Christmas Booklet 2020 PDF

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE to all our SPONSORS from The RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL MBAGATHI 2020 - The Year in the Light and Shadow of the Corona-Virus Arriving back at school For all of us all over the world, 2020 has been a time of human challenges – a time in the light and the shadow of Covid19. Due to this whole situation, it is not possible for us to send you, our dear sponsors and donors, the normal yearly Christmas letters from the children. Children will write their sponsors in the New Year. But it is our deep hope that you will enjoy reading the following booklet full of small glimpses from the year, written especially for you. School Leader – Judith Brown In mid-March 2020, the Kenyan schools were suddenly closed. I was left on the school compound with only essential staff - the farmers and security. The world was holding its breath; the skies were quiet as all air travel was instructed to cease, what was happening - no one knew. At this time there were moments of fear and moments of joy - that stretched in either direction. The fear of sickness, food shortages and insecurity, but also the joy of peace and quiet - a moment to hear the birds and with some time for oneself. Look at the photos of the birds taken around the compound during this time. My task as the School Leader is to ensure the school runs smoothly, this was still my task; we have 47 employees, a farm and the school compound with buildings to care for and keep safe. We needed to maintain all these areas. The children, how were we to keep contact with them? After two weeks, the government allowed work to continue and our staff slowly started returning. Meetings were held to address the areas of concern: how will we reach the children, how can we pay salaries, will our sponsors continue to support us? We had to keep our community positive and together. This is what we managed to do through the support of our whole community, from our staff, to management/trustees, to funders and most of all our sponsors, who never failed us. Each of us did our part; wherever possible our teachers continued contact with our children. Last year our school reached the age of 30. This was a big celebration, now we saw our infrastructure needing attention and this was the time to work on it. Friends of Waldorf Education helped us out - we renovated the water and sewage system, the buildings and furniture with much more still to do. We were supported for reopening and for building a First Aid house. We have two full classes of children allowed in school since October, social distancing remains a challenge - we are working hard to see the full opening in January 2021 – this is our hope. First assembly after re-opening

A Glimpse from a Kindergarten Teacher - Miriam Okumu It all started in Wuhan, China in December 2019 when the first case was reported. Three months down the line the first case was reported in Kenya and not only in Kenya but just a kilometre away from the Rudolf Steiner School. We had a lockdown, no school; everyone was indoors A quiet compound with little movement. The skies were quite calm except for the soothing melodies from birds, quiet and empty compounds were evident with no human activities. Everyone went home, which was so sudden and dark for us teachers, for our rhythm was suddenly interfered with, not knowing what tomorrow held for us. But we soon started working with pupils and parents via WhatsApp and mobile phones. My colleagues worked so hard to keep in touch with the children through assignments and projects. This went on for 7 months until October, when class 9 and class 5 were called back to school for the first phase of re-opening, while the rest continued with remote and online learning. The teachers felt connected to the children even if it was not 100%, but there was a little light at the end of the tunnel. Rudolf Steiner School teachers are energetic and love what they do; children always look forward to seeing them, though, during the pandemic every moment felt low and disconnected from the children. And also from a Primary Teacher Vincent Haraka The online teaching program has been running well although there have been challenges. I happened to visit a few learners in their homes during this time and got a glimpse of what they go through in trying to do the learning assignments sent to them. The few learners I met had similar challenges. They are using their parent’s phone to Work from home do the work. So they have to wait for the parents to come home from work so that they can have a chance to do the homework. Other parents don’t have phones that can access WhatsApp. This makes it difficult for the teacher to send the work through the normal messaging. There are others who are not able to buy internet data to access the work on their phones. These challenges have been an obstacle in ensuring every learner is reached. In spite of all these challenges, the teachers have managed to continue helping the learners where they can. Small glimpses from the life of the children during Covid19 closure Since March the life of the children was interrupted strongly by Covid-19. Here are some small stories directly coming from interviewing the children: They woke up every morning and didn’t know what stared back at them. Some were lucky to take breakfast and indeed good food throughout the day, while for others, their luck went as far as affording strong (black, milk-less) tea in the morning and waiting for supper in the evening. The difficult backgrounds of some of the children meant they could not participate in virtual learning. Nobody in their family/neighbourhood had a smart phone. The children feared that the pandemic would infect them, and they were not allowed to go out to play. Mercy in class 5 said she would only calm down after talking to her friends and hearing that they were safe. Boredom, lack of basic necessities, and uncertainty crowded their minds. In an attempt to pass time, some children who went out, gave in to peer pressure and almost got into undesirable social activities. However, it was not all dark and scary. Victor in class 5 spent and enjoyed his time with his pet named “Michi”. When he is in school, the pet is left under the care of a friend but this time round he was happy to be able to take care of him and share some love. He found a toy for Michi that looks like a mouse. He also

