Helping out at Nyota....

My day in Nyota

Olives was closed for a couple of days recently due to school holidays, so I went to the other school we support, Nyota, just to help out.

After two months teaching only at Olives, it was a nice experience to try somewhere new for a day. There are some differences between the schools, for instance, Olives is a bigger school and has more of a school-type layout than Nyota, and also, the classes are much smaller at Nyota. I had a great day, I spent time helping out teaching Standard 3 English, getting involved with a Creative Arts lesson with my fellow volunteer, Aya and also supporting another volunteer, Nadia, with her Standard 6 English lesson. 

Nyota Std 3 in a Creative Arts lesson

I loved break time at Nyota, I spent it playing with the younger children and getting lots of hugs from them. We don’t have any babies at Olives, they start at around 5 years old, so I am quite jealous of the Nyota volunteers. I also had the opportunity to help out in one of their lessons after break, where the little ones sang songs and danced. It was so much fun to watch and join in. 

KG children from Nyota

Another difference I noticed whilst at Nyota for the day, was lunchtime. When I am at Olives, I usually go back to the volunteer house for lunch, as we are very close, however Nyota is a little further away, so the volunteers there choose to stay local, either eating at a local café, taking food with them or having lunch provided by the school. I chose the latter and tried a traditional Kenyan meal of Ugali and beans – the beans were delicious, but I can’t say I enjoyed the tasteless Ugali all that much. 

Reading time at Nyota

In the afternoon, I read with some of the students and even had my hair plaited by one whilst I read to her.

Overall, I had a wonderful and interesting day, it was a nice change to try somewhere new, but I love teaching at Olives and could not wait to get back to my students. 

Volunteer Celine teaching at Olives - Std 5

Celine Ziegler - volunteer

Helping out at Nyota....