So much has happened in such a little space of time. Projects we started only a few months ago are coming to a completion. Lots to share but easiest if the pictures speak for themselves…

In June, we started our most ambitious project: The Trust House. School Teams and our ever present gappers cleared and fenced the entire 3 acres of the upcoming vocational training school we intend to build for the community. As part of the plans, we started a little cultural house that’s very near to completion:

Note the glass bottles that have been integrated into the design? We really want this little project to be a showcase for what one can do with a bit of trash and we were inspired by other initiatives around the world (especially our friends in Ecuador) which are using plastic bottles so we are going to give it a shot too!

And some very exciting news. Muhaka Islamic Nursery School that was literally falling apart is now spanking new and clean. The two incomplete classrooms that we started work on in July are now very complete with furniture, beautiful murals on the walls (big additional thanks to Arabelle who paid for the paints) and a 2000lt water tank and guttering for rainwater catchment thanks to Vineel who paid for the additional water security materials. The community have been so grateful for all of this…

And class is open with children actually sitting on desks and not the floor…

The rains have come in full flow this year. Thankfully they are on time and yes, might lead to a few dull days sitting at camp but we have to put ourselves aside. As Kenyans we are so grateful we actually have rainfall this year. So yes, we take full advantage and go out and plant as many trees as possible.

A few weeks ago, one of the most amazing Kenyans we know passed away sadly. Wangari Maathai was a hero in every respect and nationwide people planted trees to mark her passing away…

We did our bit at Kaya Muhaka, one of the Sacred Mijikenda Forests listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites where we have a co-management plan with the community and we have built a really cool ecocamp…

This week, our gap volunteers are going to make a big push to finish the toilets at Muhaka Islamic Primary so watch this space for the toilet update…

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 11:09 am and is filed under Gap, Gap Year, Kenya, Project Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.