This first term of the year in Kenya has seen the Transition class fill up to 36 children, around 12 of whom were sent from our satellite project in another area of Kibera. Others have come to the project from the streets or from the surrounding area, hearing about the project through word of mouth. These children have benefited from having a team of three teachers working with them. New teacher Philip has shown himself to be a dedicated, caring and proficient teacher, the boys in the class are particularly enjoying having a male teacher around.
Having a third teacher has enabled teacher Margaret to spend more focussed time with six students who we found to have particular learning difficulties. Margaret has been assisted by some volunteer primary school teachers from the UK and South Africa who have given her some tips and fresh ideas to help the kids grasp the new concepts and the kids are really enjoying it!
Edwin is one such kid, at 14 years old he has repeated the first few years of primary school several times and is far behind his age-mates. Frustrated, he refused to go back to school this year. A little investigation showed he has dyslexia, something that is rarely identified in government schools working with few resources. He is now working hard to catch up and has made huge progress this first term under Margaret's care. A few creative learning techniques have made a great difference to his development.
A huge THANK YOU to all those who have donated through Givology towards the Turning Point Transition Class. This January, 19 children graduated out of Transition class to join government primary schools, these children have all attended primary school in the past but had to drop out due to lack of funds. Several children visited the project in the first week of term before they started at school to proudly show off their new school uniform! This is a great encouragement to our project teachers who are now launching into a new year ready to receive new children into their classrooms.
The class of 2010 were a great group of kids, 20 children caught up with their classes so quickly that we sent them back to formal education earlier in the year. So in total 39 children passed through the transition class and back into formal education during 2010.
Margaret, one of the transition class teachers remarked, “I am so happy that most of the children open up, get to know more about education and are so willing to study and prosper. As a teacher, I am so proud to hear the progress of children from transition class. It gives me a bigger heart to accommodate more children and press on in the work that the Lord has laid in my heart for the good of the children.”
Charles was one of the transition class pupils last year, he lives in the slum with his brother and single-mother who washes clothes to get a small income for her family. Charles was attending school and reached class 7 but his mother could rarely afford to feed him more than one meal a day. Hunger forced Charles to drop out of school and spend his days looking for food. He was so happy to be in transition class because he was guaranteed two hearty meals everyday. Now he is back in school Turning Point provides his school lunch to keep in class, alert and enjoying his opportunity to learn.
We are currently accepting a new intake of children into the transition class for the coming year. We have taken on a new teacher, Philip, to join Margaret and Magdalene. This frees up Margaret to give more one-to-one support to children with particular learning difficulties. Through your donations you have played an integral role in launching these children on a new trajectory towards a successful future. Thank you.
In the picture above, Charles is the first child on the left.
The above picture shows the 19 children we sent to primary school in January this year