Throw Back Thursday - The First Uniform Day

Most of the time our focus here on the Blog is devoted to getting more kids sponsored and showing what the kids of Galilee Primary and Waddington High Schools are up to. But, sometimes it is fun to look back and celebrate the history of the schools and how far we have come. So, today for “Throw Back Thursday” we are taking everyone back to 2003 and the “First Uniform Day” at Galilee Primary School. The following letter was written in June, 2003 by Fanuel Okwaro (the school director and founder) to Lorna Waddington (who helped Fanuel set up a sponsorship program to help educate the kids at Galilee Primary School).

Dear Lorna,

Thank you very much for your emails telling us of the Galilee friends. You have not only put a smile on my, our staff, and children's faces, but you have all touched their hearts and the hearts of the community around our school in a great way.

One day children come to school in their usual torn clothes, barefoot and frowning for having not gotten breakfast. The People in the community look at them (just like one commented) and say there is no hope of them ever coming out of this!

The day is a chilly morning, Nairobi is experiencing its most cold seasons of the year. The temperature is at 14 C. The children are shivering, a sign that the cold is reaching all over their body organs and the body warming systems are overwhelmed. The day is a Monday.

Do the children know what the day has for them? No, their only hope is the break time porridge which also serves as their breakfast, the rice and beans which follow at lunch time. For some the day will be over, they will only have another meal when they come to school the next day. What a fate?

At break time when the director calls out names to come to the office they still don't know what they are being called for. One by one they are handed their uniforms shoes and book bag packages. They all run out. They still don't believe it. Is the director serious? Is it really true? Some have never had a uniform from pre-school to class seven, where they are today. Some have never put their foot in something called shoes. The nearest they reached shoes is when they got slippers (sandals).

Everybody has abandoned the porridge (breakfast) queue. Songs are heard all over. Some are crying tears of joy. The director who is least expected to cry, tears are rolling from his cheeks he cannot control them. He forgot to bring the cameraman, so all these cannot be captured on the photos.

Frowning faces of the morning are all gone with the dew. The faces are lighted. The community around wonders what has become of Galilee pupils. The noises are heard for over 15 minutes. They cannot hold back. One by one they start coming out of their houses. They still don't understand why the children are so joyous. They move closer. Before they peep in the office five girls come out and they look at them the first. They think in their minds, “they must be children from one of the well off schools in the city, but which well off school? Which well off school has come to Galilee? The uniforms are similar to Galilee's? What is happening is one child comes out of the office running in his new uniform towards his guardian. At first the guardian does not recognize him, until he reaches near her. She looks at him. She is overwhelmed by joy. She kneels down and looks up in the sky. She is thanking God. She never expected the day to be that good so did everybody (children and staff). The director knew these are only uniforms, but they are going to make the children look beautiful and for the first time they are going to look like school children. Little did he know the joy that will come with it.

The people from the community go home happy and full of hope and the sad day becomes the happiest day in the history of Galilee. Everybody is happy for the rest of the day and looks forward to one day meeting these great friends.

I'm still regretting why I didn't bring the cameraman beforehand. Otherwise it was my happiest day in my work. Whenever I look at the children, I feel satisfied at least the new day has come. The light in the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. May God bless all of you who took part in this act that made all of us happy and may he bring more friends through you with the same heart. This was a great experience.

Thank you

God BLESS

FANUEL.