Children of Kisumu
Today we visited Nyalenda, one of the slum-areas in Kisumu. Even thought the red-coloured, stamped earth is one of the first things you see, the plastic waste in the ditches is even more vivid. We visited a pre-school, in the middle of the area, donated by Volvo. It was volunteering teachers that ran the place, making it possible for about 50 children, aged between 4-6, to get a fair start in life.
Our guide from Friends Pioneer, told us that if these kids don’t get the chance to attend pre-school, they will have a hard time getting in to primary school, and thus falling behind. It was pretty amazing thought, how this small children learned both English and Kiswahili from the first year and by the time of graduation, already were able to read.
Together we sang “father Abraham” and we also introduced some Swedish songs, namely, “små grodorna” and “prästens lilla kråka”. It was amazing to meet the children; they indeed embraced us with open hearts.
Finally, a conversation with J, one of our contacts here in Kisumu:
J: Today I was babysitting. It’s unusual for a man, but I start to like it!
RS-student: Ah, that’s nice! Who was it?
J: My 4-year old daughter.
RS-student: Oh, in Sweden we call that parenting…
