Volunteer Sarah Feigelson reflects on her experience with the Summer Institute. Thank you, Sarah, for all of your hard work & for your dedication to the students!

       I stepped off the plane in Kenya this June feeling full of purpose. I was on a mission. I thought I was there to change lives, change minds, and change the world—but boy, did I have another thing coming. From the beginning, it was tricky to wrap my head around being 7,352 miles and a 20-hour trip from home. Add that to a serious case of jet lag, and you have a dazed and confused Sarah in Nairobi. Confusion and conflicting feelings certainly didn’t end after the first few days. Living in an environment starkly different from anything I’d ever experienced, I was consistently overwhelmed with how big the world suddenly seemed—and how small I suddenly felt.

As our group walked through Kibera every day, the kids on the street would run up and greet us. They would shout: “Mzungu! How are you! How are you!” Every once in a while, one of the more daring children would grab a hand and walk a few paces with us. One day, on our way back from school, a little girl in a sweater that said “Angel” on it came up to me. She grabbed my left hand and started walking with me, giggling under her breath. I greeted her in Kiswahili and kept going along my way, expecting her to drop off and run back to her friends any moment. After we went a ways together, it was apparent that she wasn’t planning on letting go. She thought I would take her with me to whatever magical land I must inhabit. She held fast, gripping with both her sticky hands, even as I tried to let go. After a struggle, I detached myself, said “kwaheri!” and caught up with the group. I heard her wailing behind me and had to force myself not to look back. For days after, I thought of this little angel, and kept an eye out for her sweater as we walked through Kibera. I never saw her again.

Take a look at this: .

The impossibly cute video you just saw is from Morning Movement class. During Morning Movement, collections of “family groups” get together with their teachers, greet each other, play games, and learn new ways to move their bodies. One day, our three groups (Lily’s Crocodiles, Emma’s Giraffes, and my Butterflies) did a lesson on “good touching.” We started out with a hug greeting, taught the girls a song about not hitting (written by our very own Emily Weitzman) and finished off by playing limbo. 

My favorite moments of the trip were moments like these: just having fun with the girls, especially my family group and reading group. That morning, we somehow combined hugging, singing, and playing games into one fantastic session. I’ll treasure that morning forever, along with all the special memories I have of the girls: the face Ciro makes when she laughs, the giggles Sheldan gets when she trips on clumsy little-girl feet, how Grace hits her forehead when she gets an answer wrong. The joy Selma takes in singing, Diana’s tiny little self. Elizabeth’s laugh, so high pitched you can barely hear it; Molly’s smile, so small you can barely see it. The silly little noises Sharon makes as she walks; the way Movin whines and laughs in the same second. Every moment spent with these girls was a joy. 

It’s easy to lose sight of why you’re there when much of what you see are the positive aspects of Kibera. It’s easy to forget that there is so much hardship and pain when the incredible girls at KSG surround you every day, when you see up close the monumental things the community is doing for itself. That day, the little angel with the sticky hands brought it back to the forefront for me. For every lucky girl at the Kibera School for Girls, there’s an equally unlucky little one just a few steps away. As Shining Hope for Communities and the Kibera School for Girls continue to grow and reach more and more children, there will be fewer and fewer unlucky ones. Maybe I haven’t changed the world, but I couldn’t think of a better way to start. 

Final reflections on the Summer Institute, from volunteer & slam poet rockstar Emily Weitzman!

“Kibera School for Girls.” The name does not do it justice. They might as well change it to “Kibera School for Energetic, Enthusiastic, Intelligent, Compassionate, Unique, Determined, Beautiful, Kind, Adorable, Spunky, Courageous, Clever, Passionate, Confident, and, of course, Sassy Girls.” Not sure if that would fit on the sign though. And even then, there are really not enough or any words in the English or Swahili language to describe this group of 63 young ladies. At the Summer Institute, I was given the rare and wonderful opportunity to teach and mentor them for a month. My feelings toward the girls quickly transitioned from adore to respect and finally, for lack of a better word, love.

 Each Summer Institute volunteer was in charge of a group, the groups named after a different native animal. I am obsessed with elephants; totally by chance, I was assigned to teach the “elephant” family group. And a family we were from the very beginning. The moment the elephants were announced at the “Camp Kick-Off”, my six girls ran to me, arms open and ready for a huge hug. We sat in a small huddle, tuned out the noise behind us, and jumped for joy at the prospect of being a family of elephants. We made up a name, “The Energetic Ele-phants,” and a group cheer, which we recited with some sassy head-bobbing. When it was then announced that the girls would be receiving new uniforms for  “summer camp,” a wave of raucous cheers exploded throughout the room. One of my elephants, Juliet, was so excited that she impulsively flung her arms into the air. Unfortunately, her understandable stroke of spontaneity happened to cross paths with my right eye. But of all reasons to get punched in the eye, for the happiness of an adorable 6 year old girl, is one I’ll take every time. Later, other volunteers told me they thought my eyes were tearing because of how touching it was to see the response of the girls; they might as well have been.

