March Update

We have had several days of rain recently and I never thought I'd be so happy to see that wet stuff coming down! Our water tanks are full again, crops are being planted, the evenings have cooled down and best of all no more waiting in the water line at the spring. We are so excited I won't even complain about the house being flooded the other day. Besides, other than ruining William’s computer cord (which wasn’t good) it gave the house a good washing!

Besides the excitement caused by the change in weather, here's what else has been going on in March.......

CML ACADEMY

Term 1 is almost over and the school will close for Holiday on April 4^th. This last week of exams has been a busy one but also encouraging as we see an improvement in the pupils school performance and overall development.

Below are pictures of each class.

Madame Maurine (left) and Madame Grace (right) teach the Kindergarten classes. Here they are with the Baby Class. Can you believe these classes are already learning two languages....English & Swahili!

Nursery Class

Pre-Unit Class

Madame Monica with Class One.

Mr. Collins with Class Two

Madame Perez (far right) is the CML Academy Head Teacher and also instructs Class Three

Mr. Marklinus teaches Class Four

We are grateful to our teachers for their good work and efforts in helping the students come up in such a short time and look forward to Term 2.

Many people ask about our current school needs, and while our goal is for the school to become self-sufficient we realize that may take some time. For now here is a partial list of things still needed:

School uniforms. We have 23 students without uniforms or proper footwear. For $20 you can purchase a child’s uniform and a pair of shoes & socks.

Continuing education for untrained teachers. Like most schools in Kenya, we enlist the help of both “trained” (certified) and “untrained” teachers. We have two “untrained” teachers that we would like to assist in becoming certified. They would enroll in a local two-year program that is conducted during the school holidays and provides them with a certificate recognized by the Ministry of Education. The cost for each teacher is $725. For both the cost would be $1,450.

Classrooms & kitchen for Pre-K classes. Currently the Baby class, Nursery class and Pre-unit classes, 43 children in all, conduct their classroom studies in the church sanctuary next to our house and the kitchen is operating out of what is supposed to be a kiosk/storage building. It is our sincere prayer to construct a building for these classes and kitchen on the property where the other school building is located.

This is the building we are currently using for the school kitchen.

All 3 Kindergarten classes are squeezed into the same room used by the church as the sanctuary...and each Saturday chairs, tables, charts and blackboards have to be moved.

While we would like the building to be built with brick and cement, but funds will dictate the type of building we can afford. Estimated cost $5,000.

We need construction help as well as financial help. If you have a group that is willing and able, we have local tradesmen that can do the technical stuff!

Please contact us at thechristianmile@yahoo.com if you’d like to help with any of the above needs.

TRIP TO MAASI MARA & RUSINGA ISLAND

I just love surprises...especially good ones! By far my favorite surprise this past month was getting to visit with some wonderful folks from Texas.

Invited by our friend by Beth Plumlee to join her energetic group, we visited the Maasi Mara for the 1^st time and traveled with them to Rusinga Island where they conducted a free medical clinic and attended 2 school dedications. What a treat to see such willing hearts and hands and to make new friends!

Beth & William are all smiles!

Below are two pictures of one of the class rooms built by Beth's mother "Mimi" (Beverly) at the Dr. Williams Primary School

Here Mimi poses for a picture with Charles (left) and Brian (right). Charles & Brian are orphans from Rusinga Island that Beth & her family have sponsored since they were small. Both boys are very bright and excited about finishing their education and pursuing their future. When not in school the boys stay with us and have become a blessed addition to our family!

The computers being used by these students are solar powered!

The new Science Lab built by the Bray family.

The Bray family during the Science Lab dedication.....what an investment in the future this family has made!