learns a new word,”jokofu” for those of you who like me learnt Swahili through a window this is a fridge. We had an amazing time, learning as we taught. Everytime we start a camp we gain a new experience and friend. Teaching computational thinking, teaching binary, or a new excel sheet method you always gain a new perspective. Steve in Kigama primary, was as witty as they came always hands on, Velma from the developers group was intuitive but shy. All these kids played a genuine part in urging us on for the next three days.

After cooking many meals and sharing many laughs, our time to return to Nairobi had come, but not before Hillary and Dennis had disgraced yours truly in a race. Well, I could say I lost gracefully, being a whisker away from losing completely. When the matatu came and it was our time to depart as the saying goes it was sweet sorrow. The kids hanging on, and us not letting go. We came, we taught, and we conquered and we lived to teach another day. Pun intended ofcourse, amidst all the joy and tears the message was home #kompyutamashinani strikes again, till next time, remember a candle does not lose anything by lighting another candle.