Shereen Ajumal, a Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Sleaford, met up with her four sponsored children recently via Zoom. During that meeting, one of them mentioned that she liked swimming. Interesting! It turns out that none of the children in the school have ever been to a swimming pool.
It’s just not something poor children in Kenya have access to, let alone owning a swimming costume. And it’s not part of the lower secondary school syllabus, for obvious reasons.
Shereen then decided to sponsor swimming lessons for every child in the school this year. Wow! You have never seen such excited children!
See them here at the market choosing their second-hand swimming outfits. Personally, I love the pink one. The boy who chose it is absolutely delighted with his choice.
They had enormous fun at their first ‘lesson’. As none of the kids had ever been in water like this before, we did wonder if they would be afraid. But no. They absolutely loved it.
This session was all about confidence in the water. So they played games as well as had some swimming training. Some showed a real talent, which was unexpected. Once the swimming session was over, the children played various games. It was the last day before the start of a short break, and they had just finished their mid-term exams.
They had tug of war, egg and spoon race (with potatoes), sack races and many other activities. A great day was had by all. Thank you Shereen. You have given these children an experience that they would never have thought possible. Swimming proper starts now.
This is all part of the school ethos. It’s about giving the children new experiences, taking them out of their comfort zone and developing rounded teenagers. They can grow into young adults with the ability to change the local community for the better.
It’s also good for their physical fitness.
Now it’s time to teach the children how to swim. Some of them are already really good and they all take it seriously. It’s lovely to see them learning a new and unexpected skill. Bombolulu is on the east coast of Mombasa, so the children also have access to the sea once they learn to swim.
RotaKids clubs within schools are part of the worldwide Rotary organisation. This school club, Sheerhatch RotaKids, sponsors Pressy – to ensure her education and food for a year at least.
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For those who support or would like to support the poor children in the school at Bombolulu, you can now chat to them and take a look around the school on Zoom.
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Agriculture is part of the compulsory syllabus in Kenyan lower secondary school. It encourages the children to learn how to plants seeds, grow on crops and then harvest them. They can then use their own produce to learn domestic science and self-sustainability.
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