Sewage Drainage System at Ezra Gumbe Primary

Sometimes technical solutions to sanitation problems are also straight forward and practical. Last year, we dug a sewage drainage system around Ezra Gumbe primary. It was distressing to discover that for several years, the four apartment complexes across from the school campus had been draining their septic tanks into the school grounds. The septic water was pooling in the same area where the children played during recess. With very limited medical funds, the school staff was treating between thirty and forty students per week for illnesses such as Typhoid and Dysentery.

The drainage trench we designed and constructed successfully diverted the hazardous waste away from the children. Today, 1,000 children are able to play at school without the risk of contracting water-born diseases.

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Nursery School

At our partner schools, we found a corner of the school campus where little five and six year old children spend their day. So, we decided to renovate the nursery programs of all three schools.

We painted educational murals on the insides of the 5 nursery school classrooms for over 300 children. The colorful scenes such as 'modes of transport,' 'sources of water,' and 'parts of the body' will allow teachers to teach more effectively and children will learn better.

We also delivered 84 sets of durable wooden flash-cards and five sets of stuff toys and dolls to 5 nursery school classrooms.

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Teacher's Room Renovations

The picture below shows the teacher/staff room at Migosi Primary School after we finished renovating it. Our main goal was to recognize the importance and dignity of teachers by improving the amount of space in the staff room and providing a safe place to store teachers' valuables and excercise books.

We started by knocking down a large wall which led to a storage area which was not being utilized effectively. Then, we constructed 42 lockers for each teacher at the school. Finally, we purchased a small natural gas stove so the teachers can make tea in the mornings.

The response that we received from the teachers after the renovation has been heartwarming. Recognizing their contribution to the school has made them very supportive of our other projects.

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Every Kid Deserves a Playground

The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to play. We wanted to honor the importance of that document so we helped Ezra Gumbe primary and Pandpieri primary construct playgrounds on their campuses.

Each playground has a slide, a monkey bars, three swings and a tire fort. The playgrounds were designed mainly for the lower primary school classes but we can't seem to keep the bigger kids off of them! We're excited because playgrounds build healthier, happier kids. And also the presence of a playground at a school in Kisumu is so rare the teachers are predicting a boost in the number of new students who will enroll next year.

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Kisumu Childrenʼs Festival

On January 27, Emerge sponsored and organized a huge Children's Festival at the Kisumu Central Sports Grounds! Over 3,000 students from our partner schools were in attendance. The day started with a mile long march from the outskirts of the city to the central sports grounds. Then, all 3,000 of us sat around the stage as hundreds of students took part in cultural dances, songs and poems in front of a packed audience of their peers.

The messages of the performances were centered around the theme of "our environment, our health and our future." After the performances, we turned music on through the loud-speakers and released the children to play all the games that Emerge volunteer, Sabrina Salzer had designed and organized for the day. We were able to recruit 100 volunteers under the age of 25 to work on that day.

Thanks to the help of these local youth, we were able to run 60 games throughout the park. On the day of the festival, these 100 volunteers and 60 teachers gave thousands of children the chance to run around and play games for over four continuous hours! The concept of a whole day devoted to students and recreation was a ground-breaking concept in Kisumu and it was wonderful to see this in the eyes of the teachers and the students.

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Art classes for students to create and to express themselves

Leading up to the festival, Emerge Volunteer, Sabrina Salzer, taught 8 weeks of and creative expression classes at our partner schools. Over eight weeks, Sabrina was able to put paintbrushes, paper, crayons, and papier-mâché into the hands of over 400 students under the age of 13.

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School forests and gardens

The last major accomplishment that we achieved during the Phase 1 of our project was a mass tree planting at all 3 of our partner schools. All together, Emerge sponsored a total of 1100 trees that were planted by the students and teachers of Migosi, Ezra Gumbe and Pandpieri.

At Migosi, we also bought fencing for around the perimeter of the school, so the trees are safe from foraging animals and the students are more protected against intruders. The 1100 trees that we planted included over 12 different species and several medicinal plant varieties.

We are hoping that as these plants grow, Emerging Humanity will be able to help the schools expand their agriculture programs, as well as replace asbestos roofing, install water catchment systems and begin more revenue generating activities.

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First harvest at the Bustani Farm

Last August, we reached a very important milestone at the Bustani Farm. The youth who work on the farm grew and harvested enough maize to feed themselves for the next nine months. They also now have a very productive Kale patch which they sell for money at local markets.

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