Our last day....a day of celebration and a day of sadness

Well--Today was it...Starting off at Village Market for some last minute shopping before Margaret returns home, lunch, and then purchasing chocolate and soda for celebration at the school and off to St. Al's we went. 

Before we talk about today, last night when we returned home to Savelberg, we came with all the art our respective students had created.  In each of our rooms, we sorted through and made piles for each student, ohh and aahwed and occasionally had a moment thinking back on these students.  I believe Margaret and I were up well past midnight considering all that had occurred over the last two weeks and how it felt like we had crammed in a semester of learning into 2 weeks and that they all just prospered.

With that being said, I could not pick out art from each student in forms 2 to bring back and Margaret was able to for Forms 1 which is probably a good thing because she had a rowdy bunch being freshman (form 1).  I know both of us had a hard night sleeping with anticipation of today and it felt so much like an end of something that was so enjoyable and engaging.

Margaret the marathon shopper, did her deed today at Village Market in Mathiaga.  Our driver/friend Franco is the best, he knew were to take us.  I must admit, I also shopped a bit.  I think that Margaret and I have started to sicken of Nairobi Java as we had it for lunch and it felt lackluster and not nearly as exciting as the day we started.  Both Margaret and I realize that we could actually maybe eat at other establishments the next time.  

When we got to school with paintings, celebration materials, certificates and pens to hand out in thanks, the walk from the street to the school through raw sewage and people's front yards where they had become used to us walking daily felt so sad and an end to this amazing journey with the students and our own personal selves.  We had become accustomed to being accosted by children in their Swahili English shouting " how are you?, How are you?"  and when you respond, a look on their face like, "Oh they said something?" and then you would hear, "I am good, Fine or Welcome".

When we entered the school, it felt like we were just part of the flow of the school and the students expected us.  On a pretty regular basis, school never started on time for a myriad of reasons ( I call this Kenyan time), the children lunch between 1-2 and sometimes got served late or the office which we stored our stuff was not unlocked, so Margaret and I got in the habit of standing at the front door and welcoming each and every one of the students back by shaking hands and saying hello.  It was always nice when the students would say hello and grab your hand before you did.  They definitely made an impact on our lives and I feel us on theirs.  Margaret and I who started out without children, and now feel like we have 2 classrooms full of "our students".

Before celebration began, Margaret went over with her class the pictures she had chosen to take home, while I handled out all the art to my class to have them select what I could take.  Each approach worked well with the different temperaments of our classes.  My student quietly went through their work selecting and sharing and Margaret's class quiet looked at her choices.  Then we both introduced the "readers" that will reside in the library for them to learn about the art and artists we taught them.  They all loved it and clapped when we showed them that this would be there for them.  Then we both handled out certificates/pens as commencement of sorts and then off to celebrate. 

One never knew how big of a deal 3 2-liter bottles of soda could have on a group who only has water.  This was great and they totally perceived a celebratory time with this and the chocolates we brought for them.  We talked about photos that they had taken and we showed them about 40 out of the thousands that they captured and explained how they told a story.  They loved it and they were so excited, it felt like the school had a bright and shiny light around it.  

There was lots of, "I will miss you" or " I learned so much"  or "when is the next art class".  These students are amazing without a doubt. When I asked them, what are the 3 things that I say about you every day, they all said out loud, "I am Smart, beautiful and important".

All had talent but some of these students showed exceptional potential.  Jacob, who we have encouraged to continue, left him with supplies all his own.  He is a wow artist.  

After our celebration with the students, we met with Kiambi (headmaster) and Beatrice (deputy headmistress) and talked about our two weeks and they were so happy with how the work went.  We talked about what we had taught and our methods, how we engaged the students and shared the finished painitngs. They laughed at the photos as well as realized the reality of the story that was being told. They were amazed and continued to say how they never knew that their students had such talent. 

