Below is a letter from Maia Gibson, daughter of DS Lore Gibson:
There was so much sun on our first day in Ekerenyo, Kenya. I remember regretting wearing black, already warm and sweaty and missing my American comforts (namely A/C and shorts). I couldn’t fathom how the kids were still wearing Greenhill Amani School uniform sweaters over their dress shirts and dresses, especially as they tried to teach me how to kick a soccer ball or hit a volleyball. They were too kind to comment on my lack of skill,
So instead, we sat on the side of the mountain. I offered to read to them and Cynthia, a grade 5 student, went to find the Head Teacher to ask for a book. There hadn’t been any in the classrooms I went in, but I didn’t remember that until later.
She came back with a book about a dog, written in simple, rhyming sentences, probably geared toward Grade 1. I don’t remember anything else about it, despite reading it to them at least three times. I do remember how excited they were to hear that story, even repeated, time and again. Oh, how they sat and listened and laughed.
That might’ve been my favorite moment from the whole trip (though it’s probably tied with Maxwell leading us in singing “Blessed Assurance” only a few minutes after we finished reading) getting to share something I loved with kids I had very quickly come to love.
All the way back down the mountain to Kiisi, I wondered about the books. Why had Cynthia, a Grade 5 student, brought a Grade 1 level book back? Was it so that everyone could understand the story? Were there no higher-level books at the school? How many books did the school have - and where were they? There were none in the classrooms. There were no textbooks, either.
My favorite thing to do as a kid was read. I loved library day in elementary school more than any other day of the week; not only did I get to check out MORE books, but the Eastwood Elementary School librarian, Mrs. Johnson, always read us a story - with inflection and voices and everything. Magic Treehouse, The Babysitters Club, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Chronicles of Narnia, Junie B. Jones, a million standalone books that I can’t remember, I read anything and everything I could get my hands on. They cultivated my imagination, helped me see the world without having to leave Frankfort or Elkhart or Lafayette, were my friends when the DS called, and we had to pack up and move. No surprise I became an English teacher, however temporarily.
It didn’t sit right with me, the lack of books. It's one thing to not like reading but another to never have the chance to discover whether you like it or not. Aside from just being fun, reading also helps increase vocabulary, strengthen writing, improve analytical thinking, focus, concentration, and memory, reduces stress, and a whole slew of other things.
My point? The kids at Greenhill Amani School don’t just deserve books, they need them.
So, in what I have affectionately nicknamed “The Safarimobile,” on our way back to Kiisi, my mom, Rev. Lore Blinn Gibson (DS of the Northwest and West Districts), and I started talking with Rev. Dr. Saneta Maiko (DS of the North Central and Central Districts) and his brother, Jared, the Director and founder of Greenhill Amani School, about a library. The conversation continued stateside, and finally, after months of back and forth and changing plans, we settled on something: a classroom library for each classroom, from PP1 all the way through Grade 12. A shelf stocked with books, lockable so teachers can monitor borrowing. Another one of our team members and dear friends, Betty Hendrey (St. Matthew UMC in Frankfort), is working to raise the money to add textbooks to those shelves as well.
Each classroom library would cost approximately $2,500, totaling $20,000 for the 8 classrooms Greenhill Amani has now and an additional $15,000 for the classrooms they hope to add in the future. I wish I had $35,000 I could just give them. But I don’t. I’d venture to guess that few of us do on our own. But maybe together we will?
We have done so much together as a district over the last 15 years, echoes of which will continue to live on even as our district goes away. Rev. Mother, DS, knows much more about that than I do, so I’ll let her remind you.
The Northwest District Operational Team has both kindly and generously approved the Greenhill Amani Classroom Library Project as our special offering at District Conference on Saturday, March 8. As we prepare to say goodbye to our district, I invite you to join me in one last generous moment, another way that our collective ministry will live on and impact the lives of God’s beloved children. If contributing financially is not possible for you right now, I invite you to be in prayer for the 8 classrooms and 8 teachers of the Greenhill Amani School.
Thank you for the ways you have shared yourself and your gifts with the Northwest District, your congregations, your wider community, and our world. May God be with you in this transition, in the excitement of the new and the loss of the old, and may you continue your good work wherever you find yourself in the years to come.
Maia Gibson, NW Operational Team
To donate to the Greenhill Amani Classroom Library Project:
Make your check out to Christ UMC and write Greenhill in the Memo line.
Envelopes for this project are available at the Welcome Center. Place your check or cash in the envelope and place it in the offering plate or bring it by the church office.