Written by: Barbara Burke
11/10/2009 10:14 AM 

As you'll see, we all had an incredible visit to the Jubilee School in July, 2009.  Inaugurating the Water Well, Officially Opening the Dormitories, Meeting the Students as well as many of their families, Getting Acquainted with the Faculty and Staff, Laying the Cornerstones for the Dining Hall and Kitchen facility that is underway, and of course, the highlight, Participating in the Wonderful School Assembly that Fr. Symon had arranged for the visitors' benefit...it was simply wonderful!  Gil, Adrian and Julia also had the privilege of spending all of their time at the school with the students, engaging them in their studies (geography lessons with the large wall maps they brought, and eliciting all manner of writing!) and lots of recreation: jumping rope, playing football (soccer to those of us in the USA), and taking and looking at many digital photos of one another (a favorite and novel activity for many of the children).

The children were absolutely precious. Many were quite serious about their lessons and all seemed to express delight at being at the Jubilee School. Gideon, the Head Teacher, told us of how many had come from very remote parts of Kenya, and how unfamiliar some of the amenities that we take for granted, were [new] to the children. The school day is quite well defined and given that so many students board, the evenings are devoted to a continuation of lessons through 'homework' and study time.  I happened to notice that the girls seemed quite a bit shy-er than the boys, but just as eager to find out all about their visitors!

The girls have moved into their dormitory, which has freed up one of the downstairs classrooms that was being used temporarily to 'house' their sleeping quarters.  The boys dormitory, which had its ribbon-cutting while we were there, is almost ready for the boys to move into as well.  The interior painting and last bit of plastering had been postponed while Fr. Symon was at the school, because he wanted to oversee the laying of the foundations for the Dining Hall/Kitchen/Activity Room building as well as for a teacher's house, that will be a bit further from the immediate commotion of children and classrooms, located on the recently purchased three acres adjacent to the original property.

Many of you have not only heard of the terrible drought afflicting Africa, but have also contributed generously for food that can be stored for the benefit of the children.  The drought has caused a great deal of suffering and worry throughout Kenya, but it is some consolation to parents of the schoolchildren that they will certainly receive all of their meals while in the care of the Jubilee School.  Fr. Symon, ever the enterprising and forward thinking Benefactor, had purchased 10 acres of furtile farmland a long time ago, before the school had even started, and has had it planted with corn and harvested for the benefit of the school.  Although harvests are much smaller this year, Fr. Symon still was able to store a number of sacks of food away for the school. [Dear Reader: I'll update and edit this w/more specifics...can't find my notes at the moment!]

The School has started to recruit new students for the next school year: January-December 2010.  We will be adding another class of students by intaking children who will start in Third Grade at the Jubilee School in January, and those students who will have completed 5th grade in December 2009, will become our new class of 6th graders.  We will also be hiring another teacher for the school and making more bunk beds for our additional and future boarders.  An aside that you may find of interest, is that after our visit to the school, we went on safari in the Maasai Mara and stayed at Rekero, a wonderful tented camp on the Mara where many Maasai Guides educate and show their guests around the amazing preserve of varied wildlife.  I'm happy to share that many of the guides had heard about Fr. Symon's Jubilee School (he is more commonly known as Fr.Ntaiyia, from the school he established in Lemek, Kenya, a Maasai township not far from the Mara) and were very eager to enroll their own children there. Some had tried to enroll last year in December but were too late because the classes had been filled, so this time, when we were at Rekero, they mentioned that they didn't want to miss that opportunity again!  Naturally, we agreed and said we will pass along their interest to Fr. Symon.  In addition, many had recalled Gideon, whom Fr. Symon recruited from retirement to be the Jubilee School's Head Teacher, as an outstanding teacher who had high expectations for all of his students and who always got the best out of them. Having met Gideon and his wife, Mary, in July of 2007 and then this summer, I was not surprised to hear such praise!

Well, there is certainly much more that I could report...but I think I've kept your attention long enough.  Besides, if you haven't had a look at the Gallery for the additional photos, then I'm doing a disservice by continuing!  I'll be back with more information and details soon...in order to keep it a bit shorter and a little less dense...I'm afraid I suffer from all or nothing communication habits that I've been guilty of for many years...but, I shall try to be better!

As always, great thanks for your interest, your generosity and your enormous goodwill...it comes through loud and clear...all the way to Narok, Kenya at the Fr. Symon Jubilee School and to its beloved schoolchildren.  Asante sana.

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