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Published: June 10th 2007
Kevin and Jimmy
This is so beautiful, I could hang it on my wall! Wow thank you all so much for your comments, messages and emails! I can't directly reply to comments but I do appreciate them all so much and it's really nice to know that so many people are reading about what I'm doing - it makes doing this blog seem a lot more worthwhile!
This past week has been really good. There was a period of a week or so that I felt really useless at New Hope and there was no need for me. All the classes had teachers, there's a woman who is hired to cook and clean so nothing to do there and I spent a few days sleeping on a bed and talking politics with Teresa (a permanent American volunteer). But thanksfully it soon passed! I taught for two days this week and it was SO good! Class Four (aged between 12 - 14) consists of about 7 pupils who I absolutely adore and get on with so well. They listen keenly and then crack on with the work which I give them but they're also really cheeky and bicker among themselves sometimes but only in a jokey way - for example Jospeh's pencil disappeared so he
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Baraka, Wilson, Eric, Faith and Mother stood up and announced "who is the thief? who is the thief of my pencil?" so everyone looked around and a girl called Dorin had it so everyone in the class pointed at her and said "Dorin is the thief! Aaaaaah!". Two of the boys are always taking the mickey out of each other - Juma tells Eric that he "has a big head" and Eric tells Juma that he has "funny lips" but they manage to slip it subtly into conversations! I really felt like I was back in secondary school and doing practical jokes and taking the Micky out of people! The following day I taught Class 3 (10 - 12) who are also really keen learners and great fun to teach! They love to do singing and dramas and telling stories and one boy, Michael aged 11, recited the entire life story of Jesus!
On Friday it was Maria and Sadie's last day so we had a little party for the kids who live at New Hope and they loved it! We brough in crisps and jam sandwiches and played some music on an iPod and had little sweetie bags and, best of all, face paints!! The kids absolutely loved them and they all got painted different things - including one boy who had the American flag on his face! I'm becoming quite the little photographer and have managed to snap some
beautiful shots of some of the kids.
Being Football Coach is turning out more expensive that I had imagined! Although extremely keen to play against other teams, New Hope haven't got much in the way of equipment. I managed to find a seamstress who is going to tailor-make an entire football kit (11 jerseys, one goalkeeper jersey and 12 shorts) for 50GBP. Some of the boys have trainers and they have one (possibly 2) footballs between them. If anyone knows of some football equipment (shin pads, boots, socks, footballs, cones, bibs, anything really!) that you could donate to New Hope, they would be SO gratefully received! I can arrange for them to be flown out here for next to nothing (or possibly for literally nothing!) through a company called London Air Travel who make donations to New Hope regularly so please get in touch, even if it's just one sock or something!!
Hope everyone is doing well at Uni or work or 6th form or whatever you're doing! The weather is beginning to pick up in Mombasa now so I hope the same is true of England!
Love to you all, kwa heri!
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David Cornish
non-member comment
"your mama" jokes
ah, the good old days of taking the mick out of fat kids, like spud... or vulnerable kids, like spud... or kids who suffer from a minor oedipus complex, like spud! and jack for that matter... gald to hear its going well out there mate! i've got some old football boots that are somewhere around a size 5-6, and i might be able to track down some socks if that'd help? let me know how i can send them and they're yours. i've got my first exam tomorrow... its odd, i've been wanting to get them done for so long, but now they're here i don't feel up to it! prayers would be most helpful :) really can't wait for the summer now, it'll be SO good to have you spud and jack back at Soul so we can hear all the stories etc... and take the piss outta spud again... for old times sake. miss you mate.