Pelican Post books touchdown in Kenya…

12Feb12

Many books purchased and donated at various events during the course of last year have made their way to two very grateful schools in Kenya.

Hotcourses primary school is based in Nyumbani village (swahili for ‘home’) in the Kitui district of eastern Kenya, (about 3 hours drive from Nairobi).  Nyumbani stands on one thousand acres of land donated by the Kitui District County Council and is in one of the poorest divisions of the District with a high incidence of HIV and a high number of HIV orphans.  

British charity Hotcourses Foundation has been supporting the village with a number of construction projects in recent years including a primary school and in 2010 – the opening of Lawson High School.   Books donated by  Pelican Post supporters have been hand delivered to stock classroom libraries in both schools  including one trip by a very special Postman: Hotcourses  Trustee, MP and Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Olympics and Sport – Jeremy Hunt.   

Deliveries included 2o copies of the Garbage King for High School readers and multiple sets of early readers such as Handa’s Surprise and We’re Going On A Lion Hunt for Nyumbani primary school.    We hope to bring you further updates on how the schools are getting on with the books in the coming year.  For more information about all of the projects that the Hot Courses Foundation are currently involved in Kenya, please visit www.hotcoursesfoundation.org  

Nurse Debbie Perkin and fellow Pelican Post supporter recently returned from another trip to Kenya where she has been working with two health clinics operating inthe notorious slums of Nairobi.   Debbie, who has made many visits to the city over the last ten years, also delivered Pelican Post books to 3 inspiring primary schools working under the most difficult of circumstances.   This is what she had to say in words and pictures… 

…”My Kenya trip was incredible as always but also quite challenging after spending 2 weeks solid in Kibera slum!  The first school I visited was the Hope Restoration School in Kibera which faces daily challenges due to its situation etc. The head teacher Pastor Laighdon, teachers and children were absolutely thrilled with the books. This is also one of the schools I took out for the day to the animal orphanage and crocodile park. Amazing how children and adults from Africa have never seen a lion before!

Jabes school in the Embakasi/pipeline slum area of Nairobi.  Amazingly, that tiny little impoverished school has come 3rd in the whole world in an arts competition and 3 of the children may get chance to come to London. It shows to me that with the right head teacher and motivation, any one can achieve something.

St Thomas school used to be in the Kware slum area but following slum clearance and demolition by the Kenyan government, has relocated and supports some 200 children.  It is run by Pastor Brown who rebuilt the school in its new location and is doing a wonderful job.

For more information on Pelican Post, please visit www.pelican-post.org or to make a donation go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?uniqueVmgCharityUrl=pelican-post

Filed under: Books, Children's stories, education, Hot Courses Foundation, Jeremy Hunt MP, Lawson High School, literacy, Literacy in Africa, Nairobi, Nyumbani, Schools in Kenya, The Pelican Post   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Books, childrens stories, Hot Courses Foundation, Jeremy Hunt, Kenya, Kitui, Nairobi, Nyumbani, Schools in Kenya, The Pelican Post