Kids

A couple volunteers from England, Vicky and Bryony, arrived to Amina's just before I left. I remember Franceska was playing with Darnell when Vicky turned to me to say, "children are raised quite differently here." I had been working the same thought over in my mind for a while; for her to notice it on her first night in Githurai, confirmed my hunch as being more than simply that.

In New York, I have been working with and caring for children for many years; after an intensive period of time with children here, it is easy to compare the differences between upbringings. Aside from upbringing, it is more importantly a matter of general childhood. The comparison comes to be between childhood of kids on the lower side of the economic spectrum in Kenya, which accounts for a large percentage, and an average childhood in the States.

Firstly, there are obvious differences in terms of resources available to kids here. All my life, I have been privileged with running (hot) water, proper waste and sewage sytems, healthy diet, education, and health care. This is only a dream for a lot of children here. Secondly, I had a clean place to play, whether indoors or out. I had toys, electronics, a bicycle, etc. Pretty much, there was nothing for me to complain about growing up. Also, every August, my parents would take me back-to-school shopping so that I could get the coolest backpack of the season and glittery classroom accessories.

For a lot of kids here, having a notebook is a big deal. At the school where I have been teaching, there are a lot of children in my classroom who lack notebooks, pencils, erasers, and pens. It is very difficult to teach when the kids can't even write down the assignments. The school currently has about 50 kids enrolled, all from the surrounding community I live in, which faces poverty everyday. Many of the parents can barely afford to send their children to this low-standard community school. Some of the children are orphans. The kids do not always come fed; this contributes to their lack of focus and ability to fully grasp concepts. Other factors that lead to these issues are insufficient school materials, unbalanced ratio of teachers to students, children of various grades all in one classroom, and home life problems.

Regardless of lack of toys or sufficient materials or clean clothes, kids always seem to be happy. The bratty attitudes I see far too often back home, are inexistent around here. The children entertain themselves in any way, playing outside all day and coming home in time for dinner. From morning until night, they are physically active and very social (and that doesn't mean on Twitter). They seem to appreciate simply having friends to hang out with rather than having the latest electronics. Then again, if they had the option to have those things, I'm sure it would be a different scenario. After all, kids are kids.