This moved into "what is next" and they agreed to continue to engage these students with art, with our help to create an art club and have art time for these students on a weekly basis who have taken the Art Immersion Class.  We also discussed 2009.  We have set dates when the 2nd year of the Art in Kibera/art immersion program will occur.

As we both walked out of the school and up the walk that we have come quite versed in navigating, we both discussed later what a lose that it felt like was happening by leaving Kibera today.  I think had you asked us a week before our first trip to Kenya if Margaret and I would be creating curriculum and going to teach in the largest slum in Africa, I think we would have both wondered who had spiked your coffee. Now that it has become a reality and as Kiambi said "was a pilot and now is a program that we deliver", I can only share how excited I am to have this future with these students whom are smart, beautiful and important.

We would like to thank you all for your support, concern, interest and downright love you have given as it relates to this trip.  We carried you all with us in our thoughts.

Be well and see you all soon.

Charles and Margaret

Third world charm-Day 4, week 2

Yesterday, having no water did not prevent us from painting, today, the lack of power and no water did not either. We got to the school right on time and the students were getting prepared and when we went in the deputy headmistress' office which has been defacto our office as well, she is in there in the dark holding a meeting with a parent and student, just as if it was no big deal.  I guess you just roll with it and we did.

Today was an important day because it was the good paper day for watercolor and the last class of making art.  The history lessons have been deployed, the concepts have been taught and the masterpieces were made today.  It is amazing to see how into the work these students are.  They were suppose to go to gym class at 3 but because we were there they stayed with us the whole time.  In addition, my class asked if they could paint until the very end because they wanted to make the most of their time.  These students are amazing.  You see their characters show through how they paint, or their expressions or their questions.  Interestingly, not lots of questions when they are actually creating for forms 2 and they are oh so quiet when they are painting.  Margaret has freshman and they seem to be a little more talkative and well, you know, freshman.

The patron of the classes that we are teaching is Sr. Luciana and she came by to say how excited she was and that their work could not stop once we leave that it had to continue weekly and I was excited to hear her say that.  Margaret and I will meet with the headmaster tomorrow to discuss how that might happen as well as discuss future engagements, etc.  The kids are abuzz with art.  

Margaret and I brought all the art home to look at it, put it in order by student, figure out what we might keep and leave and just look at the progress.  

The kenyan people are a resilient people and this shows through in how these students just want to persevere and push forward.  The energy and engagement is contagious and they make you want to do an much as you can with them. They are a loving, engaging and welcoming people.

Thanks to Margaret, they will have 2 great readers that she created from the art history classes that we taught as well as posters which both will find a home in the library at St. Al's.

I do not think either of us can believe that tomorrow will be the last day with the Students.  I think we are both attached and settling in to the surroundings of Nairobi, Kibera, the people, and our students.  

This trip is just another catalyst for what might be next.  Who knows?  I told the class that I had this dream that they were all showing art in the Nairobi Art Institute (There is no such place) and they all clapped with excitement that something like this could be true someday. 

As I continue to say, they are smart, beautiful and important.  We are getting so much more than we are giving it feels and all I can say is that we are lucky humans.

We were suppose to meet with Professor Kinota from Catholic University tonight after class for tea to find out that he had locked his keys in his car.

Tomorrow it is off to village market in the morning, then to pick up some beverages for celebration at the school and then to school to honor the great artists for their accomplishments.  It is exciting to see them so happy and so engaged.  It makes you realize that it is all worth it.  Every bit of it.

More tomorrow,

Charles and Margaret

 

Never let the water get in the way of painting-Day 3, week 2

Got to St. Al's and there you have it, no more water again, but who said it can't come from elsewhere?

