I'm back at home now.  And not.  It is Sunday morning in Vancouver and students at Kipevu Primary have finished another Monday, another chance to get out of the slums.

I think we covered about 31,000 km in total travel distance on the trip--a big first step.

Day 7: We left Mombasa, in convoy, and headed to the beach for some R&R.  Welcome to the other side of Kenya, Stratford Hall!  The main business of the country is not coffee (which is currently waiting for me in my kitchen), but tourism.  They know how to live it up. 

Beach and pool time was the order of the day.  We watched camels and waves, read our books, enjoyed an amazing buffet and chatted about school, Kenya, Canada, and life with Hemed and our driver John (the guy sporting the sweet Boston Pizza, Moose Jaw shirt).  John shared his deep wisdom of coastal Kenyan culture.  They accept their circumstances, and embody the same laid-back, natural peace that I see in BC's gulf-islanders. 

John's home was set on fire in 2007.  He rushed out with his children in his arms; nevertheless, he assures me that the media made the Kenyan upheaval out to be far worse than it really was.  He loves his country and described it as a model for peace for the rest of the world.  "Poli poli", he explained, is the coastal way of doing things: slowly slowly.  It was hard to disagree with him as I looked out on the Indian Ocean, palm trees and my happy students re-energizing for their final day at KPS.

Day 8, the final day at KPS:  I had a great time teaching a second lesson to the grade 8 English class on composition.  Modelling all the best teaching practices we use at Stratford Hall, I worked toward creating student experts on different elements of composition, rubric-based peer editing teams, and as much constructive fun as possible.  They loved it! 

Students were clapping for each other when we improved their writing and when they asked good questions using full sentences.  I was able to reinforce messages that their English teachers had imparted: constructivist learning, establishing a reading culture, and the joy of a good story.  I now have great samples to share with the grade 8 staff here and a clear idea of the task presented to students at KPS, including copies of all their national exams.

Next, I interviewed a few of the teachers, on camera, about their final thoughts on our visit and the successes and challenges at KPS.  They were a bit nervous, but did well being on camera for the first time in their lives.  I'll post the videos, if possible.  Their dedication and love of teaching came through in full colour.

Finally, we came to the closing ceremony.  The dancing, singing, speeches and presents were beautiful.  We danced with the staff and students in the staff room where we had shared amazing homemade lunches, laughter, questions and stories as the drumming crew played their hearts out. 

I am totally pro at wearing the traditional Kenyan robe and had it on in 5 seconds flat.  Rick had a tough time with that one, but looked pretty impressive once he got it sorted out (haha, sorry buddy). 

Those who have so little gave so much.  I  learned this phrase in Swahili when I arrived:  "Meme mwalimu utoka Canada"--I am a teacher from Canada.  But I will return, instead, with a different insight into what good teaching, pure hospitality, and true gratitude really mean: meme mwalimu utoka Kipevu! 

After many tears and thanks between staff and students, we headed out.  Our students were deeply touched.  We have planted the seeds for not only the next visit, but for some pretty serious culture shock when we return home.

Safari Day 1:  It's like driving through a dream scape.  You recognize most of the animals, because they're so famous.  Some are totally foreign.  It's the colour that is so unexpected.  The earth in Tsavo East is burnt orange, the grass is sage, the sky is a deep grey-blue. Everything looks 2000 years old and also very much alive. 

So far, we have seen gazelles, giraffes, baboons, dik diks, elephants, zebras, one hippo, ostriches, hawks, amazing termite hills (nests? castles?) and all kinds of birds--the Superb Starling was the favourite.

The girls sing "In the Jungle" as we cruise around at dusk in our open canopy vans, looking for lions.

The lodges are over-the-top.  I am not on vacation, but that would be hard to see from an outside perspective, looking at the pictures.  Let's just say that elephants were roaming around the watering hole just off the restaurant balcony as we ate breakfast (full buffet, Kenyan coffee, custom omelets) the next morning, followed by our daily litany of questions: sunscreen? hats? water bottle? bug spray? tics? malarone? health? sleep? ready?  let's go!

No lions yet.

Safari day 2:  We hunt for cheetahs, following tracks on the road, but no luck.  The elephants and giraffes are so close to the road today. Hemed expertly positions us for amazing photographs and a quick getaway, if needed.  I crash at the lodge, as I am no longer a healthy traveller and the team heads out to look for the elusive Black Rhino.  Instead, they spot our first leopard!  Incredible! 

I am not too jealous as I catch 3 hours of sleep and watch a herd elephants fearlessly roaming the plateau under my balcony.  The sunset is amazing, and at 6:30 the hotel staff attach the nightly raw meat offering to a tree just outside the restaurant's game viewing deck.  30 seconds after they are done, a leopard jumps from the bushes and begins to systematically tear it to shreds. Germany gives Australia basically the same treatment during that evening's World Cup match: 4-0!

