IC trips!

The IC trips, all students had to partake in them our IC trip took place in naivasha and in sagana. on this trip we rock climbed, kayaked, white water rafted, hiked and painted the walls of a school.
before i going i was apprehensive of the trip and was unsure of if i would enjoy it. looking back i have no regrets, the trip was an incredible bonding experience for myself and my peers. it was also a test of physical and mental strength in relation to the exercise. i found that in all aspects i succeeded in growing as a person and finding new things that i was able to accomplish.

the painting of the walls of a classroom was exceptionally memorable as once again i gained insight into how local kenyans experience school life. this school was much more impoverished than that of chileta, there were around 500 students in an area the size of our school library. it put into perspective how i should not take for granted the education i have given to me. also i found that i was able to improve these children's learning environment that little bit more which let me sleep lighter.
this trip has inspired me to take part in more demanding exercises that will test me mentally and physically in particular i want to work with local peoples to improve their living conditions much like the work both my parents do.

Chileta primary: reading to children

chileta primary is a public school situated in runda, unlike many of the housing estates surrounding the school, chileta primary is very poor. with overcrowded classrooms and not enough teachers to fit the ever growing number of children chileta primary is a case example of the kenyan education system.
our goal in this activity was every wednesday to bring books and help children from each class read them. we would help in the pronunciation, but mostly it would be to just listen and encourage these children. after a couple of months i could really see a difference in the confidence and reading skills that some of these children formed.
this activity was truly a humbling experience for myself and gave me a perspective of the way in which many kenyans go through school life. witnessing the harshness of such circumstances and being able to see the will power of these kids and their excitement in reading touched me emotionally. this experience was priceless the activity simple but i was able to take so much more from what i learned simply observing than i would in a classroom.

Rugby

this was the fist time i had played rugby in about two years. the isk rugby team is still in its fledgling stage and is not able to rival the british schools. however this rugby team was more than that of remaining a formidable force on the feild, this rugby team showed true bonds between us all.
we trained almost every day of the week and even some saturdays, our coach (Finn) was able to instruct us and mould the group of boys we were into semi-men. not all of the players on our team had ever played rugby and so it took a slow shaky start for us to actually begin playing. we were and still were one of the worst teams to play against schools such as Braeburn and Peponi. we lost all but one of our games, we won only one. this rugby team was not about the winning that was for sure, however as we progressed i grew to embrace losing as a way of winning or learning from mistakes. we were a team that enjoyed losing simply because we each knew we had played a game.
this rugby training was short lived and lasted a month and a bit because of isk's holiday starting earlier than other schools. however we gained a lot in those few weeks we had training and playing games. it was a refreshing break to the daily routine of IB and renewed my enthusiasm for the sport of rugby. on a sad note the seniors in our team which were of great importance to our bond as a team are leaving this year and will not return to the feild, therefore it is taken upon myself and other soon to be seniors that for next year i hope to once more create enthusiasm towards rugby and hope to achieve making isk none in the nairobi schools rugby world.