In order to paint, volunteers from each class went to a place they knew they could get water and voila, we were in action.  Painting all about.  There painting skills are very pedestrian for some since this literally for some is the first time that they have actually painted and some that have been exposed to drawing, etc are doing great.  There is one student that it feels like should be in a school for the arts or at least be going to art school on the side or in the future.  The classes are a bustle for the whole 2 hours.  The students seems to continue to go on and on.  Some seem to have endless energy and a few seem to just be going through the motions of doing art.  We hear from other teachers that forms 1/2 seems to only be able to talk about the art classes which is great.  We are going to leave some source materials in the library so they can continue to look at the bio's of the artist and encourage them to start an art club of sorts with the materials that we have brought.  I am hopeful that they will do so and that they will continue to explore art.  

The cameras came back today, all 6 and they always carry interesting stories and at the same time, they are all teenagers and that comes through in the many things that show up in the pictures.  Who does not like posing right?  Well we have what feels like thousands of the students that were meant to be on the runway.  It is clear that these students love to be in the photos.  

Tomorrow is day 4 of week 2 and probably the last real day of class since Friday will be giving out certificates that we made them and sharing art and photos.  I think teaching is hard as it is, but add limited resources to the mix, walking through the slum and raw sewage and having to scavenger chalk everyday and yes, it wares you out.  Both Margaret and I looked at each other with utter exhaustion and we are each only teaching students for 2 hours a day.  The prep seems to take a lot more time than we perceived and I think that realizing how hard these students have it and the harsh setting they are in, can be also very exhausting.  

I am thrilled to say that I feel like Margaret and I have made an impact.  Some have inherent art skills and want to know more, expressions has been key and having dialogue in class and asking questions about art is so rewarding to answer.  It is amazing to see them just do there thing while painting.  They really seem engaged outside of those few that are going through the motions.  

Tomorrow and Friday are it and then we go back to our lives of what I began to consider last year as abject luxury and now am sure of it, our lives may look different even more now that we have experienced this second year. 

We also had a nice visit with someone some of you may remember from St. Joseph the worker parish if you have been on the Kenya trip.  Laban Manga who was the man who ran the small letter presses and I have stayed in contact throughout the year and once he knew we were coming invited us to meet him at his home in Kengami to meet his wife and daughter.  It was a nice visit and I was glad that we visited him.  He is a really nice man and you realize as slums are concerned, some are certainly better than others.  His has a home with a true door and living room, kitchen and I am sure a bedroom.  There is a distinct difference between Kengami and Kibera.  He was telling us that when the riots and fires hit in December/January, he had 5 others living with him from Kibera.  The view from his home was great and at the same time, it was of Kibera.  As we have experienced on this trip there is lots of awkward beauty in Nairobi.

That all for now.

Charles and Margaret

Harsh realities show on day 2

All,

The day stay started off with me not feeling well because of sinus stuff and a little dehydration.  I am recovered.  Well, Off to St. Al's to prepare to teach more watercolors and the harsh realities of daily life in Kibera show up.  We got all ready to have our classes start to paint and when they went to get water for the painting, the came back and said that the water had been shut off for rationing.  Wow--Something we take for granted everyday, was shut off to them.  Can you imagine coming home and not being able to use your water or all the other resources we do not think twice about?  It is just a shocker... Then you take that to the next level and realize that one of the only places in Kibera that these students get running water is in the school.

When faced with this situation you end up having to roll with it.  After last week, Margaret and I settled each with a class-Margaret Forms 1 and I have forms 2.  The first week we did shared teaching but now we have each settled into a groove that makes sense.  Occasionally we end up popping into each others classes and it is works really well.  

Yesterday we had the students create Bios that just kind of made your heart stop when you read some of them.  So little words, so much meaning.  They all are so intent in succeeding that all you want to do is help pave the road.  Their lives are hard yet they are so able to bring it together in school, hope for the best and pretty readily acknowledge that some have it worst off.

Since we did not have water for paints, Margaret's class did drawing and I continued the history curriculum on the top 20.  They love the top 20 and often when those that have volunteered to read are asked to, they have to collect it from someone else who wanted to read it.  It makes you realize how hungry they are.  These students are smart.

Last night Margaret and I looked at some 1000 pictures that these students have already taken and we are just in awe of the story they tell.  We also have many minutes of Video that they all have captured when they realized they could.  

