My Walkabout

Hope Learning Centre was the first school I saw when I started going to Kenya back in 2009 with World of Difference. I’ll never forget the imagery of seeing the school for that first time, and I wondered what could our group possibly do in the short time we were there that would make any impact at all? Where does one even start when there was so much that needed to be done?
But I just bent my head down and swung my pick axe in the hard earth, starting the process of digging a trench with other team members.

By the end of our time in Kenya that first year, amazingly we had actually completed a cement roof slab for the school. ( Although at the time most team members thought the work was going to kill us.) I’ll never forget the comrade we had as a team, proud of our accomplishment, and for what this meant to the headmaster of the school, Isaac Musembi.

When I returned in 2010, I was thrilled to be a part of continuing our work on Isaac’s school. Isaac had taken the initiative to work on making improvements while we were away, and he had completed more classrooms and toilet facilities. All he needed now was another cement slab roof. This was the roof that nearly killed me if it wasn’t for Isaac ( you can read that story HERE).

Which brings me to our latest effort in 2011. The team didn’t work at Isaac’s school, but we were able to go there one day. When we arrived, all of the team was flabbergasted by what they saw. Isaac now has electricity in his classrooms, the walls are painted and bright. He actually has a urinal and a little garden! Isaac’s school, in my opinion, is a true success story of World of Difference, and I couldn’t be more proud to have some small part in that.

Isaac’s family also lives at the school. Isaac has also built a room so that a good friend of mine, Kevin, has a place to stay as he has now graduated from secondary school. As Isaac himself says “ It is small, but it is enough.”

Isaac is a man who is always dreaming and wanting more for his school, the children, and his people. Currently he dreams to put in playground equipment, wants to provide new uniforms, while his daily goal is making sure each student gets one daily meal.
While I was there this last year, Isaac, Kevin, and Isaac’s family asked me if I would help them in this effort. I told them that I would do everything in my power. They asked if I would bring back necklaces that they had made themselves, and try to sell them in America.

All proceeds of these necklaces will go back to the Hope Learning Centre, which will help us meet those goals. When we showed them to the team as we were looking at Isaac’s school, most team members loved them so much that they bought some right there.

The necklaces are ten dollars each. Add five dollars for shipping and I’ll send you as many as you would like. If you are interested in purchasing one, please e-mail me, or leave a comment and I’ll get in touch with you.

You can see the progress of Isaac’s Hope Learning Centre throughout the years that I’ve been going with World of Difference.