Our Girls!
by Suzzanne Pautler
Driving out of Nairobi, toward the cattle grazing in the grassy plains, one instantly takes a deep breath and begins to relax. However, that peaceful, serene feeling disappeared during our last visit to the Educational and Rehabilitation Center, as we walked into the activity hall and were surrounded by more than 100 students, all hoping to participate in the workshop. Although chaotic, our previous visit truly was just as exhilarating as it was exhausting. Today was a different story. The sun had not yet come up and a chill hung in the air. The majority of students were away, spending the school holiday with their families. However, 12 girls remained. They were ready to work, and so was the Necessary Arts team!
The Maasai girls love to perform in the theatre arts and eagerly participated in our games and activities. We shared with each girl a script about a fisherman along with a brightly colored highlighter. Suddenly, younger children entered the activity hall, each eagerly wanting paper and a highlighter, too. The bottom line is that we must replenish our stock of highlighters prior to our next visit! The girls highlighted their lines in the script and began to practice reading them aloud. The word "enchanted" proved difficult to pronounce, and the word "tenacity" had no meaning to them. I explained that we shared new words with them in order to improve their language and literacy. "Oh, teacher..." is all I got in response, though I imagine a little roll of the eyes, too.
After we did a group choral reading of the script, each girl nodded in agreement that the story had a good message. We should not be greedy or needy. We should be happy with what we have. I was impressed by their reading, listening, and comprehension skills.
A short snack time ensued and then we moved into an art activity. The girls needed to draw a character sketch including physical details, clothing, or personal attributes learned through the script. Our little friends couldn't stand the fact that they didn't have paper or crayons, and so they joined in by drawing the fish for us. Before we knew it our two and a half hours were up! Unfortunately, we did not have time for any follow-up or reflection, nor did the girls have a chance to practice personal scripts they had written during our last visit. Next time we will have to schedule a longer visit with our girls!
Warm hands and more...
by Amanda Milkeraitis
I didn’t really know what to expect today as the Necessary Arts team set off for Kajiado, as day 1 and day 2 were such different experiences. After an early morning start and hopping onto the bus before daylight we set of for our 90 minute drive to reach the young ladies who were waiting for us. Yet again we were welcomed with smiles and handshakes. Lucky my hands are always warm so I could warm up their cold little fingers as it was a chilly morning. It was lovely to also be hugged by girls who I’d never met before, but they are veterans of the Necessary Arts program and knew they’d be met with love and acceptance from our team. Even more than the last two days, these young ladies wanted to approach us individually and introduce themselves and ask our names. Not just shake our hand with a hello and move on.
We worked on a physical warm-up activity to get all of us warmed up and then moved into some individual and team actions and objects. There were a lot of laughs and it served as a great ice-breaker for us who are new to the team.
There were certainly some stand-out performers right from the get-go who were ready to volunteer and perform for us and their peers with confidence and no fear of judgement. For me this highlights the importance of the Arts in terms of helping all students find a voice and a presence that can serve them in school and in life.
We talked them through a short play and assigned roles. Students were paired up to practice their lines together before our read through. Whilst there were some words that were new and difficult for them, there was no hesitation from the girls in trying to pronounce them – and they all understood the story of the Fisherman and the Princess Fish, with the moral of the story being that happiness outweighs material wealth.
A break for a snack then turned into a Swahili lesson for me. I’ve now got a page of words and phrases that the ladies were so keen to teach me. I loved being the student and them teaching me, and they also were keen to demonstrate their own language skills.
Our time ended way too early with this group of talented teens. We had just made a start on them using their imaginations to make illustrations of their characters when it was time to leave. Many questions of when we’ll be back showed just how much they value the Necessary Arts team – the activities, the learning experience and the care that is show to them is obviously something they continue to look forward to.
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