The kids in the school are so sweet, loving and happy! My mom lost half her hair while letting the kids touch it. Lots of hugs today! We even got to visit during a kiswahili class. One girl was reading aloud from the blackboard and we were following!
I also met a few guys outside the school. They wanted money and my watch. I asked them why they were not in school and one of them answered "I don't want to". I told him that he looked like a clever guy, and that going to school was the smart thing. Maybe, he would become the future president of Kenya if he just went to school. He looked happy and we parted in a much more positive way. My heart was breaking when the other guy said his mom couldn't afford the school fees.
It is still quite shocking to know that some kids in Nairobi is still still not in school, even though it is mandatory. The recent article in the daily nation that i wrote about a month ago, telling us that parents could be sent to prison if not sending their kids to school seems to not have made an impact on the Mathare parents. The caregivers in the area are often not the parents, because many people die from Aids and other diseases in the slums. Children are often brought up by relatives, siblings and even neighbours.
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