Busy Week

Good news abounds at Angel Secondary School. Students came back to school after their winter break, to exam results, which were good for many students. All of the Angel House students passed their exams! They are doing so well.
Work has begun tilling up land for the school shamba. On Monday, Joseph and Mwita measured and surveyed the land to be used for the shamba and on Tuesday, a tractor was out there. When asked what they are growing in it, Joseph so sweetly replied, "vegetables." It will probably have corn and cabbage and peppers and spinach. The hope eventually is that the school can be totally sustainable and that good farming practices are taught to all students, as a practical class. Benson says he is a great farmer and is good at teaching too, so maybe that could be his role. Of course, that could have just been Benson messing with us too.

Many thanks to the Woodlawn United Methodist Church for the fantastic lab equipment donated to the school. The students got to use it yesterday, doing an experiment to discover the presence of starches, sugars, proteins and fats in foods. They were so into it, and answered questions well in class. Seeing a visual of the science lecture made it all real. They are all looking forward to more hands on with the microscopes and other materials.
The kids welcomed the new visitors with open arms. Nurse Savannah Swanner has had her hands full already, washing kids' heads to treat infections, treating sores and infections and dealing with malaria first hand. If that isn't enough, this week a run of chicken pox has made it's way into Angel House, making several of the kids quite itchy and miserable. She tried to get them to drink Gatorade, but Paulo made it clear how he felt about it. Instead of drinking his bottle, he put corn in it and carried it around for the rest of the day.
Rachel, me, also feels very welcomed. My project to start with is to make a file for each kid, so that Anna can put birth certificates, letters and report cards in it. The kids are learning my name well and I am also teaching them their colors. I have a feeling a year won't be enough time with these wonderful kids.