Visit Report - Wendy and Jojo Fry
Here's a brief report from Wendy on their visit ...
Jojo (17) and Wendy (Mum) Fry holidayed in Mombasa in July 2013, and visited the Shonda project. Jojo stayed with Joseph, the administrator for 3 night as part of the residential for Gold D of E and thoroughly enjoyed his hospitality. Wendy visited on the first and last days of Jojo’s 4 day visit.
Wendy and Jojo, forth and sixth from right at Shonda with the teachers. David and his son are also in the picture
It was a joy to see the happy children gain an education in a very challenging environment. The school is in an ever expanding urban sprawl a few miles from the Likoni ferry linking Mombasa Island to the south. We saw many new houses being built as we went for a walk to see how close the sea was (about a mile or so), which meant walking around the vast holes where they had been mining for local stone to build the houses.
The children were very disciplined and welcoming, as were the teachers. The classes happily recited poems and songs they had learnt in class for us. The nursery children had a nap time after lunch, but were bouncing around with energy for the rest of the day. The IT facilities were relatively new and much appreciated. Jojo on day 3 visited a local music competition the school had entered and got to see the school perform well and he enjoyed seeing the local cultural music and dances.
Jojo took some Maths classes where he experienced how well the children behaved. They were very attentive, even with the teacher outside of the classroom they got on with their work and showed how important this education was to them.
Wendy briefly looked at the financial records and found well filed vouchers for expenditure.
Jojo reported that teachers were delighted with The Shonda project for being paid regularly and promptly, unlike many other local schools.
It was a real privilege to visit The Shonda Project