Kenya Project II
Kenya - March 03, 2007
The computer project here in Kenya has been going superbly well. We have been able to buy a few computers enough to start classes and the impact on this community has been astounding. We are still urgently seeking more donations to be able to accomplish our full desire to equip a full classroom with all the necessary equipment. Anyone may make a donation by check, Credit Card or Paypal by clicking the "Donate" button below.
What a joy it has been to teach them. The students are both young and old. Many have have had only very limited exposure to computers or none at all. A large amount of the classes that I have been teaching has been involving the very fundamental and basic aspects of using a computer. 
One memorable moment was during the lesson that I was teaching about the functions of the "windows" such as such as minimizing, maximizing and restoring the windows pane on the desktop. The whole class started giggling and laughing when I asked them to click the maximize button and saw the window fill the whole computer screen with that particular program. It was one of those Kodak moments in which joy, excitement and amazement carried across all ages as they clicked back and forth between the minimize and maximized window. The smiles and laughter that they all had is hard to describe. They simply could not believe their eyes.
We start and end each class in prayer which has been a wonderful part of class. Christianity is very prevalent in this country and it is not uncommon to hear Christian worship music in restaurants, shops or blaring form some vehicle. I was shocked to hear that men and women fear unplanned pregnancy far greater than they fear contracting HIV/AIDS. 
There is a commonly regarded that HIV/AIDS is similar to a flu; it can be treated and you can still lead a lengthy life. In a recent study showed that Kenya has close to 550,000 AIDS orphans and an estimated 78,000 children living with HIV/AIDS. A full 15 adults out of 100 has HIV/AIDS! Since 2002, the standard of living has been dropping substantially and Kenya now is considered to be a low-income country. Two thirds of Kenyans live in the country side much like the community that I am in, Maguga, where there is no electricity and no running water. Kenya is no different than many other African nations. In fact, there are other countries that are in far worse conditions. We all need to take an active effort to do what we can whether its clean water, education, food relief or help combat the spread of HIV/AIDs.
- Patrick