What about Des?

A number of people have asked about Des' activities at the school. She has certainly not had much spare time. I asked her to write about her typical day, but she wanted me to do it. So here goes ... Desleigh Mogg at the Agape in Action Academy.

I know I am biased, but life here would be very difficult without Des. She is always the voice of reason and the calm, sensible one! She wants to look after the house and, as you would expect, has it looking spic and span. She also prepares some fantastic meals. She very much misses all of you back in Australia, but is carrying out a very valuable role at the school.

 There is a real shortage of green vegetables in the marketplace so Des has become the backyard gardener, although a garden is called a 'shamba' in Swahili.

There have been set-backs with invading cows, but things are looking very green and lush now.

Our food scraps get buried in the garden - giving the locals a lesson in sustainable agriculture.

Early in the year we tested Form 1 in regards to English comprehension. There were some very poor results. 36 of the students were chosen for some one-on-one tuition. Sammy, Des and Myself (plus Elise when she was here) share the load.
Des is presently working with 12 students, seeing them once each week and improving their understanding of English.
We have just purchased an ipad so that we can use learning apps with the students - they love them!

Kamukuywe has a large number of widows. The local church has a widow's program to assist them with basic needs like clothing and seeds for planting.
Des has given talks to these ladies and helped distribute gifts.
They are very grateful for the assistance they receive, and celebrate with spontaneous dancing!

This year the student population has increased by about 40%.
There are over 100 female boarders in new quarters, and the school now has a house mother in residence.
Des has been busy obtaining the necessary items for the house mother's accommodation; linen, appliances, cleaning equipment, etc (some of these things have been paid for out of your donations - thank you).

She has also been instrumental in developing a set of guidelines for the house mother to use.

In the picture you can see Des explaining to one of the local furniture makers exactly what she wants. A dining table and chairs, lounge suite and two dressers have now been acquired. Leah (the house mother) is very impressed with her new home.

Des has visited local primary schools and the Lela orphanage to see how the students are progressing. One task has been to interview staff and students and send the details back to Agape in Action in Canada.
Some amazing stories have emerged - keep an eye on the website at:
          agapeinaction.com
Some of the stories should be appearing shortly.

With an outgoing, friendly personality Des has enjoyed mingling with the students. She enjoys chatting to them after school, sharing stories, and tending to their burns, scratches and ailments.
Our house has a very large first aid cupboard which gets opened frequently. She has done a wonderful job of labelling and storing all of the pills, potions and bandages.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 4:15 and 5:00 students attend an interest session of their choice. Des helps out with the art group; drawing with them and making sure that their art supplies are available.
This is Des with one of her favourite students. Newton is one of the keenest artists in the school. He is also very astute and can appreciate our Western sense of humour.

Des works at Hunter Sports High in Newcastle. She has kept in contact with them. One teacher has her class writing letters to students at the school.
Des has also arranged for sporting equipment to be donated.
In the picture Des is presenting netball bibs to the coach. They were sent over by HSHS.

There are other jobs that I have forgotten to mention like covering books, making up the pays each month for the school staff, and mending the student's clothes when the seams fall apart.

Basically Des is always in the middle of things, helping wherever possible and supporting me incredibly well. Kenya was my 'dream' but it would have been a nightmare without Des.