Posted in Kenya on October 30, 2025
Day 1
If you were an onlooker at St. Micheal’s Comprehensive school in Naro Maru Kenya, observing the Canadian volunteers as they worked to finish off the classroom begun many years before, you would likely be surprised by two things. One, that this group was made up of the strangest mix of characters and personalities one could imagine, and two, that this eclectic group of volunteers was actually doing well in their work, and moving ahead of schedule. Everyone had a part to play, and they played it well, whether that was sanding down the concrete, painting the walls, or simply making outrageously bad dad jokes. All was done with skill and enthusiasm.
The day’s project started with the demanding task of scraping the walls clean of any imperfections, and then sanding them down in order to be painted. While all put their heart into the job, none could quite contend with the combined might of Joe’s muscle and will power, nor the speed with which he finished the job. Joe, a native Kenyan, stood as a testament to the work ethic that exists within the Kenyan people as a whole, and is a blessing to have as a part of our team. Before long, the walls were prepped and we were able to rest our weary muscles.
With the walls now ready for a coat of paint, we set down our tools and broke for lunch, which was kindly provided for us by the staff of St. Micheal’s. The highlight of the break however, without a doubt, (although the food was superb) was the time we were able to spend with the children of the school. With an innocence that youth alone possesses, the children talked and laughed with us, never ceasing to ask us questions about anything that had pricked their curiosity: how tall are you? What is Canada like? Why do you look like that? Refreshed by the joy that these kids seamed to radiate, we got back to our work once more.
The rest of the day was spent in painting, one coat after another. Jennifer, who at first glance possesses a sweet and harmless look about her, assumes an altogether different look when brandishing a loaded paint roller. She meant business. Together with her husband Travis, Jennifer painted the walls of the classroom with expert technique and a professional touch, giving the room a well needed face lift. With progress accomplished well beyond what was expected, the team’s moral was going high and soon to be further heightened by the sight of cold refreshments at the day’s end. With a job well begun, we headed back to the hotel to celebrate very good day.
Day 2
After an extremely productive first day, where expectations were not only met, but exceeded by a healthy margin, the second day, though also productive, was slightly sobering in its progress. The windows, which had been expected to take only a short time in being painted, due to the small surface area of its frames, took, for that very reason, a great deal longer to meet the satisfaction of their painters. The carpentry crew also were not spared of a few setbacks in their work. The popular saying goes, measure twice, cut once, but for this crew twice was apparently not enough. They cut and cut again until finally, when the piece was ready to go up on the roof, they were thwarted once more by faulty drill bits and the wrong length of screws.
The perseverance and patience they exhibited in the face of their trials however was nothing short of saintly. The day was not all disappointment, as Kale, our IT master, spent the majority of the afternoon instructing the teachers and students alike on how to properly operate the computers which, for years to come, would serve to further the children’s education and brighten their futures. The kids, most of which had not as yet seen a computer, were bouncing with excitement at the chance to even touch the keyboard. All in all, although the work was slow and the day long, good progress was made and nothing was done in vain as we knew that the work done that day would continue to bear fruit long, long after we were gone.
Day 3
Painting, painting, and more painting. With the carpentry crew taking care of the furniture department, there was really only one thing, one very large and tedious thing, left to do. The windows had to be painted, the columns had to be painted, the exterior wall had to be painted, the door had to be painted, the poles had to be painted. I’m sure the reader here understands, the day was spent painting. Jen, who outspokenly dislikes the tediousness of meticulous painting was given the door, an object of a somewhat considerable surface area, to paint as carelessly as it pleased her to do. Joshua, who is capable of doing very little in a meticulous fashion, that is, with care and precision, was assigned to the most low risk and mistake-free job available: painting the exterior wall. He seamed to thrive here.
Following an amazing lunch of spaghetti and meat sauce, the whole school was assembled together by the firm yet ever gentle hand of miss Jane, the principal. The students, that is, the grade 9s and 6s who were the only ones at the school due to exams, came together and sang from the bottom of their hearts a song of thanksgiving. A poem was to follow as well as an address of gratitude from two representative of each class. We were amazed at the level of articulation and eloquence some of these students possessed, even at their young age. The appreciation was felt very strongly by the whole team, and became a reminder of why we’re doing what we’re doing.
After lunch we continued our, you guessed it, painting of the outside of the building. This took up the whole afternoon until, at days end, the exterior of the building matched the rest of the school in its vibrant appearance of blue and white. The carpentry team had managed to make much headway, now being very close to completing the built-in desks on which the computers would soon be utilized. They were happy with their progress, and in the words of Grant, our head carpenter, we’re back on track.
We left with a mixed feeling of satisfaction and exhaustion which, for Wayne, expressed itself in a simple yet profound declaration of “I need a beer.” And so off we went. Another good day.
Day 5
Joshua Molsberry
CEO – Developing World Connections
9:30am – The table and chairs need to be completed, the finishing touches on the painting need to happen, and all the computers need to be formatted and set-up in the new e-lab. Oh yeah, and the students will be here in three hours for training… yikes!
It’s day five of the project and it is amazing to see everything coming together. This started as a wish list project proposed by our local partner Access Kenya about a year ago. In the rural region of NaroMoru, Kenya, access to computer technology is practically non-existent, as is a local school with a working computer lab. Like many parts of the developing world, there is a large divide between those who have access to technology and those who don’t – now commonly referred to as the “digital divide.”
This project brought together a large group of supporters. There were three volunteer teams led by Marty France, Cindy Logan and Craig Taylor did the bulk of the construction of the facility. Mike Ternier of Vanguard Development provided much the financial support needed for construction. Lenovo computers donated all of the computers. World Possible provided the remote learning technology that the school will be able to use to access an incredible amount of content without needing internet connection. Oh yeah, and the facility is solar powered! This is probably one of our most multi-faceted school construction projects to-date.
2:30pm – We’re done! It was close but we managed to pull it together and have everything ready for the students. The afternoon was spent teaching them some computer basics as well as how to access the world of content that is now at their fingertips.
What a rewarding project. A big thanks to all the people who helped make this possible – Mike Ternier, Cindy Logan, Marty France, Craig Taylor and their teams of hardworking volunteers, and Lenovo Computers for donating the laptops.
Posted in Kenya on October 30, 2025
