The school at New Canaan, Nakuru has been maintaining steady student numbers at around 100. The classrooms have been named after fruits and have all been fitted with new doors. A snack corner has been set up for the children for them to voluntarily come out of their classes when they are hungry or thirsty and sit down for a cup of porridge during the day. Also, two large water urns have been placed in the compound for washing up and cleaning.
The camp has been connected to electricity since mid 2015 and the new staff room has a tube light and 2 plug points. The workshop has been divided into three parts by partition walls and now there is a storage room, a workshop and the staff room. The little garden between the two classes of Phase I is now a thriving vegetable plot.
The school at Kisima, Njoro continues to grow with over 80 children now attending everyday. Unfortunately, due to a lack of proper sanitation and accommodation facilities in the area, teachers are finding it hard to live and work there. Plans are being drawn up for housing for 3 teachers, a latrine block for the children and teachers as well as a basic kitchen shed to start the feeding programme.
Quotations are also being reviewed for other maintenance work such a roof repairs, repainting and building the compound wall at New Canaan and classroom floor flattening, painting, window grills, etc. at Kisima. The work is scheduled for the spring term break in April.
The teachers and the community were really happy with the children’s progress and also with the reputation of the school. All the children (100%) who were taken for interviews at the end of the last school year had been accepted into the local primary schools – many without interviews. Apparently the parents have only to say that they are at Corner of Hope and the children are often placed one or even two classes ahead. Parents are eagerly waiting for the primary (Montessori elementary) class to start so that their children can continue at Corner of Hope.
In August, the school hosted Jules Layman and friends who were traveling in East Africa and were keen to visit. Jules has been teaching in international Montessori environments for over 30 years and is actively involved in AMI’s Educateurs sans Frontières. She created and runs a popular website (www.montessoriaroundtheworld.org) to enable people to assist Montessori programmes around the world that are in need of resources. She was interested in seeing how the school serves as a model for children in similar circumstances around the world. The group was very touched to see the work that is being done in the school. Jules said, “…it brought tears to my eyes to see these children in such carefully prepared Montessori environments, focused and engaged with the materials…great time and effort has gone into properly training the teachers and creating this program for the children and their families.”
The Yokohama Montessori School community in Japan donated shoes for the children of Corner of Hope. Coordinated by Ichiro Miyamoto, a parent, the shoes were collected, washed thoroughly, dried, and individually packed before sending them. The teachers were very happy to receive the shoes to be distributed.
The Austin Montessori School elementary after-school club voted to donate the largest part of their Christmas bazaar sale proceeds to Corner of Hope. The donation will be used for books and bookshelves to create libraries at both sites.
Module 4 of the Elementary Course took place in November 2015 and students are making steady progress with lectures, material practice and completing their charts and timelines. The Kenyan and Tanzanian students on the course have formed a close bond and work well together. Module 5 will start in April 2016 with a stronger focus on handmade materials.