On July 24th I arrived at Mo's Bridge. I spent my time living with Maurice Chesoli and his family. Maurice is the director from Waymarks Education Centre. It was certainly an 'eye opening experience' living with them. They don't have running water and electric and my initial thought was "how am I going to cope with this way of life?". I think many of us would find it an extremely difficult task living in such circumstances. It made me think how very fortunate and lucky we are back in England.
The family were very kind and made me feel very welcome and nothing was too much trouble. By staying with Maurice and Evelyn, I was also able to get a real feel for how the locals live in the area of Moi's Bridge.
So the next day I visited Waymarks Education Centre, where I immediately had a very warm reception of dancing ceremonies, drama and poems, which the children had prepared for my visit. I felt like the queen.

I spent more time with some of the children who are orphans that attend the school, which was great and got to know each of them.
The children are all truly amazing and they wanted to know everything about me. I also found out about some of the pupils on an individual basis and was amazed by their life experiences and how they are very different to mine.

Each of the children are very grateful for the things they have and they all have dreams, which they want to fulfil. They truly are amazing and I wish I'd had longer to get to know them all. Despite their personal circumstances, they are all very friendly and really appreciate the work of Aid2Africa.  
Every child I spoke to wanted to learn and their zest for school life was certainly one I won't forget. Each child wanted to be at the school and wanted to get the best education possible, in order for them to go on and make something of their lives.
 

The staff at the school were all very friendly and made me feel extremely welcome.

During her stay, Natalia visited the sustainable project where maize and beans are grown. The sale of the crop pays for rental and cultivation of the land next year. The profit helps maintain the school. Year on year we are increasing the number of acres under cultivation. This year 11% of the running cost of the school have been paid from last years harvest. next year it will be even more.

Because most of the people live away from the main roads it is very difficult to get to them in a car. The local taxis are a little different to here in the UK!

During the visit, Natalia got a chance to see first hand the work of the kitchen in feeding the children and staff twice a day. Firstly cutting up the cabbage (below) then checking  the huge iron cooking pot. (left)

During my visit to the school, I handed out stationery to every child. I was truly amazed by the response from each of the children. I was able to see for myself that they truly appreciated the gifts I had taken over. I also handed out a selection of balls, skipping ropes etc and it was great to see the children working together to use the equipment. It is something that truly touched my heart.

The building work included providing new toilets and the children's home for some of the children made homeless when the local slum was demolished. You can see the Children's home building behind Natalia in the photo on the left.

I was privileged enough to observe lessons during my time at Waymarks.
I was also given the opportunity to teach. Our way of teaching is very different back in England and the children loved the approach to teaching that I used.  

Having spent time living with Maurice and his family and visiting the Waymarks Education Centre, I understand the importance of the support they get from Aid2Africa and what the charity does to support the school and the children.