Because it is hard to understand!

There are many things in Kenya I don’t understand. Why does the Matatus wait forever for people to load up but as soon as the last person has their foot partly in the door they take off? Why don’t bikes and cars stop for pedestrians? Why do they shove the daily paper in your face and not say anything to you until you buy the paper or tell them no? Why don’t Kenyan’s look you in the eye when they shake your hand? And the list could go on and on. But one thing I am struggling with is why do Kenyans have their children go to boarding schools? Granted most are in the 8^th grade when they go but still. They condition their children to feel it is a privilege to get to go to boarding school and the children are excited to go. Or are they? Those of you who know me, know how protective of my kids I have been. I home schooled them through high school and would have ripped anyone a new one if they hurt my kids’ feelings. Today was a unique experience. Through a group in Canada, Transformed supports 40 deaf children. We went an hour drive to Webuye where there is a deaf school. We were to meet a man there who was bringing some of the children to the school to pay the school fees. Today is the day that most children report back to school in Kenya. The Transformed social worker had also found another child who was deaf and he was coming to the school for the first time. They met us in town and journeyed with us to Webuye. This boy is about 12 and has never been to school and has only communicated with his aunt and cousins. I am unsure what happened to his parents. He knows no sign language. Here he is with five white people and a woman he has met a few times going away from home the first time to a strange place with strange people and has no way to express himself. We stop first at the market to get the supplies he will need for school. He is only coming with the clothes on his back! For school one needs a uniform, extra clothing, socks, underwear, a mattress, soap and two rolls of toilet paper. Why two rolls I don’t know because they are there for three months!! All of it goes into a blue metal box with a lock on it. The one we found at the market had a marijuana leaf stenciled on it?!?!?!?! Now this boy seemed to be excited and unfrightened. All day long I kept looking at him wondering what he was thinking. Was he excited to have all the new things in his own blue box? This is probably more than he has ever owned. Did he understand he was going somewhere where everyone else was like him? Was he excited to know that he would be able to learn to communicate? And read? And Write? When two boys took him with all his stuff to his room he was smiling and swinging his arms. Yes, he was happy! But why wasn’t he scared? He had to be! We watched from afar as he got his lunch and than walked slowly trying to figure out what to do next. He followed the other children reluctantly, not being able to ask them what to do next or where to go. When some one in our group looked into the lunchroom he was crying. My heart breaks for this little guy. I understand that he is getting an opportunity that will help him grow in many ways. I understand he has been isolated his whole life. I understand this was a good thing. But who would let their child go to a strange place, with strangers and not even know where to sit for lunch.