From Essex to East Africa

Serving at Hall Mead Academy

Meet Jenny who was recently called out of retirement in the UK to spend 2 months in Kenya to serve the ministries that Kids Alive International works with and the children we care for. 

Jenny’s mission grew out of the passion and heart she has for the kids in Kenya after many years going out on service team trips lasting 1 or 2 weeks. Jenny applied to be a short-term missionary back in May 2012 and through prayer and discussion with the field staff and Jenny, we explored what her role would look like and how we could best match her gifts and experiences to the needs of the site. As all the details came together, it became clear that her earlier career as a teacher was something we could utilise to support the work of Hall Mead School which provides primary education to both the residential kids at the Karundas Children’s Centre & children from the surrounding communities.

Two happy maths teachers

Part of this role would include being a Maths Adviser to work with the teaching staff and help inspire creative teaching methods for the Maths curriculum.

On January 7th 2013, Jenny flew out to Nairobi armed with various materials and worksheets to help with teaching classrooms full of children. Luckily, Jenny settled in quickly at the home as she was put straight to work at the school and started to realise how very different Kenya education is to that of the UK. In her blog she expressed ‘I had forgotten how formal and text-book-based the education system is here. It does not encourage any form of original thought…However, their skills in the building blocks of numeracy are far better that those I have seen in the UK – perhaps because they have no calculators or other aids for calculation’.

Bar charts with the children

As the weeks have gone by, Jenny has written all about her experiences in Kenya that have far exceeded her teaching duties. From attending meetings between staff and parents, to helping introduce 35 sheep and goats to their newly-built enclosure at Karundas. Jenny was also invited to speak at church services & devotionals (usually with someone translating to Kiswahili), has been fixing computers at the home and the medical clinic as well as visiting the other Kids Alive homes and the surrounding communities. If you want to read Jenny’s blog, go to http://jennyblog.org.uk/  

Jenny visiting the western homes

As Jenny finishes her final week in Kenya, we pray for her as she prepares to return home. We look forward to hearing all about her time there – from what she taught to the kids, to anything she learnt - all the encouraging stories as well as any challenges she faced. Most importantly, we are excited to hear how God used her and what comes next for her. As a Kids Alive International Ambassador, her time in Kenya will help equip Jenny in her role in raising awareness and connecting others to the children we rescue.

Posted on February 21st 2013

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