Amy Bowllan

Batian’s View Experiential Education Center: Students Share Their Stories
November 14, 2008

SNIFF, SNIFF! No SLJ Summit for me this year. Hmmm...was it something I said? Oh, well. Someone had to stay home and babysit the blogs. 

Okay, since I am all alone, here's what I am going to do -- want to read some of my e-mails? I know you get enough of those, but these are pretty interesting. 

First up, Fred Roberts from Batian’s View Experiential Education Centre. Remember him? My Kenyan connection? Well, in his e-mail he first shared with me how exuberant the Kenyans were about Barack Obama winning the presidency - how exciting for them too - but he also provided me with blogs and dispatches; my first glimpse into the lives of the students who interned in Kenya last summer. 

Their stories are most compelling, and will force you to think about your life and how you live it. Take a look...

Corinne Dedini's dispatch - "We have much to learn from the Kenyans:  their faith in democracy is genuine, their willingness to fight for their convictions is inspiring, and their attitude about education and family is unlike anything I have witnessed previously.  Most notably, we are learning that contentment is about “who” and not “what”, and that today should not be sacrificed in hope of a better tomorrow.  As Ma  taught us, the path will not be straight."

Stephen Curti's dispatch - "I am hoping that when I return home I won’t fall back into my old routine of watching TV, buying things I don’t need, letting someone do my laundry, and eating unhealthy food. I will appreciate the things that really matter to me every day instead of just on certain holidays. Mom, if you receive this, your mother’s day gift is in the armrest of my car. It definitely won’t be the last gift you receive from me, but it might be the last “mothers day” gift. Thanks, I love you all. See you all at graduation!!!"

Alexandra Fernandes's dispatch - "Even though the people here aren’t very wealthy and don’t have much to offer, they are willing to share everything they have with you, no matter who you are."
 
Charles N’Darangu Mutahi's dispatch via Fred Roberts:   “I am very happy when the St. Gregory students are there because there is a lot of work, and all Kenyans like to work. The Americans are also doing a very good thing in our schools. The Kenyan children, even the very youngest, can learn a lot from visitors who come from very far away. Most Kenyans have very little knowledge of what life is like in America, or what they do believe is not always true. For example, I was surprised to hear that there are people in America who are homeless. I thought that everyone in America lived in a big house and had a big car, but now I know that there are homeless people as well.”

Fred Robert's dispatch on community service: The motto at Gatero Primary School is “Arise and Shine”. That is exactly what took place at Gatero today when more than 120 parents and 15 St. Gregory students and alumni worked together in a community harambee. Harambee is a Kiswahili word for group effort, and at a harambee in Kenya the people come to work hard and accomplish the task. The task before us today was to put cement floors in four of Gatero’s classrooms.

Here's The Repost:

As I posted last month, teaching in Kenya is my main goal for next summer - with my fingers and toes crossed of course.
A quick recap: after reading Meja Mwangi’s middle-grade novel, The Mzungu Boy (Groundwood, 2005); writing - A Wiki Gives a Worthy Book New Life - featured in last month's School Library Journal;  and meeting - via the wiki - Fred Roberts of Batian’s View, it looks like my kids and I are headed to Kenya.  

Like me, Fred is a teacher but he's also instrumental in bridging two worlds through leadership and team building. Hence, the lives of his students and the Kenyan students they help will be forever enriched. 
Fred is indeed, an everyday person doing amazing things. 

Dear readers, my journey to Kenya, Africa begins today with an overview about the Batian's View program.

Fred writes...

The mission of Batian’s View Experiential Education Centre is to provide exceptional character development opportunities and guidance for people and communities to explore their full leadership potential through safe, hands-on learning.

To fulfill this mission, Batian’s View offers a variety of programs ranging in length from one day to 21 days. Nestled along the Naro Moru River at 7,000’ on the lower slopes of Mt. Kenya, Batian’s View provides a pristine and comfortable setting where a group may work closely to achieve it’s goals without the distractions found at home or in the work place. 

Our students.

When Batian’s view was first conceptualized by its founders and associates, they felt strongly that unless the younger people of the world were given an opportunity to learn about leadership and have a chance to actually practice this skill, they would be better able to confront their future challenges. For this reason many of the programs at Batian’s View are designed for secondary school students. Currently Batian’s View works regularly with school from Nairobi, Nyeri and Naro Moru.  But it isn’t only the younger people who can benefit from the lessons of experiential education and leadership, as Batian’s View also hosts corporate groups, such as Barclays Bank, Tambuzi Farm, and the faculty of Mt. Kenya Academy and Victory Academy. The goal of working with companies is to solidify a team’s focus and camaraderie, thereby creating a more efficient and productive work environment. While leadership and team building are the objective goals of any program at Batian’s View, there is also a healthy dose of fun that comes through cooperative activities and challenges that will stretch one’s comfort zone.

Batian’s View has one of the few challenge courses in East Africa. Our high and low ropes challenge course is a series of challenging team building elements where communications and cooperation help individuals and groups discover their full potential. The low ropes elements pit groups against a series of challenges that involve problem solving and promote communications under seemingly stressful situations. The high ropes course consists of a series of cables and ropes spanning the trees at Batian’s View where the participant wears a climbing harness and is belayed as they carefully maneuver through the challenges that are ten meters off the ground. The high ropes course is a test of individual courage and determination, and offers a safe venue for one to push his or her limits in a very safe and controlled environment. There are five sections of the high ropes circuit that culminate in a thrilling ride on a zip line. Program opportunities range from a brief half-day schedule to a full three-day session.

