Osupuko Primary

Today we visited Osupuko Primary. Tuko Pamoja provides the morning porridge for the kids and staff. About 550 per day. We got there at porridge time, and the greeting from the kids was very warm, as usual.

Many of you have heard the story before, but Virginia and I visited this school several years ago to teach. Girls at the Cara Girls Rescue Center recommended we go, after we had taught them. The Rescue Center girls have to walk through dangerous areas to get to school. They wanted their classmates to also have our self-defense class, since they walk the same paths.

In the class a few years ago, there was a visibly pregnant 13-year-old. Afterwards, we asked the head teacher if the cause was rape or family (the most common sources). She said her understanding was the girl was selling her body for food money. She would get about 40 cents per “date”.

I asked what would happen to her now. We were told she would probably be sold to an older Maasai man as a second or third wife. I asked what would happen to the baby. No one could answer that.

After the visit, Virginia and I vowed we would return with food. No amount of self-defense classes can stop the problem of hunger. Putting food in that girl’s belly can. You, our great family at Tuko Pamoja, have made that happen. 

The kids enjoyed seeing us. 

This school is pretty remote. The roads are difficult. It is in a very arid area. This makes it very dusty and hot, although you wouldn’t know it from the kids’ clothes. Anything under 70 degrees and the coats come out.

We taught one class for the Class 7 and 8 girls. Some of them remembered having been through it before. We will go back in January and work with more girls. We just ran out of time. 

Below are the girls with Munio keychains. These keychains are a very effective self-defense tool and are perfect for the girls.

Some of the girls had track suits on, so we were able to get them working on a ground escape, below. Wangari and Cedric demonstrated.

This school isn’t as strong in English as some, so we translated most of the class into Swahili. Wangari translates.

Cedric and me working with the class below.

After the class, we had a few meetings. Wangari wandered out onto the playground and surrounded herself with kids. She was there leading them in songs, playing tug-of-war and doing a variety of group activities with them for over an hour. 

Below is Francis, one of the kids sponsored through Tuko Pamoja. He is a very sweet young man. I had a chance to sit with him and talk about his sponsors. He is very excited about his sponsors’ coming to visit next year, and asked lots of questions about them. 

We are expecting to be at Francis’s house before we depart the country. More on that later.

Shaleen, below, is also sponsored by the same couple. Below, she is reading a letter from them.

After school, we walked to her house from school. Probably three-quarters of a mile. Below is the road. L to R: Claudia, me, Virginia, Shaleen.

I really enjoyed spending time with Shaleen; she is vibrant, interesting, and interested. We talked a lot. Mostly her asking questions.

Shaleen is Abigael’s sister, who I posted about a few days ago. She also has a brother sponsored through Tuko Pamoja. He had been kicked out of school for nonpayment. On the prior post, I said a girl who isn’t in school is expected to get married in the Maasai culture. A boy is expected to be a shepherd if he isn’t in school. Being sponsored for school has opened up a future for Stephen beyond that.

Below, we are in the house. It is a one-room building with sheets separating it into three rooms. No electric or water. You can see the solar lamp that Agnes (Shaleen’s mom) is using. 

Shaleen has younger siblings, as well. They were in the yard playing. While we were there, conversations were going on in three languages. The family’s mother tongue (tribal language) is Maa, as in Maasai. The young kids were speaking that. Then Swahili and English. 

Agnes was married at 14 years old to a 17-year-old Maasai. She had Abigael soon after. Other kids followed. Her husband died a number of years ago. Since then the family has been on hard times. Agnes had several other kids by other men who offered to help them, but none of those men have stayed around or are helping now.

Tuko Pamoja is playing a big role in the lives of the entire family.

Agnes is an expert bead jewelry maker. Many of the Maasai women have learned to do this traditional craft. Agnes is really good. We are bringing some stuff back with us that Claudia will sell online. The money will go to Agnes.

Above, Agnes is laying out some of the jewelry for us to look at.

Below are the younger kids in the yard. There was also a woman cleaning corn on the tarp. The pile to the right are emptied cobs. This is a very hard corn, not like the sweet corn we get. It has to be boiled to eat it.

Shaleen said she grew up at this place. She was born here. They used to have a different house (a mud wall manyatta), but have the newer one now.