“COVID-19 has done bad things – life has been hard. Since coronavirus started there is no money. People are died. People are loose their jobs. We are no going to school because of COVID-19. Many markets have been closed, but I hope COVID-19 will end. I will go back to school…I pray and I believe. Amen.” A Kenyan student writing to her American friend.
While those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are struggling with election fatigue and the onset of winter, our Kenyan friends are grateful not to be facing an election or cold weather. Both have particularly bad consequences in their country. But the trials they do face every day revolve around the same issue plaguing the rest of the world. Current cases of COVID-19 have risen well above 58,000, compelling President Uhuru Kenyatta to reinstate a nationwide 9 PM curfew. Schools that have been closed since mid-March partially re-opened in mid-October, but only for students in 4th grade, Standard 8 (8th grade), and Form 4 (high school seniors), all who are preparing to take national exams. Students in every other grade know they are missing out on their education, which many of them also know is their ticket to the future.
Online lessons
In October, the Kenyan government made online lessons available nationwide, but access to the internet is needed in order to watch them online. A tv screen is also helpful. Internet is widely available throughout Kenya, but tv screens require electricity, which for close to 73% of the population who live in rural areas, is a challenge to acquire.
Staying Connected
Earlier this summer, EC-supported students in western Kenya found an opportunity to study online after EC provided a 32-inch screen and satellite dish so they could watch lessons at a building on William Aludo’s property. On any given week, 16 or more children and young adults show up in small groups to watch lessons online. It’s been a blessing for them to be able to stay connected to their studies, and they are truly happy to be in a learning environment again. A primary student recently told Willam, “I wish my parents could allow me to come every day like I go to school.”
Staying connected to friends near and far has also been an important missing piece for these students. Over the last two months, William and Tracy Guion from the USA teamed up to ask young adults on both sides of the globe to write letters about how the pandemic has affected their every day lives. Kenyan students started by writing and then scanning their letters to students in Vermont. Their stories are poignant, as seen in the quote at the top of this blog and in Judith’s letter to Jonah below:
Jonah and the others who have received letters have yet to write back to their Kenyan friends. But one thing is clear, this pandemic is affecting these Kenyan students as well as countless others in their country. Sharing their experiences is one way of coping.
Every Day
Everyone’s Child is trying to make a difference every day for students who have lost their parents and are now facing new challenges due to restrictions imposed from COVID-19. Your support will help us to continue providing them with food and hope during these uncertain times. Please consider giving today by visiting www.everyoneschild.net .
Thank you in advance for your help. Every gift counts.
Please keep yourself safe,
Ruth
P.S. For more information about students writing letters to Kenya, please visit the Messages of Mercy webpage.