By Tom Bode, President
The second term of school is over and the three students have sent their grades and an update on their lives and studies to their sponsors. Triza and Peris improved their school performance over the first term, Villitracia did not, but she was sick with pneumonia for some time during the term. All three are in the top 30% of their class and Peris is ranking 13th out of 109! We am proud of their performance especially knowing that few, if any, of the other students come from as challenging of a background.
In their letters, the students write about their activities at the secondary
school and their gratitude for being sponsored. Though they are fluent in English (having studied it from first grade), there are some bits of “Kenyan English” that you might find confusing. Triza says that she is “really struggling” – this just means that working hard, not that things are bad. She also says that they “poured” dirty water for Vilitricia on her birthday. This is a Kenyan tradition: on your birthday, your friends will surprise you by pouring a glass of water on you (I don’t get it either). All three girls talk about books that they were given. This is a reference to a gift from Board Member Katie Cobb, who, before she left Kenya, gave each of the girls two novels with strong female leads (like Anne of Green Gables and From the Mixed-Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler).
Read the rest of the letters for yourself and see their grades below. You can also see their letters and grades from last term on the Awarded Students page.