Gatongora Primary School

You know those commercials with the cute African school children? You know, the ones with dust-covered concrete floors, make-shift desks, and dozens of adorable students wearing matching school uniforms? The camera person captures a panorama shot of the classroom to set the scene and then closeup shots of the kids while the narrator describes why you should give money. Then the camera zooms in on children's chocolate brown eyes as stare through the camera and into your soul. Yeah, well that scene yesterday when I visited Gatongora Primary School with members of our Christian Education Committee. 

Gatongora Primary School is one of the few public schools in this area. Most children attend private schools (like Sukari Presbyterian Academy which is run by our church). This is partially due to the reality that public schools here are seriously underfunded (sound familiar?!). The result is that public schools are only attended by students who come from families who live beneath the poverty line.  

The Christian Education Committee at Sukari seeks to support the church sponsored schools (SPA and SPSS) and public schools in the surrounding area. This was the first time Sukari had visited GPS and it was deeply meaningful. Pastor George, the CE chair, the CE treasurer, and myself represented Sukari during this visit. We pulled up and as if on cue, a chorus of children shouted "mzungu" (white person) as I got out of the car. The all stared, waved, and smiled at me as we walked though their campus to the upper school classrooms. We spent time with the eighth grade students in their classroom. 

Eighth grade is a big deal here. All students are required to take a test that determines which secondary schools (high schools) they get into. Most secondary schools in Kenya are boarding schools and if the students at GPS get high enough scores they could qualify for scholarships (aka life changing for them and their families). The problem is that because GPS is a public school and is way underfunded, they don't have money to spend on classroom supplies. That's where Sukari came in. The CE committee purchased brand new, age specific dictionaries and other resource books for each classroom. We later saw how desperate this need was. Their previous dictionary was a brown stack of frayed papers that had probably once been a book in a previous life. 

We entered the classroom to see 50 students peering at us. That's when it hit me. I had walked into the commercial I'd seen on American Television so many times. Bugs swarmed every corner of the dust-covered classroom. The entire classroom was cramped as students were sitting four to a desk (there should only be two). Their clothes had stains, holes, and fraying seams but their smiles looked as if they had just walked into Disney World. I was once again humbled beyond words. 

Those kids from the commercial became real people to me yesterday. It wasn't just a plea for money on the television. I was standing in a classroom full of people who had greater needs than I ever have. I'm still trying to process that experience. 

We all introduced ourselves. Then, Pastor George shared the gospel (something that could never happen in public schools in the US). His message was well received by teachers and students. After that, we prayed over the books we donated and left two huge bags of new uniforms for the students. This was the introductory visit of what will surely be a lasting relationship between GPS and PCEA Sukari and it was an honor to take part in it. 

In the picture below, our group is pictured with teachers and administrators form GPS while we sign the guest book (a common practice throughout Kenya). 

Pictured below from left to right: Patrick (CE Treasurer), me, and Agnes (CE Chair). 

~ sending love from a humbled Nell in Nairobi  

*pictures were taken by Patrick and graciously shared with me