Mercy was so excited when I asked her to give us a tour of her primary school. Her two nieces now attend the same school. We visited in the late afternoon which is when it usually down poured for 1-2 hours. We of course were hit with rain once we got to the school.
The school runs year round but they have break for 2 weeks in December and then 4 weeks in April. We arrived just as the kids were on break which was perfect because they were all at home during the day so Elizabeth and Alexander had playmates.
Mercy is standing on the platform she informed us the principle stands on everyday. The children line up in rows while he makes announcements and calls off their class rank. Below is the teacher’s lounge.
Here is a typical classroom. Each bench/desk typically seats 5-6 children so you can imagine the class size. Mercy explained each level to me and showed me each section of classrooms. Basically there were about 4 classes per rank (what we’d refer to as grade). This school is a government school which means that while it is expensive to most locals, it is cheaper than private schools.
Above is a lower level classroom and below in the distance you can see the bathrooms, both boys and girls.
Below Mercy is showing us where the children line up and are served their noon (2pm) meal. They eat ugali and sukuma wiki every day. Ugali is a ground corn meal mixed very thick with water and formed into a loaf. Sukuma is leaf plant similar to spinach cut into fine pieces. Sukuma wiki is when sukuma is fried with a small amount of onion and tomato (if available). Each child is responsible for bringing their own bowl and cup otherwise they are not served.
And below is the water spicket where the children get a cup of water with their meal.
And this is the kitchen with staff quarters behind.
Below is an outdoor hall linking the classrooms. Mercy told a story of children who arrive late to school. The principle will yell their name across the school yard and make them drop on their knees at the cement incline pictured below. They are then required to walk on their knees in front of the school to him where they then “get beaten.” When I asked Mercy to explain beating, she said it is usually with a stick and on the arms. I asked if they bleed and she said usually not but will swell up and last for a week. Tardiness is not tolerated. Even with a legitimate excuse such as firewood being wet thus breakfast taking longer than normal for the mother to cook or washed out roads/paths from rains.
I love Mercy!
