Final few days

On Monday the Kenyans attended lessons in the morning such as French and Geography. At 12 noon we were taken into town to the City Chambers for the 'Civic Lunch and Tour'. We were greeted by the Lord Provost of Dundee, Bob Duncan, who welcomed us to the City Chambers. One of his colleagues gave us a very informative (!) talk about the Twinning Room and the Chamber itself. Afterwards we met up with around 25 other sixth years at Jimmy Chungs for a celebratory lunch/dinner. Victor gave everyone a necklace or bracelet and everyone sung happy birthday to Samuel much to his delight (it wasn't even his birthday!). We each went our separate ways into town to buy presents or go back home.

Tuesday. The last day. An emotional day for all of us who had interacted with the Kenyans during their stay. We took the visitors' suitcases down to school and left them in the Conference room. The Kenyans delivered their final assembly to S2. It was difficult for us not to break down, especially for Danielle, who was called up by Victor onto the stage to receive a last minute gift.
The Kenyans then attended several more classes, including a lively debate, in which the boys were very much involved (the topic was day schools vs boarding schools so naturally there was a little controversy!). At the beginning of lunch there was a tree planting ceremony to mark the Kenyans' visit. Mrs Holligan had organised two bay trees to be planted along with heather plants in each planter outside the main entrance. During lunch Brian, Amalia, Ngeera and Mrs Kerr visited East Scryne Farm near Carnoustie which was of interest to Brian as he is particularly dedicated to the Geography project back in Meru School. The other boys attended Eco Club which they found informative too. Periods 5 and 6 were the Kenyans' last chance to attend classes, with Victor Kimathi even managing to join a guitar class! But as the school bell rang at 3.30pm it was time for the staff and pupils to say goodbye. Staff and parents assembled in the staff room to see off the Kenyans. Mr Hutton presented the visitors with gifts and thanks and each of the Kenyans gave heartfelt thankyous and best wishes to everyone. This was, again, an emotional moment- especially when the boys sang us a final beautiful song.
After saying the last goodbyes we all boarded the minibus to head back to Glasgow Airport. The two weeks had flown by- it only felt like a day ago when we had brought the Kenyans from the airport to Grove.
We arrived at the airport at about 7.30. However it took until about 8.15 to finally get the bags sorted out for the hold as one of the bags was over the weight limit. Eventually after some skilful rummaging and stuffing clothes into other people's rucksacks the Kenyans were ready to board the plane. It was time to say goodbye. We knew though that it would not be the last time we saw our Kenyan friends.

At 1.45pm GMT on Wednesday, the Kenyans safely landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Later on Amalia informed us that they had all managed to return home safely, much to our relief!

What a trip! Long live the partnership!

Weekend No. 2

On Saturday morning we all had a long lie after an exhausting few days in school. Each of the host families entertained their guest (Matthew took Brian to play crazy golf at Castle Green!). Katie and Matthew also took Samuel and Brian to Avertical World for rock climbing which the Kenyans found to be great fun.
In the evening parents, pupils, staff, members of the St Stephen's Church congregation and friends of the Grove-Meru Partnership attended a 'pot-luck supper'. It was an enjoyable night of a buffet and entertainment- Angus Nicoll on pipes, Katie Bruce reading a poem, and a trio of Matthew, Danielle and Alison on violin, with Douglas Clark accompanying for one of the songs.

On Sunday it was time for the service at St Stephen's Church. The Kenyans each took part, with several boys giving readings and Amalia leading prayers. Afterwards there was an opportunity for the congregation to chat with the visitors. In the afternoon the boys relaxed at Katie's and the teachers visited Mr Hunter's for lunch. Victor Kimathi and Danielle attended church with Mrs Berry too.

First days in school

On Wednesday the Kenyans walked to school in the rain as all pupils returned after their summer holidays. The day consisted of the boys taking part in different classes- for example, Victor Kiambi, Brian and Samuel attended French and Victor Kimathi attended German during Period 1.
The Kenyans repeated their presentation to the S3 pupils during period 3. We all had lunch in the dinner hall before the boys spent the afternoon shadowing S3 pupils throughout the school.
After tea, Miss Glover took the Kenyans to the DSMT production 'CATS' at the Rep Theatre in Dundee for an evening of entertainment.

