BRAEBURN KISUMU INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
At the end of last term our Student Council went to a local Children’s Remand Home to distribute various items the students bought with the Ksh30,000/- they raised on the Fun Day. It is always sad when children are remanded in custody in any country, but even more so in Kenya, where the conditions are poor. I realise that the children may have committed crimes, but regardless of this we must rocgnise that giving the children sanitary wear, soap and blankets is quite simply a Human Right and I was therefore proud that the Student Council chose this worthy cause. Here is a couple of accounts of their day.
Carmel O’Dolan, Headteacher
Remand
On the way to the Remand home there was a lot of litter. When we were there we were introduced to the children that live there. We were shown round the young boys and girls rooms and the older boys and girls’ rooms. When we saw the boys toilets the manager told us that the boys broke through the wall and escaped the remand home. Because of that accident, the manager decided to make a wall and add two metal gates/doors to make sure that the children won’t escape from the remand home. After that the manager showed us the lunch room, class rooms and the TV room. The small boys and big girls did some singing and dancing for us, then we all introduced ourselves. After that we gave out bed sheets and blankets, soap, biscuits and juice. Then we left and went back to school.
By Miriam Bechtel
The Student Council visited a children’s remand home in Kisumu on the first Saturday of the vacation. Reindert and Annie gave speeches and we all introduced ourselves to the kids. They were aged 5 to 18 and were all there because the police arrested them. It is meant as a temporary holding area for juvenile offenders until their court cases are processed. We distributed soap and blankets to the kids and donated some juice and biscuits for a snack. We all learned a great deal and had fun interacting with the children there many of whom were our own ages.
Isaiah Grace