The paintings and drawing are great and you can tell that they love expressing themselves.  The other night when we met with Sr. Mary Owens, she shared that they do not have opportunities to express themselves and this must be so freeing.  

I love it, I feel like we are getting as much if not more out of this then the students are.

Today is Day 3 of the 2nd week and I never imagined it would go so quickly.  We developed certificates for our 70 students to give out on Friday.  These students deserve so much more.  

This morning we taught at the Red Rose School to Standards 1/2 and had them draw animals.  It was great to see how well behaved and excited they were to have us there.  

Well, we are at lunch, feeling fortunate to be here and excited to teach St. Al's in a few hours.

Thanks for all your support.

Charles and Margaret

More than Art, a weekend and the start of week 2

Well--Saturday started off at the Mikono Centre at JRS and Phil and Martha, you will be happy to know that we have our order in.  They did not have any of the stuff available but committed to sending it by mid October.  Martha/Phil--If you are reading this, could you please send me a revised list with counts of how many.  That would be helpful.  The list I had did not indicate counts.

After Saturday at Mikono Shop we went off to attempt to see the orphan Elephants at the Sheldrick Center in Langata.  We come to find out it was only an hour a day that one can go in so we went back to Savelburg(home sweet home)  for a great afternoon rest and then picked up Anne Wangeri (formerly of JRS now LWF and a dear friend of mine) to have dinner with Father Superior of East Africa, Valerian Shirima.  He was so great.  We had a lovely meal and a great time of wonderful, witty and caring conversation.  

Sunday was a packed day.  Margaret went off to a church she wanted to visit and the mass went about 45 longer than she expected.  Then we went off to see the Elephants again and it was great.  There were 10 orphans ranging from 2 months to 23 months old and the reason that they are orphans range from human impact as well as natural causes.  Very interesting . They are great and I took about 500 pictures.  Elephants are my new favorite animal and have always been Margaret's favorite.  After this, off to the Verandah for eating and shopping (at least looking).

 Then we visited with Deborah Moijoi from Pedro Arruppe.  We picked her and Father Toppo up to go to her house to see her family and have tea.  It was great.  We also had an opportunity to meet with her dad.  It was great and spending time with her, her family and Toppo was lots of fun.

Then off to dinner at Nakumatt Juntion at Nairobi Java.  We love this place.  We ate with Anne Wangari and really had a wonderful time.  

Today started off with us planning for the week and getting prepared for the 2nd and last week of St. Als Art Immersion Program.  Today started off with intro to watercolor and then letting forms 1 and 2 off to water color.  Such talent.  It is so amazing to see these great students learning so quickly and producing such great art.  We also got cameras back today and the photos that they are taking are truly telling a story.  It is amazing to see this and I am so thrilled that we will be able to share this all with you.  Some of the art that these artists are creating is amazing.  They have such hidden talents that you just want to pull from them and I feel like we could spend the day with them and not have enough time.  Tonight we are having dinner with Sr. Mary Owens of Nyumbani.  It is great to have these connections here and everyone has been so gracious to connect with us while we are here.  

We will keep you up to date on our progress.  Thanks for all your interest and support.

Charles and Margaret

1st week down and amazing students

Although we had an idea, we really did not know what to expect and they have blown any expectations we would have had, totally out of the water.  The students whom I refer to as beautiful, smart and important every day, are exactly that, beautiful, smart and important.  The drawings that they have done are not really comprehensible.  When you realize they have never had this experience and some of them so get the depth and figure, etc, you just look at some of these drawing and question, wow, they made Kibera Beautiful......It looks beautiful.  There comprehension of art and artists and periods of time, renaissance, impressionism, landscape.  Hearing them read about history and pronounce Toulouse Lautrec with a Kenyan Swahili british mix accent and are so proud when they are able to speak in front of class. 

Margaret has been able to really get the students to focus on genre, form and landscape and understanding the importance.  They all get it.