got circumcised, an achievement he boldly tells about. He learnt some new native language words while in his home area and he is now proudly Kisii. Osore in Class 9 learnt how to ride a motorcycle. Back in the village, he would engage in boda boda (motor cycle taxi) “people ferrying” business and helped his grandmother take care of the family financially. He spoke about it with a lot of fulfilment and pride. A glimpse from the life of a parent - Simona Lemomo Kapeni (Mama Naomi Naisola) The time when Covid19 was announced was the beginning of my problems, being a single, partially blind mother of three. I usually do casual jobs so that I can be able to pay my house rent and be able to meet my bills and earn a living. With the announcement of Covid19 people were told that by interacting with others we are likely to contract the virus, so the people who were giving me casual jobs stopped. Life was changing for the worse. With the children at home, I was in a dilemma. I did not have work yet, we needed to pay house rent and get food, and we were even locked out of the rental house. I asked my friends to help accommodate my children and me. I got mixed reactions because everybody was struggling, and I started panicking. I did not know what to do because I used to hear different kinds of news from all over the world of how dangerous covid19 was. Due to the help of the Steiner School we started getting food and moral support from teachers and the institution. Emergency Food for parent Back to School – Alex Muriithi in Class 5 It’s like a whole new life where you wear masks. First it’s not comfortable and it’s like breathing through a piece of cloth, like seriously a cloth, but you have to wear one, not have to, must. Will you get used to it? In school everyone wears masks, it is so so weird. Why? Because you don’t know clearly if someone is smiling or not. So to make a long long story short, it is not really fun. Did I mention social distance? It’s even worse. I mean, you know before this pandemic, that is Covid19, we used to have contact with friends but now we don’t. We must have a 1.5 metres distance imagine 1.5! It’s not that hard because, one, it’s only class Five and Class Nine in school and two, we are not so many, so it’s not that hard to maintain the distance, but all of that does not mean you don’t wear your mask and maintain the distance. You do wear, and as I have said you must. When you do that you will be safe from the disease. I forgot this - wash your hands. Back to School – Ryan Muriuki in Class 5 New Sinks Hi, my name is Ryan. School is awesome and I was shocked when I saw the school. “There are new taps” (I said), there’s sanitizer and soap everywhere. We have to wear masks and we eat in our classroom. Our temperature is taken every day by the thermo gun and I hate corona for the fact that we have to keep distance, it is annoying. I hate not playing freely with my friends but it is better safe than sorry. Temperature check Assembly Class 5 painting lesson

A glimpse from - Neema Kahiga Komora – Financial Administrator Our current generation has never experienced a crisis that affects the whole world in a similar manner. Fear and uncertainty, lack and loss seem to have defined the world, reflecting the sense of hopelessness, the darkness that all experienced alike. Our nation was not spared either, and not much hope was offered wherever we searched for it. A largely struggling economy with a compromised healthcare and non-existent welfare system, we either resorted to ignoring the crisis and hoped it would mystically disappear or charged forward to do what had to be done to survive. And this has been the underlying theme for our nation’s people this year. When survival is the motivation for our existence, we succumb to very base, almost animalistic tendencies. Yet, as humanity, we cannot and should not stand by and watch as the very existence and survival of fellow human beings becomes a defining factor. We have fought to survive what the year has dished out despite the massive loss of jobs and other income generating engagements that ensure our livelihoods. Sitting at the desk as the Financial Administrator, the situation seemed bleak. We were unsure what would become of our children and their families. We were concerned about their health, general welfare and safety. Would they be safe? Would they have enough to eat at home? Then there was our staff - many schools had shut down and most were unable to pay their teachers and other staff any salaries. Would this be our story? What would we do to ensure our staff felt taken care of and did not opt to leave the school because of a hopeless situation? Thankfully, the Rudolf Steiner School in Mbagathi, Nairobi was an oasis of hope for the entire community - our children and their families, staff and support system. When we were unsure what would become of our children whom we were not able to engage with daily, or whether we could retain our staff and so guarantee them and their families provision and sustenance, a ray of light shone, and it glowed brighter as the days and months went by. Our ray of light shone in the immense financial, moral and emotional support from our friends, sponsors and partners, both new and old, who chose to stand and walk with us during this gloomy and uncertain period. This support guaranteed our children and their families sustenance, our staff and support their salaries, our school community’s continuity, and for us all, peace of mind. This support is a continuous testimony on our lips, of our gratefulness that we have had to deal with one less challenge. As we make tentative steps away from the grip of fear and uncertainty, we are encouraged by what awaits us - health, love and light. A glimpse from the Farm - Francis Kilonzo – Farm Leader As a community our social aspect was highly affected by the closure of the school. We miss the company of our lovely children in the farm, who normally come to their gardening classes. The children missed that opportunity of learning farming skills, and the farm missed their presence since during their gardening classes they could help in hand weeding, harvesting, watering plants and manuring. At first we didn’t know what to do with the farm produce since our intended consumer, the children, were sent home for the fear of the pandemic. Selling the produce outside was also a challenge due to the fear of interacting with many people as it could bring high chances of transmission of the disease. But the fundraising for Emergency Food for needy families from the school was successful. With the parents adhering to the government pandemic control measures, this emergency programme found a way for our farm produce since the needy parents could come for vegetables and fruits from the farm.

