Project Elimu
Donation protected
Hi everyone, I'm Georgia, I'm 18 and am currently studying primary education. Early last year I had seen a video on Facebook about Mike Wamaya, an ex professional dancer, who has gone back to his home country, Kenya, to teach ballet to children in Kibera, Kenya's largest slum. I was very inspired by this video, being a dancer myself, and wanted to see how I could help since I was visiting Kenya in December. After getting in contact with Mike he said they needed clothes the most, so I set up a small project to gather as many dance clothes as possible. Due to the generosity of local dancers and dance organisations I was able to gather 250 items of clothing in which I took to Kenya with me.
On Christmas Eve I met Mike and some of his students, they showed us around their school, the school was made up of corregated iron and had concrete floors, a chalk board and very limited teaching resources. They then performed dances they had recently performed in the Nutcracker at the National Kenyan Ballet, we moved the desks and tried to remove as much dust from the floor as possible so there was room to dance. It was so special to be able to meet the children and to see them opening the clothes, it is something I will never forget; to see how much of a positive impact dance has on the children and how it can bring everyone together, even if they are from different countries.
I was fortunate to meet Mike and 7 of his students in Kibera on Christmas Eve. After talking to them and sharing our dance experiences they showed us around their school and the room, they explained that when it's time for dance the students move the tables so that they have space to dance and remove the dust from the floor. They then performed several of their dances that they had recently performed in The Nutcracker at the Kenyan National Theatre. This was very moving and was a perfect exemplification of how dance has a huge influence on our lives and how it can lift these children's spirits, allowing them to be children and providing them with hope.
Mike began developing his new project called Project Elimu (Project Education translated to English) in January which aims to improve the education standards in informal settlements through extracurricular activities and teachers capacity development. Due to the influences of my previous trip I returned in July to teach English and dance. This was an eye opening experience to see how different and similar the school and teaching is. The head teacher explained that they are most in need of books as it helps the children to read, write and improve their English. So we are also collecting books to donate to the school as well as returning in January to implement a reading for pleasure and creative writing scheme. Since they only learn to read and write for exams, the aim is to help the children find a passion for reading and writing and enjoy it.
The money raised will help me get there to support this amazing project and further my relationships with the children.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, it is greatly appreciated.
On Christmas Eve I met Mike and some of his students, they showed us around their school, the school was made up of corregated iron and had concrete floors, a chalk board and very limited teaching resources. They then performed dances they had recently performed in the Nutcracker at the National Kenyan Ballet, we moved the desks and tried to remove as much dust from the floor as possible so there was room to dance. It was so special to be able to meet the children and to see them opening the clothes, it is something I will never forget; to see how much of a positive impact dance has on the children and how it can bring everyone together, even if they are from different countries.
I was fortunate to meet Mike and 7 of his students in Kibera on Christmas Eve. After talking to them and sharing our dance experiences they showed us around their school and the room, they explained that when it's time for dance the students move the tables so that they have space to dance and remove the dust from the floor. They then performed several of their dances that they had recently performed in The Nutcracker at the Kenyan National Theatre. This was very moving and was a perfect exemplification of how dance has a huge influence on our lives and how it can lift these children's spirits, allowing them to be children and providing them with hope.
Mike began developing his new project called Project Elimu (Project Education translated to English) in January which aims to improve the education standards in informal settlements through extracurricular activities and teachers capacity development. Due to the influences of my previous trip I returned in July to teach English and dance. This was an eye opening experience to see how different and similar the school and teaching is. The head teacher explained that they are most in need of books as it helps the children to read, write and improve their English. So we are also collecting books to donate to the school as well as returning in January to implement a reading for pleasure and creative writing scheme. Since they only learn to read and write for exams, the aim is to help the children find a passion for reading and writing and enjoy it.
The money raised will help me get there to support this amazing project and further my relationships with the children.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, it is greatly appreciated.
Organizer
Georgia Batchelor Robbins
Organizer
