56th Edinburgh - Davidson Mains Parish Church

Project Stedfast

We can do it, with your help, we will do it

Visit to St Andrews School, Ngong, Kenya

In the run up to the BB’s 125th Anniversary the 56th Edinburgh Company, along with the 5th Livingston, 1st Loanhead and 51st Bonnyrigg Companies, have been involved in fundraising to help build a school and accommodation centre for disabled centre (which will enable them to receive an education at the school) in the town of Ngong, south of Nairobi in Kenya. One young man (Jonny Smith) and three leaders (Chris Orman, Ewan McNab and Chris Smith) from the Company met early at Edinburgh Airport to start a day of travel which would end 12 hours and over 4,500 miles later in Nairobi.

On arrival at Nairobi Airport we were met by Saruni, who would be our driver for the duration of the visit, and more importantly a friend for life. On leaving the airport we were greeted by the sight of zebras just grazing by the side of the road, it took us all a while before we mentioned anything about them to each other just in case we were hallucinating after such a long time on the plane! This was the start of an epic trip that none of us will ever forget.

On the second day of our visit we met up with Joseph one of the leaders at the Presbyterian Church of East Africa at Oloolua and the project leader in Kenya for the building of the School and the Accommodation Centre for Disabled Children. We then went to the St Andrews School for the first time and met with the teachers and more importantly the children. They sang songs to welcome us to the school and we then had an hectic time mixing with them and playing games. Just seeing how they enjoyed being at school so much was an experience in itself.

The third day we visited a children’s orphanage and met with the staff, unfortunately the children were at school, but we learnt a bit about the orphanage and arranged to visit again when the children would be there. We then drove down the Rift Valley and enjoyed a boat trip around a lake in the pouring rain viewing the many hippos and other animals.

We then went on a three days safari to Amboseli National Park in the south of Kenya, which borders Tanzania. Elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalo, hyenas and lions are just some of the animals we saw while we were there. The view of Mount Kilimanjaro was just as spectacular as the safari. On our return from Amboseli we sought permission to cross the border into Tanzania; luckily we were allowed to return to Kenya to continue our trip.

On our return to Ngong we visited a children’s orphanage to meet with the children and give them some gifts. Some time was spent with them before we headed for dinner with Joseph and his family. After an enjoyable meal we watched a South African film “The Gods Must Be Crazy”. If you can get your hands on a copy, we would highly recommend it if you are having a DVD evening.

Sunday started early - the first church service starts at 9am - which meant being picked up by Saruni at 8am. 8am came and went and was followed by a phone call from Saruni to say he was having some trouble with the minibus and would be there shortly, then a further phone call from Saruni let us know that he was still having problems and Joseph would be coming to collect us instead. In true Scottish style we eventually arrived at the church some 50 minutes late to catch the last 10 minutes of the English speaking youth service. Following this service there was elections to the Church’s Youth Council for the church. This was an experience seeing how they elect people into the various committee positions.

Following the youth service we had a short break before the main service (which is spoken in Swahilli) started. During this service we introduced ourselves to the church (We thank Joseph for translating into Swahilli for us). The church then presented each of us with gifts of a Kikenge each to mark our visit. During the service we also announced that the 56th would commit to raising money each year for the next five years to support the cost of a teacher. This news was warmly welcomed by everyone in the church.

Following the service, we spent some time with the children and met some of the members of the local Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade. Unfortunately not all members were able to be there. We then went with the youth fellowship members into the Ngong Hills to spend time with them and getting to know each others in a more relaxed surrounding.

Later that evening, we enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant followed by some light exercises. The exercise wasn’t a planned activity; it was more forced on us as the minibus wouldn’t start! After several attempts of trying to push start it, we called it a night and booked a taxi back to our hotel. As Saruni mentioned at the start of the visit, “when in Africa expect anything”, we were starting to see what he meant.

We then changed our plans for the Monday, swapping some days around to allow Saruni time to repair/replace the minibus. This allowed us time on the Monday morning to relax at our accommodation. A bit too much relaxation for the Kenyans as we had the chef at the door wondering where we were for breakfast. After some breakfast and relaxation, Saruni arrived in a new minibus, again what he told us, when in Africa expect anything, came true. This time it was the means on how to gain entry to the back of the minibus, some may have seen it as a broken door handle, but we saw it as an added security measure. That afternoon we visited Nairobi and drove through the largest slum area in East Africa. Saruni give us some facts about the area which we will be including in a short video of our trip.

Tuesday and Wednesday saw us visiting the school and seeing how the children were taught at school. This let us compare the different styles between UK and African education styles. Again there was plenty of time for us to mix and play with the children. As part of our teaching, we taught them the “Hokey Cokey” and “The Wheels on the Bus”! Wednesday also saw us unveil a plaque to mark our visit to the school which was attended by the chairmen of the school board and church council.

During our last day in Kenya we spent time relaxing and doing some of the more touristy things by visiting an animal orphanage where we patted some cheetahs, giraffe centre where there were kisses all round for Chris Smith(from the giraffes!), the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (orphaned elephants) and the Mambo Village (home to crocodiles). At the Mambo Village we all experienced camel rides. On our last evening we enjoyed tasting typical Kenyan food in true local style before heading back to our hotel to start packing for the trip home.

We started the trip 12 days earlier not knowing what to expect. We left knowing what a beautiful country Kenya is, and its welcoming people who we now call our friends. It was a trip where we learnt so much about the people of Kenya as much as we did of each other. So much so, we had already started planning a second trip to take more of our boys out in a couple years time so they too can experience what we have in the past 12 days. We would like to thank our Kenyan friends for their hospitality. We would also like to thank Davidson’s Mains Parish Church and The Merchant Company for their generous financial support. Please vist the gallery for photographs of the trip.