Marich: Playground Building and Playing with the Kids, 2 February 2012

             After seeing the smiles on the faces and the gratefulness in the eyes of the children that we gave the swing and climbing bar set to last year, we decided to build another playground for another group of children in a primary school right next to the Marich Field Study Centre. This time we built a slide set with a platform to stand on. With money we raised, metal workers at ISK built the slide set for us and we brought it with us on the bus. We also brought food on the bus that we picked up in Kitale for children in schools near the centre. On Thursday during the week at Marich, we dug holes for the playground foundation and placed the slide set into the holes. We then placed rocks and cement into the holes to fasten the slide to the ground. I helped carry cement to the holes with a wheelbarrow.

            Seeing the amusement and awe on the faces of the children was again great to see. After seeing their eyes one just wants to do more to help the kids. After we finished building the playground most people left back to the camp to clean up and rest. Most of the girls however stayed behind to play with the kids and they had just given out the books we had brought along. After reading to the kids the girls played some singing and clapping games and continuously tried to come up with new ideas to entertain the kids, though it was not that hard to do since they were amused by everything we did.

I decided to take the wheelbarrow and I gave the kids rides. This proved to be more challenging than I had thought because the kids all wanted to get in at the same time and we were not able to communicate very well. After the teacher talked to the children and after I found ways to communicate with them, through some Swahili words and hand gestures, the kids found ways to share the wheelbarrow and take turns getting rides. It was interesting to see how some kids took charge and ordered other kids around and I was amazed by their respect towards me and their awe of me. When I sat down for a while to watch the girls and kids dance, some boys came and sat around me and touched my skin and hair. They often asked me my name and I tried to ask them questions. I even learnt one of their class songs. This short moment of play with me meant so much to them. It was overwhelming. It made me realize how truly special these kids were and how it is a shame that so few people get to experience what I experienced with them.