What has been most impressive was that they took home cameras yesterday to start the photography part of this art immersion and all we can sit back and keep saying is that "did they take that?"  Wow---Wow .  The pictures are so beautiful and hard and telling and all that you did not expect and this was in a 24 hour period that they had the cameras.  We had some technical difficulty with a camera or 2 but all is fine.  They have the cameras for the weekend and I cannot wait to see what they come up with on Monday.

After class we went to see David Dinda's home and his brothers home with 4 siblings, 5 nieces/nephews and met many people,  7 people live in a 7x7 room and it is decorated and beautiful in an odd way.  David also showed us his home that he lives in on his own so he can study, small no water, electricity is rigged in some how.

We saw inner Kibera and it was filled with squalor, beauty, hope, pain, abject poverty and at the same time, welcoming.  The most alarming aspects of Nairobi are the contrasts.  We spent the morning in Mathaiga in the village market.  This is by far the highest rent district of Nairobi, Kenya, with nice stores and a nice open air market as well as great chocolate shoppes (you know me).  Margaret would find something she wanted and I would come in for the kill and bargain til we got what we wanted or I would walk away and then they would circle back.

The deputy headmaster Beatrice and I sat and she asked me after looking at Art and Photography and asked me how many years Margaret and I had been teaching in this type of setting and I started to internally shake because I was unsure what she would say next.  She said that she could have never imagined that they would have this much talent and be able to demonstrate this in such a short time.  She was so excited for the beauty that they have created and the talent they exhibit. Wouldn't it be great to see one of these student displaying in a museum.

One never know!  Anything is possible......

More later,

Charles and Margaret

The morning of Day 5 of teaching, can you believe it???

Well,

Time is flying and I have to say it is wonderful.  After Margaret and I have been inducted into the Kenyan Scouts as Rovers, it has been all up hill from here! 

Yesterday it was nice to have David Dinda with us for the morning as we went to the text book centre, the school supply store for Nairobi for more supplies.  Then Franco suggested we see the old Norfolk Hotel interior.  This is a hotel from 1904 that has been refurbished.  It was great.  The coffee was amazing, the gift shop high end and the Fairmont has taken over the Norfolk and redone it. A lovely colonial hotel in all the British/Kenyan Style--Then Lunch at Nairobi Java and off to school for yet a speedy and wonderful day.

Although we seem to only be teaching two hours, we actually are teaching two distinct classes at the same time.  Yesterday was more studio time and student reading biographies of artists.  It was great to hear them read so nicely and when they all asked for copies you just smile because they want to all learn.  

Margaret has them doing timed drawings and I am having them complete their color drawings.  They do not like black pencil compared to color.  It is great to see how well they are doing.  They are all amazing humans with this capacity that outweighs most.  

The Head Master Kiambi came by and talked with us and demonstrated how happy he was with the program and we are planning dates for 2009.  I could not be more excited to know that they have invited us back.  

The end of our day was special and engaging.  We handed out cameras to a number of leads, to take pictures of their lives and their groups they were assigned; 5 cameras went out and there is one person responsible for returning them.  I cannot wait to see what we get.  They children are engaged and they respond well in class, ask questions and take true responsibility.  They are protective of this art immersion in a way that I would not have imagined.  We wanted to leave the art posters that we brought and were going to put them up in the class and they said, "no", we want them to stay safe, clean and cared for, put them in the library. 

Although we are giving our skill and selves through our knowledge of art and desire to help, we are really receiving gifts from these beautiful and smart students.  They are all so great and so wonderful to be around and so engaged.  One student whom was assigned Socrates for research came to me some what upset because all she could find about Socrates was that he was a greek philosopher.  She was able to find this with limited access and resources.  They are equally engaged on all fronts.

Well, believe it or not, after today, we only have one week of teaching left, we are shocked that it has gone so quickly, and we have so much to do.....

Much love and we miss you all,

Charles and Margaret