Safari Day 3:  We leave rugged and bushy Tsavo West for the open, green plains of Amboseli Park.  It is so beautiful.  We see our first lions and wildebeest, and we visit a Masai village.  The park is an expanse of well spaced trees, swamp, grasslands and rocky plains strewn with elephant bones.  It is a killing field with no shortage of predators. 

We almost spot a cheetah, as the excited Safari drivers' communications bring our radio crackling to life, but the fastest land animal adeptly goes into hiding as the vans start boxing each other in on the road. 

Lions!  ... so cool.

The lions do not hide.  They just roam around and do pretty much whatever they want, whenever they want. 

The Masai village is astounding.  Welcoming guests is a huge part of Swahili culture and they often see tourists.  They all come outside the perimeter wall of wood and thorns (there are many lions here) in red and singing their welcoming song.  They invite us to sing and dance with them.  I am proud to say that the chief's son was impressed by my vertical. 

They explain how their huts are built: I privately laugh at the millions we spend on environmentally friendly housing and green roofs--these people are dialled in. 

We meet a group of men playing a version of mancala and learn a good deal about Masai medicine, including cures for malaria, dysentery, and marital inertia. 

We tour the inside of their homes: they are cool, clean and entirely functional.  The Masai are beautiful, finely dressed, and very lean with artists' fingers and heavily adorned, looping earlobes.

Finally, we buy some simple gifts from the women outside the protective ring of houses and hear the ceremonial goodbye song.  We drive away, feeling very much amazed at the diversity of human life, and leave them to their mostly unchanged, traditional nomadic lives, under the shadow of Kilimanjaro.

In the end, the pictures tell the best parts of the story of our safari.  We will post them asap.

The end:  As I sit in Vancouver, sipping Kenyan coffee and finishing off my last doses of anti-malaria drugs, I feel that this is a big first step.  We have shown that our young IB school can successfully implement its stated mission of international mindedness and action.  The impact on everyone involved has been deep and it has been good.  We accomplished our goals of connection, exploration needs assessment, safety, and development.  Next year's trip will be even better.

Hemed Idi was fantastic, and I should say a few words about him before I close.  This man is indefatigably generous with his time, thoughtful in his connection to our students, professional in his organization, and committed to Kenya.  Our school has worked with him for 5 years now, on the fundraising element of the Kipevu Project, but I now know the extent of our good luck in finding him.  He is an absolute hero. 

He was completely professional in his conduct with Dungicha Contractors, the Ministry of Education in Mombasa, the Mayor of Mombasa, the Minister of the Environment and with the multiple schools' development boards, of which he is and has been the chairperson. 

He is an excellent safari guide, a visionary in development, extremely well spoken, very knowledgeable in Kenyan history and in current affairs, and a good teacher for our students.

We need him to keep doing this work, because he is so good at it.  He made sure that the police in the Kipevu area were informed of our trip and on call.  On day one, he took us to the mayor of Momba's office where we received the keys to the city.   

The vans we used were comfortable, new, and entirely safe.  He is a licenced and expert tour guide.  African Air Rescue was available and on call during our Safari, as were doctors at every lodge--his operation is heavily insured.

The trip went off without a hitch.  3 of us felt a bit ill for two days, but it was nothing major.  We were safe, graciously cared for by both the KPS staff and those at The Agha Khan Academy in Mombasa (thanks Naheed, George, Nicole, Jane, Jacqueline, and Peter--once again, it was excellent).  

This week, now that the trip is done, Hemed will be working at the orphanage that he built for disabled children.  He laughs easily, and you immediately feel calm around him.  Oh, and if you meet him when go, remember to ask him about Kenyan politics--he can really get on a role, driving down the highway.  Mubarikiwe sana, rafiki. 

: )

If you are a parent, a friend, a Stratford Hall Board or community member reading this, and have the means to do so, consider a Safari with him.  It might be cheaper than many other deals you'll find. 

He and I will hopefully be working on a package that would allow you to visit Kipevu Primary School yourself, make a donation of school supplies, volunteer there for one or two days, and then head out on safari.  Please let me know if you're interested and I can give you more details or updates.

chris.mcguigan@stratfordhall.ca

Our work at Kipevu Primary School will continue.  Also, spending money in the safari parks keeps these parks and their animals alive and well, as do our tourist dollars in Masai villages and in Mombasa.

I will finish where I started.  At the opening ceremony, I spoke briefly to the Kipevu Primary School community, the attending MPs, and other guests about the wall: "If your neighbour's fence is broken, your fence is broken--it's the same fence."  This hit home with the staff at KPS.  Today, 70% of Kenya's population is under 25 years old.  Who will they grow up to be?

Go.  Donate.  Explore.  

Asante sana.

-Mr. McGuigan