Today brought the much-anticipated moment to meet the student body of St. Anne’s High School in Kapkemich, Kenya. It was a joyous occasion. The students and teachers warmly welcomed us (Jamea, Christine, and Niccole) through song. Such greetings of open arms and genuine interest in our well-being have been customary throughout our travels thus far. No community could have ever made us feel more welcome than the people of Kenya in the last few days.
St. Anne’s Form 3 and 4.
The sharing of music and dance by the St. Anne’s children was representative of the beautiful Kenyan culture. Edwin Pakati, who visits the high school twice a week in the spring to prepare the St. Anne’s choir for an annual music festival, led the girls in a welcome song for us.
Edwin Pakati preparing the students for singing.
Stepping aside, we quickly arranged the song’s chorus into 3-parts, adding words to return the children’s greeting, singing “Jambo, rafiki yangu. We are humbled to meet you.” Before long we were sharing songs together. Edwin taught us a short piece to do with the girls. They had great fun assessing us until we sung our part correctly;
Our greatest wish today was to connect with Rose Kenebei, the school principal, and Edwin, the music teacher, as colleagues and friends. We also met Elias Murera, a self-taught pianist who also teaches physics and mathematics while overseeing the music experience for the students. We wanted to clearly ascertain the teacher’s desires for the week and their wishes for the future of music education at St. Anne’s High School and in the community. We found common ground in our belief that, as Edwin said, “music is life,” We very quickly began a collaborative plan for our time here and in the future.
It is challenging to communicate the experience of meeting the young women of St. Anne’s. They came in singles, doubles, and groups, small and large, to hold our hands and speak their names. We each recognized our own children and students in their beautiful eager faces and knew that we had much in common with the students. Tomorrow we will sing with all the students, Forms 1 to 4, and we hope to forge bonds to better understand the girls’ lives and hopes.
A common question we hear in Kenyan conversation is, “Are you happy?” Without reservation, we are sincerely happy to have this experience.