Hamjambo,

Safety always seems to be a concern for parents when sending thier children off to faraway places. Before  we came, we heard all the horror stories of impoverished places, and it would seem that we were a bit apprehensive because of it.

There was never any doubt about the safety of AKAM, as it is an "educational palace", but driving to a school in the slums had us wondering. Today we spend a bit walking around the neighborhood and slums near KP, with many teachers and the members from the School Management Committee, so as to see the circumstances from which the students came, and what the community was like.

When you hear "slum" people are generally pretty apprehensive, but I was so pleasantly surprised, because it felt just as safe. Mothers and children were sitting in doorways of these huts made of corrogated metal, and they greeted and welcomed us. Even though there were people with kiosks there, people were not pushy when they showed their wares, and gave up if we said "Sitaki, Asante" (No thankyou). There were smiles and waves from everyone and it was such a nice surprise.

A wonderful treat at the end of the walk was to be able to go to one of the teachers' little shop and see some beautiful kisii stone items (for so cheap!). They were so beautiful, and reminded me of the wonderful workmanship that we saw yesterday at the Akamba Handicrafts Co-operative (a woodcarving village).

Kwaherini!

Sophia