All of the facilitators of the challenge course have undergone extensive training with safety of the group and individual being the highest priority. Most of the facilitators have had prior training as instructors with the National Outdoor Leadership School, and their professionalism will help any individual or group achieve the rewards they seek. At the end of each exercise a discussion of the group’s progress is done so that the lessons learned on one element may help the group be even more successful with the challenges ahead.

Anticipated Outcomes:

CREATIVITY. Using few resources and often under a time limit, groups are forced to be more creative in their approach of each challenge.

ACCOUNTABILITY. Individuals are held accountable for his or her role, as the success of the group is contingent on the participation of each individual.

DISCOVERY. Faced with unfamiliar challenges in new surroundings often encourages a group or an individual to discover hidden strengths in themselves and others.

CAMARADERIE. The success of a program is not measured by success or failure, but group communication, cooperation and camaraderie.

FUN. Who wouldn’t have fun spending a day with associates and friends engaged in a new and exciting experience?

Batian’s View and St. Gregory Partnership.

In 2005 Batian’s View began a proud relationship with St. Gregory College Preparatory School in Tucson, Arizona. Since then a group of seniors have traveled to Batian’s View each May for a three-week visit. While in Kenya the seniors assist in seven of the schools located close to Batian’s View. One to two seniors are assigned to a school, and each student is partnered with one teacher who guides the student in the daily rigors of the life of a teacher in Kenya. Along with assisting in the classroom, these seniors help the Kenyans students with one on one tutoring, participate in after school activities, and undoubtedly develop strong bonds with the students they interact with during their internship.

St. Gregory Seniors Jorge Lorzano and Jessica Roach with their students.

After a few days of observation and coaching from the Kenyan teachers, the St. Gregory students begin preparing their own lessons and teaching. Not only do the Kenyan students benefit from seeing a new teacher and being able to ask the Americans countless questions about life in America, the Americans are immersed in a culture very different from his or her own in a very welcoming setting.

This experience is part of the St. Gregory seniors internship where these young adults venture into the “real world” to get a glimpse of what life will be like after their graduation from St. Gregory. Prior to coming to Kenya, these seniors take a semester long class where they study East Africa’s history, the evolution of colonialism, Kenya’s quest for independence and Kenya’s national language, Kiswahili.

Seniors Justin Buscema and Fernando Fernandes.

St. Gregory’s Community Service efforts in Kenya.

St. Gregory’s facilities are some of the best in Arizona, but nothing out of the ordinary for a private high school. The first thing the St. Gregory students realize upon seeing the Kenyan schools is how fortunate they have been to go to a private school in America. The Americans find it hard to imagine learning in such challenging conditions. The Americans also see how hard the Kenyan students work, how they persevere, and how they enjoy life as if their school had the best facilities in the country. These young Kenyans are fortunate to even have a chance to go to school and do not focus on the buildings or dirt floors. 

The classrooms in most Kenyan schools are very basic.

 
It is well known that the best learning takes place in a comfortable environment. One which isn’t too cold, one where there is ample light, and where there is space to write and for class material. Unfortunately very few of the government school in Kenya fit this description. While there are eager students and experienced teachers, the infrastructure of many schools are in need of a firm foundation, and that we are trying to realize through the community service projects undertaken by the St. Gregory seniors.

In the months leading up to their trip to Kenya the St. Gregory seniors hold fund raising activities to pay for supplies that they will use for school improvement project. When the St. Gregory students arrive, the funds are used to purchase materials for a designated school. The seniors also assist with the project, often mixing cement, building sidewalk frames, or preparing a project site. The students not only help financially, but also with their time and energy.

The St. Gregory Seniors pitching in at Gitero Primary School.

To date the St. Gregory seniors have performed improvement projects at four different schools resulting in a new school kitchen, 13 new cement floors, a new compound fence and a new front gate. These modest project have gone a long way towards improving each of the school’s learning environment, and there are many more schools and project for us in the future.

Classrooms at Gitero Primary School, the newly poured cement and finished product.

Continuing the passion.

In the summer of 2008 two graduates of the Kenya Internship, Amber Horvath and Lucas Renteria, returned to Kenya for a two-month stay. Their goal was not only to teach in the school they had assisted at the previous year, but to also involve themselves in other programs needing assistance. Amber created an HIV/AIDS awareness curriculum that she covered with a local secondary school. She also helped a teacher begin a self-help program for people living with AIDS. The goal of this group was to develop ideas for how these individuals could create cottage industries, as many were unable to work. Another focus was how to make the community at large more aware of the severity of HIV/AIDS and the social stigma which accompanies this disease.

Lucas focused his energies on improving the Batian’s View challenge course and facilitating leadership and team building programs for students from Nairobi schools and locally. Of this many contributions he helped put up a new zip line, an exciting element called The Screamer, and constructed a new high ropes element called the Giant’s Ladder. Lucas and Amber became well known in the neighborhood around Batian’s View and their contributions to those living in the area were recognized by all.

*All photos taken by Fred Roberts of Batian’s View.

Posted by Amy Bowllan on November 14, 2008 | Comments (0)