Rafiki calendars

We have been able to receive copies of Rafiki link calendars from Canada which were designed using photos that students took during the Bodwell trip last year on April when Kenyan students and Canadian students spent sometime together here in Kenya.

Kenyan students were given disposable cameras where they went and took their favorite photos in their homes/ villages which appeared in our Rafiki 2010 calendar. Students who appeared in the calendars were very happy to see themselves appearing in those calendars, others who did not appear were requesting if they could appear in the 2011 calendars. The school administration was also very much appreciative and they commented that this is a very great way of motivating students.

Some of the students who appeared on the calendars have already graduated from high school and we are very sure that they would love to see those calendars, the few calendars that we had went to the students who are already in school and some to the administration.

School is very much thankful for all the efforts that Canada put towards the success of Rafiki Link.

Comfort the Children International (CTC) was also very much thankful for Maai- Mahiu secondary showing interest in what CTC is doing for the community of Maai- Mahiu, we had about forty students who attended ubuntu day which was cleaning up of town and this showed a very good example to people on how they are supposed to keep their environment clean.

CTC also awarded a certificate of participation in this great day's event.

Updates.

Maai- Mahiu secondary Rafiki Link club students have been able to send their profiles to Canada so that they can familiarize themselves with students in Canada where they are also hoping to get Canadian's students profiles. They have also been very excited to know how to send emails and we are glad that Bodwell students are responding to our blog posts. some students from Science club who have been carrying out projects research had also had a chance to do the research using google which was very helpful to them, they are continuing getting to learn about the technology that we have.

Mwaniki and the teacher who co-ordinates Rafiki link in school had a meeting and we are starting on History Essay writing competition this month which is going to involve the whole school for those who will be interested in participating.
We will keep you posted on what is going on.

Rafiki Link 2010

This year has started very well and our new resolution for this year is to have a lot of flow of information, last year we did a lot of basic computer skills.
We have already started being trained on how to send emails and it has been so interesting using internet, we will be having two meetings per every week to communicate with students in the west.
Below are some of the ideas that we hope to be communicating with students in the west:-
1. Academics
2. Hobbies
3. Interests
4. Challenges that students face around the world.
5. Games
6. Culture
7. Environment
8. Politics

and many others.
Right now we have our school email address that we will be sending emails along with and we will keep you posted on our school blog on what we are communicating about.
We are interested to start knowing how to send emails, we once had an exam where we had been told to send email but none of us knew the email format, so we just wrote it as a normal composition that we write without the correct email format, we are now very glad that we have known how it looks like and we are now putting it into real practice which very interesting.
Below is the first email that we sent to Bodwell High school students.

we as maai mahiu students of RAFIKI LINK send greetings and we hope you receive them with much appreciation.In the meantime,we hope we will get to know each other better,in terms of;culture,academics,politics,hobbies,how to develop and nurture talents and any other which you may ought to have.
We hope to hear from you soon.We will send photos very soon,not very soon,but very very very soon!Hope you will do the same.

Updates

The school has been moving well and we were lucky to receive some visitors from the USA. We had Andrew, Autumn and mum to Andrew who visited us while we were closing second term and we were also lucky to have an opportunity for Mwaniki to ask us what we had in our minds that we could have for Rafiki link.

One of the students came up with an amazing idea where she could make different items out of plastic bags that people throw away all around Maai- Mahiu. plastic bags look like flowers in our town and no one in the community ever thought of recycling them, this was great idea coming up from a student.
Students made table mats, ear rings and bracelets which were later sent to Andrew and Autumn, we hope to get an order of selling these items to the USA which will help keep our environment clean, support students who are less fortunate in the school and maybe install our school computer lab with internet that could be used for learning and making connection between our school and Bodwell or Free state High school stronger.

We have also learnt how to use computers by the help of Mwaniki who has taught us how to use computers especially on Microsoft office word, we have learnt how to type in data in computer, text formatting, inserting of photos and we will be start using online spaces next term.

We also learn how to transfer photos from digital camera to computer which was really fun.

Some students who were part of the club graduated from four and they were awarded with some certificates which has really motivated other students and there are now many students who want to join the club, there will be recruiting of new members who are going to replace those who graduated.

Before closing the school, there are 32 students from our school who went to help out for the community service work that was hosted by Comfort the Children International where we planted 100 trees in one of the biggest primary school in Maai- Mahiu called Ngeya primary school and also helped out in cleaning of their compound.

CHALK FOR PEACE

On September 21st, a small but energetic group of Bodwell students took chalk in hand and wrote messages of love, friendship, peace and multiculturalism during a bright and sunny lunch break.






His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama optimistically calls the 21st century "The Century of Compassion." How can we further promote this ideal?

NEW INSTALLED COMPUTER LAB BY COMPUTERS FOR SCHOOLS KENYA

I am very glad that Maai-Mahiu secondary now has a new installed computer lab and has about 20 computers which Rafiki Link club members have started using though it has not been officially opened.

Initially, Rafiki Link students were crowding on one of the donated laptops by Bodwell high school but now they are comfortably using them without crowding, the only thing that the school is now looking forward to do is to get internet access for all the computers. Right now the school has one modem which was donated by Bodwell High school and its used in one computer only and this brings the students back to crowding on one computer to get the internet access.

RAFIKI LINK CLUB

OUR DIVERSITY, OUR STRENGTH

Where are we? Where are we heading to?
How do you feel when you close school, visit your aunt, HIV- AIDs victims only to find that the only thing in that house is your foot step you left when you visited during your mid- term break? And how do you feel when she asks you how is your mum? Only to find out that even her own sister no longer cares.
Kenyans, the world where are we heading to?

How do you feel when your neighbour you trust and loved one day wakes up and tend to destroy your family. Instead of morning? He chops your brother, instead of how was your night, he burns your house. Really tell me where we are heading?

Kikuyu known for your hard work in cultivation, Maasai known for grazing and Luo known for your fishing habits. When we combine this, a successful Nation. But why is it that tribalism is in you? No kikuyu in Kisumu no Luo in central province, no Maasai in western province yet we all Kenyans and one Nation.
Our diversity, our strength. Combine all your hard work and excel as a Nation

Public administration, parasite in the country, members of parliament, empty promises are over known, when did you ever sit down and think of others? Only how to get rich. Ministers, you have really reached the sky for it was your destiny. When did you ever think of those you displaced because of your own greediness? In parliament, I’ m a Kalenjin, so seats are preserved for one tribe to the other yet we sing peace, love and unity why don’t we bring it into real? Our diversity, our strength.

Students in school, leaders of today tribalism is bleeding in you, my desk mate is a Kalenjin, I will change my sitting position just because no common language yet you sing love and Unity calling yourself leaders, then when will corruption end? P.L.O Lumumba, where are you to stop the bleeding of tribalism? Our strength, our diversity.

Our society ranks of richness is the rhythm, my daughter is a Kikuyu getting married to a Kamba not in my presence then what are we learning from you? Our diversity, our strength

By Grace Njeri