Friday, July 4, 2008

Restore Academy Celebrates

Head Teacher Peter, and our Project Coordinator Laker in front of a banner which students designed for Restore Academy's 1 year anniversary celebrations.


Parents, students, and community members gathered to listen to the celebration addresses. The grove of trees behind the school in Kati-Kati provided a welcomed shelter from the hot sun.


After giving a short speech, James (Deputy Head Teacher/Translator) and I connected speakers to my laptop, and played a greeting from Restore's founder, Bob Goff, which we had recorded over telephone the previous evening. It actually worked pretty well!


Mzee Paul Lwkuia, our Interim Board Chairman, leans on my knee and shares some words of wisdom. He's a gentle, wonderful man, and grandfather-figure for many. Very well respected, and an amazing advocate for children in multiple communities, he's also a dear friend, and we're blessed to have him guiding our development team.


After the speeches, and a delicious meal of posho (cornflower dumplings), chicken, mashed bananas, and greens, students and community members gathered for a soccer game with visiting Saint Mary's College. Despite being younger, our boys, some of which played with no shoes, gave a spirited effort, and defeated St. Mary's 6-1.


Enjoying the game...


Gooooaaalll!!!


Local kids cheer with Laker~ A wonderful way to cap off a splendid day of celebrations~

5 comments:

Armygal23 said...

WOW !!! That looked like a fun day. Miss you Blake, but we all know you belong there.

Love ya !


From
Missy

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

what an experience, eh?

kjtownley said...

Blake, I was so excited when Richard told me you were in Africa! What a big leap of faith! I hope God is teaching you amazing things and I know he is using you in amazing ways to minister to people there. Even though you stand out in those pictures, I get a sense that you belong/fit in there and have some peace about this crazy direction your life has taken. Isn't it wonderful what God can do when we listen and trust and do what seems impossible to us. We continually have you in our prayers.
Blessings,
Katie (and Richard)

trent said...

Blake,
You gotta play soccer barefoot. It's the most amazing feeling as your smile grows bigger each time you play. Also, playing in your dress is a big bonus among the locals.
Enjoy!
-Saundra :)