Oranges aren't Orange in our Neighbourhood

"The Roots of Education are Bitter but the Fruits of Education are so very Sweet"
-Author Unknown

I feel like I've done it all. Not actually of course, but a lot of my Kenya firsts are coming to a close. I have been inside the classroom for the first time in a life skills session. It is interesting to know how students are engaged in very difficult discussions like HIV/AIDS or abuse. Even discussions that might seem uncomfortable in a Canadian classroom like puberty are addressed and very comfortably. I've attended a wide variety of life skill sessions including goal setting, rights and responsibilities of adolescents and the beginning of the 'sex talk.'

To begin a lot of the sessions, a song is sung. George began with the 'wheels on the bus' where Marci began with one of the students favourite, a gospel entitled 'melody.' It was beautiful to listen too but in many ways it did not underscore the real stories and heart ache some of the students go through.

When talking about choosing abstinence and safer sex, I pondered. I really wondered if it was going to help these kids or decrease any of the challenges facing the Kariobangi slum. I always knew I was an optimist but I still gave it more help. I realized that when the puberty discussion begins in grade six classrooms in Ontario and students start asking questions about sex, relationships and power- that there is no guarantee that these decisions will be taken seriously. This isn't a failure in the system but a reality. I am hopeful that life skills will help to challenge the mindset of these students and that most will take the lessons Education for Life teaches seriously. George said in his session, "It is your responsibility to take your life where you want it too be." Marci reiterated this telling the kids that we are only here to educate you, it is your responsibility in making the choices. Hopefully we will all be there every step of the way over the next three and a half months and Education for Life will be there long after we have left.

Empowerment are key in our lessons. It is our responsibility to educate the youth of today to make better choices for the world of tomorrow. The responsibility is ultimately our own. The feeling associated with responsibility is both rewarding and challenging. Rewarding because responsibility can create great power and challenging because the risks are so high.

Life skills are integrated into the Ontario Curriculum. Independent work, team building skills and initiative are all evaluated each term. Life skills are promoted in the material and how students interact with that material. Students in social studies and history learn good public speaking skills, to be confident learners and students on top of learning about the actual history that took place. In Kenya, it is much more precise. Discipline is held closely to learning and subjects can be very tough. Students who score lower than 420/500 (84%; higher than the Ontario Provincial Standard) on their primary exams are not guaranteed a spot at secondary school because there is not enough money and not enough spots.

Beyond their skill level and test scores, some of the students are at an extreme disadvantage. I met a class six male student who had been sodomized, his test score in the high 200's. I'm not even going to pretend that I have an answer to this one scenario little own having an answer to the larger system. In many ways it is devastating but I am holding onto the faith and hope to help this student improve his test scores in the time he has left. These students need to be told to reach for the stars because they can and there are many role models for them to follow like the fine, educated people who live in the slums and are working at Education for Life.

Oranges aren't orange around the world. This is something I've discovered. Oranges are green in our Kariobangi neighbourhood. It doesn't make them less worthy or any less nutritional or delicious but it makes them different. The system here isn't wrong because its different but it needs just as much or more attention because the risks are so high. The risks are so high for humanity at large. Is the system unfair? Probably. Can we change it? I hope so.