The schedule on Thursday was similar to that on Wednesday. The visitors had assembly during tutor time, for S4, before the boys went to Drama, then Woodwork/Graphics and English (with the S4 penpals). At lunchtime the Bead Group convened and the boys got to meet the pupils in Grove who sell the beads. Victor Kiambi (the chairman) was obviously very happy to meet them. In the afternoon the boys went to Music before Amalia held a chapati making class in HE so that we Scots could learn how to make the Kenyan speciality. After school the Grove pupils helped to set up the assembly hall for the Kenya ceilidh.
At 7.00pm the ceilidh kicked off. There was a fantastic turnout of around 150 pupils, parents, friends of the school, staff and of course the Kenyans! It was a great evening of fun that will be remembered as the best ceilidh in the school's recent memory. The Bead Group alone made £100 from sales during the evening- a brilliant amount that will go directly to help those in need of school scholarships back in Meru. Thank you to everyone who came to support the ceilidh as it is such a worthy cause, as well as those who gave performances, namely Angus Nicoll and the children of Ms Etheridge.

On Friday morning the Kenyans gave two excellent presentations again, to S5 and S6, which were becoming more and more emotional. The boys attended classes during the morning, including Art and Design, before going to Scripture Union at lunch. In the afternoon, Mrs Holligan took the Kenyans to speak to the children at St Mary's Primary School in Lochee, which has the link with Limbine Primary School in Kenya. Afterwards the boys took part in a pupils v teachers volleyball tournament which was great fun for everyone.
In the evening Dani hosted a 'social event' which consisted of a get-together of about 50 S6 pupils who were willing to give up their evening to socialise with the Kenyans. It was a great evening which we are sure the Kenyans won't forget in a hurry!

Inservice days Monday and Tuesday

As Monday (and Tuesday) were inservice days the Kenyans were brought into school to meet the staff and see the school without any pupils inside. At 11.15 the Kenyans had coffee with Mr Hutton in the conference room before they were given a tour of the school until lunchtime. All of the teachers seemed really interested in the visit and we spent most of the tour chatting to teachers around the school.

After lunch the Scottish pupils then took the Kenyan boys into Broughty Ferry. We tried to get in the castle but unfortunately they had just closed. Nonetheless we headed to the Glass Pavilion to have a cup of tea (or in the case of the Kenyans, hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows and cream!).
In the evening the Kenyans had tea with the host families.

On Tuesday the Kenyans were brought into school to deliver their first presentation to the staff. The teachers spoke about the developments in Meru School while the boys gave their thanks in a moving and grateful way. In the remainder of the morning the pupils and teachers met with Miss Glover to arrange the timetable for the forthcoming week in school. It took a lot longer than expected but eventually we got a timetable organised. At 11.45 we departed on the bus for Ninewells Hospital. Jenny Woof (Matthew's mum) gave a short talk about the work carried out in the Jacqui Wood Cancer Centre and the Kenyans were given the opportunity to see various equipment such as microscopes in the labs. After having refreshments we took the bus down to the University campus where Matthew's dad gave a tour of the buildings there. Afterwards we took the Kenyan boys to Starbucks while the teachers did some shopping. In the evening we met up at Dani's house for a board game night which everyone enjoyed.

First weekend

After a tiring day in Edinburgh the day before, the Kenyans accompanied their host families on Saturday. The Kenyans enjoyed a game of football in the morning. During the afternoon Matthew took Brian to the top of the Law hill and to the Maggie's Centre, while Neal went into town with Victor. After tea we all went to the cinema to see the new Batman film, which everyone enjoyed.