Lensa, Mary (Ivon), Marion, Grace, Juliet, and Lillian, all in Pre-K or Kindergarten, were my “Energetic Ele-phants.” Although we decided the name on the first day before we all knew each other, the “energetic” part of our group name could not have been more fitting: my girls never ran out of energy. Lensa loved to joke around, and the sight of a funny face would provoke spasms of uncontrollable laughter. Mary was always by my side holding my hand, or running up to me during recess to sing “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” Marion, an adorable and genuinely sweet girl, loved to sing songs and dance with me. Grace, who I called Grace Face, has a deep voice that did not seem like it could have been emitted from her small frame. I could always count on Grace to make a hilarious face that would have all the elephants cracking up (especially Lensa). Juliet had a thirst for life and knowledge… so much so that she sometimes focused her attention more on the surrounding world than what she was supposed to be doing. While Lillian was often shy, she also could be silly, and would often sneak me an enormous smile. Elephants supposedly possess very human qualities: an incredible capacity for compassion and impeccable memories. My elephants are no different. The seven of us, an inseparable pack of elephants, cared for each other every day at KSG. Our experience together is one we will all never forget. 

All summer volunteers got to teach topics that we were interested in. Some of the favorite lessons I taught were dance and public speaking. I was so excited to get to teach the girls Modern Dance, something that has played such a large role in my own feeling of empowerment as a woman. Along with Jordana and Kim, I taught the girls the concept of improv, and how to move your body in interesting ways in response to directions like melt, roll, jump, or take up a lot of space. We even taught them about contact improv, involving continuous contact with another body, requiring a lot of trust and willingness to try something new. In one contact improve exercise, the older girls went to a “museum,” where they moved a partner’s body to become a sculpture.  The younger girls got to go “body surfing” on fellow volunteers Jordana, Kim, and me (We were body surfing . . . literally). In another dance lesson, we taught about the idea of using your body to create “music” to dance to. The girls got to show off their silly sides, making funny noises to dance to in crazy ways. This lesson also included teaching them step dancing, a type of dace I love to do that involves clapping and stomping to create different beats. Martha, in particular, caught on quickly and loved doing the steps. To step dance you need to work as a team; it’s very obvious if someone claps during a pause. The girls understood this concept, and worked as a group to create the sounds and movements. All the girls speak English really well, but movement is yet another language that we could all communicate with.

I also taught Public Speaking and How to Make a Good Argument. Most people break out in sweat and hives if asked to speak publicly, however, the girls at Kibera School for Girls created speeches and then performed them with confidence and eloquence. I told the girls that public speaking is important, because no matter what they do in life, they will probably have to talk in front of a group of people, and being able to do so with confidence will help them a lot. I was astonished at the sophistication of what the girls said, and the way they were able to articulate, engage the audience, and, most importantly, speak with utter poise. Some girls spoke about what they want to be when they grow up, while others chose to write about something they love. Mercy, who refused to talk when she first arrived at KSG, presented a beautiful speech with self-assurance on why she wants to be a teacher. Movin did not even once peek at her notes as she talked about wanting to be a banker. Her stage presence made me think maybe she should change that profession to an activist or politician, anything that involves public speaking (Movin for President!). Lucy described her love for running, and Sheldan explained why her favorite food is rice. In the Making a Good Argument lesson, the girls wrote speeches about why they love KSG, and why a prospective student would want to go there.  Some answers included: “Because we have so many nice teachers” “Because girls are able to learn,” ”Because we do not beat others here,” and “Because we now can grow up to be what we want.”

And speaking of what the girls want to be when they grow up, “I know I can” seemed to become the theme of the summer. It all started when our fearless Summer Institute leaders, Max and Nathan, had the idea to make the popular Nas song “I Can” into a music video, starring the girls, of course. The chorus goes: “I know I can/ Be what I wanna be/ If I work hard at it/ I’ll be where I wanna be.” Since I was known as the Slam Poet among the institute volunteers, I was assigned the task of rewriting the lines to make the rap about the Kibera School for Girls. But the idea of “I Can” became so much more than just an awesome music video that could potentially be created. The girls would practice the song, one standing in the center of the circle leading the other girls in the choral-response tradition. As Jane, Lydia, Sharon, Exferance, or any of the other confident and sassy girls conducted the group with the words “If I work hard at it, I’ll be where I wanna be,” I have never believed the lyrics to a song more in my life. 

