Stunts!

We never have a dull moment! Someone asked me what we do when our kids get in trouble - what is a punishment...well, usually we have them water the garden. The other day, however, one of the older boys pushed my buttons too many times. We have field that a few years ago they grew maize in, and it was never cleaned well. It is right in the middle of the property and it doesn't look nice. I had one of the boys clean it up (he didn't do that good of a job, but enough that I was satisfied with his punishment). The other boys thought this was a great opportunity to clear just a little more and make a little stunt jump! These boys are talented! The would run, jump off the cement blocks and over the stick and do a flip! In the first picture Nelson and Precious are holding the stick and Simon is flipping. Second picture Nelson and Simon are holding the stick and Peter is jumping. Last is a video, it is only 12 seconds, and very worth your while - enjoy! Peter jumps first, and the Frank second....they are jumping over Simon :)

A First!

We had a first this week...if you remember, awhile back we had a post about killing snakes. I said the reason we do this is because snakes are dangerous here, and we don't want them around the kids...guess where this is going!
Yes, one of our boys got a little too close to a snake, and not a dead one! He didn't get bit, but rather the snake spit venom and it landed in his eye (don't ask me how). So Curtis and I rushed him to the clinic, they washed his eye out and but some medicine in...by the next morning he was fine, but just as a precaution we bought a special eye drop for him, he is completely fine now - but what a scare!

Pretty sure all the kids think he is a hero now!
Dennis, third grade (he is so cute, and was so brave!)

Youth Leadership Council

From Curtis:

To help the children here at Upeme gain leadership skills, and to give them an opportunity to impact their surrounding community in a positive way, I have put together what we are calling the Youth Leadership Council.

I have chosen one boy and one girl from grades 5, 6, and 7 to be a part of this Youth Leadership Council. I had them write a letter to convince me they are the best leader, and the most convincing letters were chosen. The goal will be to have them come up with their own ideas for a project to carry out that will help make the community and the world a better place.

We had our first meeting yesterday and they “leaders” chosen were very excited about having this opportunity. Here is a picture of them after we finished the meeting. From left to right: Memory (7^th grade), Peter (6^th grade), Nelson (5^th grade), Simon (7^th grade), Harriet (5^th grade), Abigail (6^th grade), and that’s me in the back.

Just goofing off!

With the electricity going out regularly here, we have learned how to improvise with the kids. Here are some pictures with the bigger kids (7^th grade) goofing around with the camera during a night we were waiting for the lights to come back on. They love taking pictures...

In this picture: on the floor are Joseph and Margaret, standing: Memory, Kelvin, Gibson, Frank.

Here are Joseph and Gibson (keep in mind the power was out :) )

Welcome back!

A group photo: hugging CUrtis is Precious, in the teal shirt is Ng'andu (they are sisters) and in the red shirt Bertha (also with extensions)

The kids are back from the break and everyone is gearing up for this term! So many of the girls came back with their hair done very nicely (extensions), and of course, wanted me to take pictures of them. They are all smiles and hugs - even though I know it will be exhausting with all the kids and my break is officially over, I am SO glad to have all the buzz and chatter and joy that these kids bring...here are some of the pictures.

this is Wendy, with her hair like this she reminds me of a cute little Cabbage-Patch doll.

Irene is in the back with the white shirt, in front of her is Rebecca, and next to Irene in the blue shirt is Natasha (she is a day student)

Creative stuff!

Wrapping up the fun from our break: Namakau (in the brown skirt)and Mary spending some time beading. It was really fun. I am planning to start and arts & crafts club next term so I am gathering supplies including beads. The girls saw the beads and of course wanted to each make something – so I let them. They had so much fun, and were so cute!

Then, as we were finishing Nelson came in to give us a present: a clay elephant he made! Nelson is amazingly crafty! In the past he has made clay trucks, melted metal scraps he finds and makes other stuff as well. I think he was so pleased that we like his elephant that we might have a whole zoo coming; he has since brought us a giraffe and horse. I don’t have pictures of them yet, but we have them all saved and proudly displayed. When he saw the girls beading he joined in also.