Lekigi gets all the teachers (Kate)

On Wednesday we were set to visit Lekigi Primary and Ol Jogi Primary but discovered that the Ol Jogi students were visiting another school and wouldn't be around for our Conservation Club lesson, so instead all seven of us descended on Lekigi Primary.

The Lekigi community is the poorest one to host a Conservation Club. The community is unique among the ones we visit in that the entire community is squatting on land that the Kenyan government refuses to recognize as theirs and though there are currently legal battles being fought, this limits the rights of the community and puts them at a disadvantages when it comes to government support for things like schools. While the other schools we visit have primarily stone buildings, Lekigi's buildings are made out of clay plastered on a wooden frame.

One of the Lekigi classroom buildings

The first thing that we encountered when we got there was a bunch of really young boys playing with a soccer ball made out of old newspaper and tape. They were fascinated with our cameras and after posing for multiple shots they wanted to play with the cameras themselves. Colleen took the opportunity to introduce them to the "selfie" and we had a great time snapping photos of ourselves and each other.

Colleen taking a "Selfie" with some Lekigi youngsters

The lesson we taught at Lekigi was the same one we have been teaching all week, a review of Community Conservation Day followed by a reading of The Lorax. Since there were so many teachers in the room we all took turns introducing different parts of the lesson and trying to draw the students out of their shells to share their thoughts and ideas. They loved watching the video and exclaimed every time someone they recognized appeared on the screen, and the reading of The Lorax was received with the same level of enjoyment as it had been at previous schools.

Helen talking to students about Community Conservation Day

Colleen and me reading the Lorax to the class

The students at Lekigi though shy and loathe to speak up in response to questions in class, were clearly engaged with the lesson and picked up on the message of the story. Watching their excitement over the video and the book made me really appreciate what the teachers at Lekigi are accomplishing. Working at a public school in NYC has given me a new perspective on money and funding and the way socio-economic status determines opportunity in America and I constantly feel like I am fighting a vicious never-ending uphill battle to get the resources and funding that my students need to be successful but it is nothing compared to what the teachers at Lekigi Primary are dealing with. I have so much respect for them and such compassion for their young motivated students who despite all odds care enough about learning to stay at school for an extra hour once a week to learn about conservation and the environment.

We ended our day on Wednesday on a very happy note as we all got a chance to attend our first "Sundowner" when the Mpala research staff drives out to a good rocking vantage point to watch the sun set over the Kenyan savannah. Tuttaonana sun!