Since the girls are often asked what they want to be when they grow up, they each have an answer (or two or three) they will excitingly share. Teacher is a common response, a reflection of the wonderful job teachers at KSG are doing. Many want to become a doctor to help others. A pilot is a very sought-after profession, which explains our field trip to watch the planes fly at the airport. Banker, lawyer, and policeman are among the other common answers. The truth is, the jobs themselves don’t actually matter, just the fact that they are thinking about the future. It’s rare to have hope in a place like Kibera, but vital to their community. Instead of having to leave the slum, the girls are working hard and gaining hope right in Kibera. The most beautiful part of the Summer Institute was experiencing the pure love for learning and life that all the girls exhibit. KSG is always full of energy, love, and, literally, noise: the sound of the girls eagerly singing and shaking their hips to the music. Each girl is incredibly lucky to be there, but each girl also brings something special and magical to the school. At KSG, the girls are taught that they are worth it.  Not only are they lucky to have an education, but that they deserve to have one. In a poem the girls perform, they turn their hand as if opening a door while they exclaim, “education is the key!” Sixty-four girls gesturing the motion of turning a key to unlock a door while reciting, “education is the key:” as I watched them perform this, I truly understood the mission of the Kibera School for Girls. Every girl opening her own door to a future unknown, but surely waiting just ahead. If one thing is for sure, the girls won’t merely enter through their door, they will come running in with enthusiasm, determination, and enormous grins. As they run, they will be shouting, or maybe singing: “I know I can!” Maybe that should be the name of the school: “Kibera School for Girls Who Can.” After getting the opportunity to teach, mentor, laugh with, and love these girls during the Summer Institute, I am confident that they will.

The last day of the Institute was July 11th. Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers who made this year an incredible success. We are so grateful for your enthusiasm, hard-work, dedication, and especially, your committment to the girls!

Below are some photos from Mandy Overman, capturing the Instiute volunter's second to last day at The Kibera School!

Here's Mandy with our baby class student, Mercy--

Emma Tolman with Sarah and Prudence--

Francesca Moree and gals--

Fun & games with Max (our Institute co-leader)!

Nicki's post from July 5th, documenting the Animal Mask workshop with the girls!

It’s so strange to see the changes that these girlsundergo as they grow up. My lesson started out with me explaining animal kingdoms (for those of you too embarrassed to admit you don’t know what they are – mammals, amphibians, reptiles, etc.).

Nicki's blog post from July 4th documenting the Institute's field trip with KSG to the Nairobi airport & railroad museum-- and of course, the ubiquitous singing! 

So, girls on bus = throw-up.  You wouldn’t think about it, but naturally these girls don’t travel on automobiles often, or at all.  So when you pile 65 little girls on a bus on a shockingly bumpy road, and the movement and inertia has to come up somewhere, from someone, on someone.  I believe on the field trip to the airport, seven girls threw up on the way there.  Of course, every girl asked for a paper barf bag, because of course those are incredibly exciting.

Nicki Softness on the KSG's morning movement exercise & our adorable pre-K student Baby Michelle!  

The first part of morning movement is always a hello ritual.  Each animal family (one teacher/volunteer with 4-5 kids of a similar age) gathers in a circle and has an extensive good morning/hello encounter.  My group happens to be the frogs.  The jumping frogs.

Today’s happened to be about good touching.  One girl Emily came up with the perfect song:

“Keep you hands to yourself means don’t touch others.

Keep your hands here (on shoulders) not here (waist, etc) or there.

Keep your hands to yourself because we’re huggers.

We don’t hit we only care.”

Thus, the good morning for Sarah’s group (not my frogs, unfortunately) and all the others was about “good touching”, I.E. hugging.  Notice the first girl to hug, Baby Michelle.  No one knows for sure if she’s the baby of the school, but she sure acts the part.  The plethora of faces she can make and contort are astounding, and she never fails to photograph in interesting and bizarre ways.  Who can get angry with a little girl who’s dimples take up her entire face?

Summer Institute participant Nicki Softness has been writing a blog for her friends and family describing her experiences in Kibera and with the KSG students-- we'll be re-posting her fabulous entries for all to read. Enjoy!

The girls at the school are ages Pre-K to second grade, and are the most adorable. Each morning is a flurry of tiny hands grabbing and hugging, yelling, “teacher, teacher, hi teacher Nicki!”

The accent is difficult to write out, but think slightly british.  As in, “teachuh, teachuh.”

It’s difficult to remember what different upbringings they have, because they act just like little girls.  They dance, they sing, they hug their teachers, they draw pictures.

Then they say something to remind you that they didn’t grow up in wealthy America like you did.  Some offhanded comment about their fears, their histories, so casual that you realize they don’t know this doesn’t happen to you, or anybody else.