On Sunday we were taken to St Margaret's Church, Forfar to take part in the morning service. The Kenyan visitors gave their thanks to the congregation. At 11.00 we had tea and coffee at Mrs Kerr's house in Forfar and changed for the walk. By 1pm everyone had arrived at Glen Doll for the walk up Jock's Road to Corrie Fee, including all the families and some teachers. The Kenyans enjoyed soaking up the Scottish scenery, even if it was a bit dreich! At 4.30pm we all met up again at Mrs Kerr's for a barbecue. Everyone had brought a dish, sweet or savoury. It was a good opportunity for the Kenyans to mingle with the Scots.

Kenyan visitors' first day in Scotland

Yesterday we travelled to Edinburgh on the train to take the Kenyans sightseeing (they arrived safely at 12.30 on Thursday). We walked down the Royal Mile to Dynamic Earth before going around the museum until lunchtime. We then visited the Scottish Parliament building, saw Chris Hoy's golden postbox and went to the Museum of Scotland. We enjoyed a fish supper on the Royal Mile before joining the queue for the Tattoo. At 9pm the show started and it was absolutely amazing! All of us had a great evening, despite not getting home until about 1am!

After a tiring day we are having a day of rest today. Each of the host families has planned something different to do with the Kenyans today, including a visit to the cinema.

On Sunday we will head to Forfar to visit Mrs Kerr's church and have a picnic lunch in Glen Doll.

The Kenyans are coming!

It is very nearly time for the Kenyans to arrive!

On Thursday the Kenya team will be going through to Glasgow Airport to greet the Kenyan visitors. We will bring them back home for the evening.

On Friday we are all going to spend the day in Edinburgh- we will visit the Scottish Parliament, Dynamic Earth, Princes Street and the National Museum of Scotland as well as going to the Edinburgh Tattoo in the evening.

We will update the blog as the visit commences!

News

Tonight we held a meeting with parents at Mrs Mac's to discuss plans and finalise activities and so on.
However the main thing we have news about is who is coming to stay with each of our families.

Neal-            Victor Kiambi
Dani-            Victor Kimathi
Matthew-      Brian Gikunda
Katie-           Samuel Muchoki

Exciting stuff.

Kenya team
xxx

Ceilidh tickets

Tickets for the Kenya ceilidh on Thursday 16th August from 7-10pm are now on sale from Mrs Kerr, Mrs Berry, Katie Bruce, Danielle Parsons, Neal Millar and Matthew Andrews. The ceilidh is being held during the visit by two teachers and four pupils from Meru School.

Tickets are £3 each for pupils (bargain!) and £5 for adults (this includes entrance and stovies).

S4/5/6 are encouraged to buy tickets early- S2 and S3 can attend if they buy a family ticket which is £15.

See Mrs Kerr or any of the Kenya team for more information if required.

(amended 30/6/12 MA)

Flights have been booked and draft timetable made up!

Hello again,

This is the first proper post on the Meru-Grove Visit 2012 blog.

We have news: the flights for the Kenyan visitors have been booked which means they are definitely coming! We can now start to go into more details about exactly what they will be doing when they arrive.

They are to fly from Nairobi via Dubai to Glasgow on Wednesday 8th August 2012, arriving in Scotland around midday on the 9th. They will be taken straight to Broughty Ferry (or Forfar!) to settle down and recover from the journey. The next day will then see us all travel  to Edinburgh for the day and in the evening join the Edinburgh Tattoo performances.
The following weekend will consist of sightseeing and visiting places like St Stephen's and West Church.
From the Wednesday to the Friday as well as the following Monday and Tuesday the Kenyan pupils must attend school (conditions of the grant) and so they will accompany us to our classes during the day and in the evening sample our extra-curricular activities. Also in the evenings although the visitors will be home-hosted and will eat with our families, there will be pot-luck dinners at several houses.
The final weekend will involve more activities.

The visitors will return to Kenya on Tuesday 21st August after what will hopefully be a worthwhile visit.

Keep up to date with all the goings-on by following this blog as well as the Grove-Meru Visit 2011 blog as it will still be updated with whatever we are doing. We also hope to start up another Twitter feed to give people information closer to the event and during the visit.

Kwaheri
the Kenya team
xxxx