Blair Students Meet New Student from Kenya

History teacher Quint Clarke reports on a summer community service project he participated in with a contingent of Blair students: This past June, 14 students spent two weeks on a community service trip in Kenya, where one of the highlights was our visit to St. Patrick’s School in Iten to meet new Blair student Kelvin Serem (see picture). Kelvin will be a junior next year at Blair and is known at St. Patrick’s for his friendly smile, his diligent approach to school, and his passion for running. His typical day involves arising at 4:00 a.m. for study hall, which ends right before dawn so that he can have some light for his morning five-eight-mile run. He returns for classes which run from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., when he is able to go out for his second run, followed by study hall until bedtime at 10:30 p.m. St. Patrick’s is the home to the fastest runners in the world, with many having achieved world records or Olympic gold medals. See BBC video on St. Patrick’s: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12083473.

Additionally, thanks to support from parents, students, family and friends during this time; over the past three years Blair-In-Kenya has:

1. Delivered 5,000 pounds of clothes, shoes, computers, medical supplies and balls. As just one small highlight in this area, the past two years have seen us distribute nearly 250 soccer balls to schools throughout Kenya.
   
2. Started a micro-finance company that is funding over 50 small business projects.
   
3. Donated over $13,000 towards educational programs, including constructing two classrooms in one of the poorest schools in the country, supplying four new computers, printer, backup system at another school, funded lunches for 25 students at another, and donated over $3,000 towards student scholarships and specific school programs around the country.
   
4. Initiated a school lunch program that provides simple lunches for students who otherwise wouldn’t have anything to eat during the day.
   
5. Sponsored the school fees, books and school uniforms of 24 students.
   
6. Created a scholarship program to reward high achieving students.
   
7. Began an initiative to bring small-scale windmills that would provide personal electricity to those who currently have none.

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Posted 8/19/11

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