But they have so much hope about everything.  They aspire to be mostly doctors, lawyers, teachers, and pilots, because that’s what they’ve heard of.  We work to encourage them to be anything, even biologists, politicians, and artists.  Trouble is they just don’t know that many people, let alone women, that have these creative, different, specialized jobs.

Literacy is different, because in Nairobi at least, teachers teach phonetically.  Instead of A, B, C, they spell out ah, buh, suh.  Just an interesting cultural difference.

I find myself reading them the same books I read as a child:

Are you my mother?

The Ugly Duckling

 Amelia Bedelia

They love the stories, even though some things are culturally out of place for them (for instance, when I point towards a hairdryer, they stare blankly back).  But they identify the things they know, with great excitement and fervor.  They want to learn so badly.

Jordana Hoyt, who graduated this May from Wesleyan University with a degree in History, is one of our Institute volunteers this summer. Jordana is originally from Chicago, and is a smart, fun, and exceptionally talented individual who is pursuing a career in education! Her dedication to volunteering with Shining Hope was recently featured in a Crain's Chicago Business article. We are so grateful to have Jordana working with us this summer-- read more about her decision to join the Summer Institute in the article, here! 

Here at the Summer Institute, we’ve just wrapped up a hectic Orientation Session, jam-packed with activities designed to introduce the Instituters to Nairobi, and to Kibera,  while also preparing for what will be a very busy three weeks working with the students at The Kibera School for Girls (KSG). We’ve already packed a lot into the first week of the Institute – it feels like we’ve been here for much longer than we actually have.  We hope this blog will help show our friends, family, & other supporters what we’ve been doing, what we’ve been observing, and what we’ve been thinking about our experiences here in Kenya. Institute volunteers will soon be writing their own personal blog posts, introducing themselves, and sharing their experiences and reflections of their time here.

Volunteers arrived on June 15^th and 16^th, and promptly began to tackle jet lag. They didn’t have much time because the first day everyone was here we headed down to Uhuru Park, adjacent to the Nairobi city center, for a scavenger hunt. Volunteers were given a list of clues to locations all around Nairobi, and were required to take a picture there as well as complete tasks. For example, volunteers had to locate the city market and buy a rose for Shining Hope co-founder Kennedy Odede and write him a haiku. Other stops included the Parliament building (where Instituters asked for the meaning of “Harambee”, the Kenyan motto), the Jomo Kenyatta mausoleum, the Hilton Hotel, and the old railway station.  The scavenger hunt ended just outside Kibera, where we all reconvened and then walked into the school for a brief tour of KSG and the Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic. 

On Saturday, we went to a different section of Kibera, where we were lucky enough to attend a Youth Leadership Conference hosted by two local organizations, including SHOFCO. We were able to discuss leadership traits with a number of Kibera youth in smaller groups while later hearing a speech by Kennedy followed by a panel of local leaders. Being able to sit down and discuss issues with local youth, while also learning from local leaders, was a memorable experience.

On Sunday, we dedicated most of our day to lesson planning for the upcoming week. There are lessons ranging from kickball to ones about voting to arts and crafts to music. We also received amazing training from four wonderful teachers from the Chapin School in New York on how to teach young students--specifically the best techniques for interactive reading with the students.  These tricks of the trade are going to come in handy when we break into our small reading groups each day at the school.  In the middle of this training and hours of lesson planning and preparation, volunteers were able to sit down with a tutor and get a whirlwind introduction into Kiswahili. 

Monday was the first full day spent at the school, and volunteers became acquainted with the building, and put finishing touches on their group lesson plans.  Lesson planning took up the majority of the day, but the most exciting activity was the Kick-Off Assembly, where the Instituters, the KSG students, the KSG teachers, and the Chapin teachers met in the SHOFCO Community Center to celebrate the start of this program. Instituters were introduced to their “family groups”, which consist of 4-6 girls that will work with a specific volunteer for the entire Institute.  Overall, this assembly was a great way to get the entire KSG community excited for the Institute, and acted as a conclusion to the orientation session. The Institute is now ready to get to work after a long time spent preparing. Stay tuned for updates!

We are excited to share with you stories & updates from this year's Summer Institute. 

The 2011 Summer Institute runs June 16th to July 11th. It is a highly competitive program that provides deeply motivated and mature undergraduate or recent grad college students with on-the-ground experience working with Shining Hope's projects in Kibera, Kenya.

Institute volunteers work primarily at The Kibera School for Girls (KSG). In the mornings, Institute participants provide KSG students with tutoring and mentoring—accelerating their academic performance while forming meaningful relationships with our students.  In the afternoons, Institute participants run a summer camp at the KSG.  Each participant designs and exectures workshops that expose KSG students to new skills such as sports, arts & crafts, juggling, music, and drama. Volunteers will also be introduced to Shining Hope’s other projects such as our health clinic and other youth and community programs.