KaweluParkway Kawelu Project

Feb 2nd Kenya Trip…June 2013

I am in the process of organizing a return trip to Kenya.  There has been a lot of interest.  It will be a 10-12 day trip.  Our main focus will be on helping Kawelu Primary School.  We will work on fund raising, health, educational and environmental projects.  This will be a great opportunity for learning for the Kawelu community and for the individuals that will go as well.  More information to come.

Rechel

Nov 21st 3 honored at MLK banquet

This past year in January, I was honored with a community service award from Osceola Visionaries, Inc. for my work with Parkway Middle School, its community and Kawelu Primary School.  Here is the link to the newpaper article:

3 honored at MLK banquet

Aug 2nd Kawelu Primary School Presents: Traditional Dance.MOD

This is a set of two traditional dances performed by the students. These dances are common dances of Kenya’s Kamba people.

Aug 2nd Kawelu Primary School Presents: Ukuku Land.MOD

This is a dramatization by the students at Kawelu. It is about a people that lived in a land called Ukuku Land. The land was very successful and productive. Eventually the people became prideful and they stopped taking care of the land. The moral to the story is to take care of the environment.

Aug 1st Kawelu Primary School, Makindu, Kenya, Morning Roll Call

This is the morning roll call at Kawelu.  This is where all of the children meet in the morning. They come on campus and clean the campus, and after they do that, they all meet in front of the Administration Block to do morning roll call before they start their classes.

Jul 8th I am at Kawelu Primary

I have spent the last couple two days visiting Kawelu Primary School outside of  Makindu, Kenya.  The students are absolutely wonderful.  They have been waiting for me, and they have prepared some dances for me.  I am one of the guests of honor at their fundraiser, which is called a Harambee.  When we first pulled up at the school, the children ran over to us and completely surrounded our car.  They were amazed to see me.  Their greeting was incredible.  Wherever I walked around their campus, there was an entorage of students following me, or peeping through windows trying to get a look at me. I have to say that this experience is quite humbling.  I am not used to people making a big deal over me.

Jun 20th Tomorrow is the Day

Well, it is finally here.  Tomorrow I will be flying to Kenya.  I am really excited.  It will be a new adventure for me, and I am looking forward to it.  I will be taking all of the money that we raised for Kawelu with me, and I will present it to the school.  I am sure they will be very happy when they receive the funds.  They will be able to start rebuilding the infrastructure of the school.  This will be a huge blessing for them.  A special thanks goes out to everyone who helped raise the money for Kawelu.  We would not have been able to do it with you, so I thank you with all of my heart.

Rechel

May 24th May 22nd–A Day Of Service

Yesterday, May 22nd, we had our first annual Kawelu Service day. It was a great success. We had a car wash, art sale, bake sale, grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, soda, and water. On top of all of that, we had three performances. I can truly say that by the time the day was over, just about every muscle in my body ached, but every bit of the pain was worth the effort of trying to raise money for Kawelu. I am so proud of my students. They really worked hard. Some of them were there with me all day, as a matter of fact, some were there before I arrived, and they stayed until everything was over. Now that is commitment.

The students created signs that they held up as car were passing by on the streets. I could hear them yelling out: “Car Wash for Africa!” They stood out there for hours yelling trying to get people to come in and support their effort.

We also had another crew of students washing the cars.  We even had help for some special guests.  One of the teachers at Parkway brought her husband and children to the event to help out.  Her little three year old saw the students washing cars and he didn’t want to be left out, so he went over and grabbed a rag, and got busy helping out.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

                                                                       
It was so touching to see a tiny child show us what service is really about.  I learned a lot from that little one.

We had three performances yesterday.  In the first 12:00pm performance block, we had three groups perform from the Osceola County School for the Arts.  There was a woodwind trio, a singer, and a mime.  We also had the Advanced Guitar Ensemble from Parkway perform, and the Advanced Chorus.  The 2nd block was at 1:30pm.  This block was dedicated to students with talent.  We had singers, a baton twirler, and science teacher from Parkway sang.  It was so awesome to see her in a different light.  She sang beautifully.  The third block was at 3:00pm.  The combined choirs from Parkway performed a tribute to Michael Jackson.  All of the students dressed up in various Michael Jackson costumes that represented different decades of his life. 

This was a great day.  We were able to raise more money than we thought.  We sold out of almost all of the food that we were selling.  Many parents came out to see their students perform.  The weather was hot, but it was a perfect day for the students to play in the water, and enjoy each other’s company while they were doing something great for someone else.

May 20th May 22, 2010 Car Wash, Bake Sale, Benefit Concert

Saturday, May 22nd is our big fund raising day. There will be a car wash from 10:00am-1:00pm. The bake sale begins at 10:00. There will also be hamburgers and hot dogs on sale. There will be three benefit concerts.

The first one begins at 12:00 noon. It will feature community members, Parkway’s Advanced Chorus, Parkway’s Advanced Guitar ensemble, and students from the Osceola County School for the Arts.

The second concert is at 1:30pm. It will be a talent showcase for Parkway students, faculty and members of the community.

The third concert is at 3:00pm. It is a tribute to Michael Jackson, and it will be presented by the Parkway Middle School combined choirs.

We have $900 more dollars to raise until we reach our goal, so come on out and support the Parkway students so that they can help provide some needed resources to Kawelu Primary School.

May 13th KAWELU WEEK, MAY 17-22

Next week is Kawelu Week. The entire school will focus on Kenya. I have received a lot of information from Mr. Muoki about Kenya, and that information will be sent to all of the different departments at school. All of the teachers will do lessons on Kenya that are specific to their subjects. I have received names of the Kawelu students from grades 4-8, so through the Language Arts classes, all of the students at Parkway will write letters to the students at Kawelu. The students at Boggy Creek and Ventura elementary schools will also write letters and draw pictures. I will take them to Kenya when I go, and I will bring letters back from Kawelu when I come back to Parkway.

Upon request, Mr. Muoki provided me with the prices of a lot of typical commodities in Kenya. I asked him to list those commodities in Kenya shillings. Our math students will be converting those prices from shillings to dollars.

The science classes will be doing lessons on climate. The reading classes will read and discuss two Kenya stories that Mr. Muoki sent to me. The health classes will do lessons about illnesses, ie. HIV, Malaria, Yellow Fever, etc.

The social studies and history classes will do lessons on social issues in Kenya, ie. Politics, Industry, Technology, Tribalism, Independance, and Economy.

On May 22nd, Parkway will host a Benefit Concert. Beginning at 10:00am, there will be a car wash. There will be 3 performance blocks on that day. Admission will be by donation. There will be a performance at 12:00 noon. This performance will feature the Parkway Advanced chorus, and performers from the community. There will be a talent showcase at 1:30. The Parkway combined choruses will do tribute to Michael Jackson at 3:00pm.

There will also be an art exhibit/sale, a bake sale, food and fun.

We are about $1000 from our goal, so I hope to see all of you come out and support this worthy cause.

Rechel