During this period the school continued the installation of the solar water pump which was to help pumping water to the new farm tanks; this could have caused a major disruption of water supply to the children if they were in school during that period. The installation of the tanks has taken place and the drip system is in progress. During the pandemic period the staff whose section of work was Staff working out in the garden not operating, like the bus escorts, were attached to the farm to help in weeding and watering of plants. Others like the boarding parents helped in trimming trees and removing unnecessary bushes in the field that will allow more grass to grow in future. The staff appreciated this new work experience. We the farmers also got more time to learn and practice biodynamic methods of farming without many interruptions. A glimpse from the Sponsorship Team – Mercy Njoki 2020 sounded rhythmic to our ears, an end of a decade. Most of us felt privileged to see it and eager to live through it. However, there was some bad news of corona virus and schools were locked down. But why? Our children asked. Our school leader Ms. Judith Brown explained to them in a language they could understand. It is through sponsorships that our children are protected from life’s hardships, a reality in many families. For how long are we going to be away? For how long will we receive help from our sponsors? For how long are our children going to bear hunger pangs and societal ills such as violence? No one knows. There were circumstantial benefits of the virus, the slowed down schedules saw people spending time with families. Our sponsorship children tell of a beautiful bond they strengthened with their parents and guardians. Our school community has become stronger than ever and the thanksgiving spirit around here is spilling over. We are proud of you, our sponsors, and A Merry Christmas Message is all we can afford to say for now. And also a glimpse from the Danish part of the Sponsorship Team - Clara Ussing, Sanduko, Denmark 2020 was for the Sponsorship Team at the Mbagathi School a stream of incessant fundraising work under the Covid19 Closure, working together over continents using only skype meetings and emails for our cooperation. The Team was from the beginning of the Covid19 outbreak focusing on securing the future of the school, securing a basis for re-opening, securing the staff and securing the continued future schooling of the children. By the strong help and trust from European organizations the year also developed into a year of improving: farm, water constructions, renovation of buildings, construction of a First Aid house, etc. Our darkest fear was the fear of hunger and illness for the children and their families. It created a lot of hope and light of relief when a campaign “Emergency Food for Families” gave the school the possibility of providing many needy families from the school with weekly packages of food. As always our four main donors have been at our side: Freunde Der Erziehungskunst from Germany, Future Foundation for Development from Germany, Acacia from Switzerland and Sanduko from Denmark. It has been very touching for us to experience the school being carried during this challenging time by a lot of warm thoughts from so many sponsors, donors and organizations from many parts of the world, and also with crucial and comprehensive financial help.

Constructing the First Aid House Welding our water tower Repairing desks Repairing woodwork room floor Closing words We have reached the end of our Christmas Booklet, a booklet written Painted by Naomi Wambui with all our sponsors, funders and funding organizations of the Mbagathi School in our hearts. We have shared our experiences from a very special year 2020, living in the darkness and lightness of the Covid19. The season of joy and light – Christmas – is coming to meet us now. At the same time our whole blue beautiful planet is full of human fear for the future, fear still for the Covid19, fear for the climate challenges, human conflicts, distress, hunger etc. How do we overcome all this and let joy and light shine? The children all over the world are our strongest potential in this fight. Let us keep them in our minds. They keep the seed for the future inside them. They are our light in the darkness. Look at them, see them playing, growing, developing, being taught by life and each other. From all of us at the Mbagathi School, a heartfelt THANK YOU for your support and trust during 2020 and all best wishes for a Happy Christmas and fruitful New Year 2021.