Just A Little Reflection From A Long Time Ago...
This was first ever stanza of poetry in third grade

I think, 
I blink,
I mumble in my slumber.

 MY CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS 2014

PANTOUM POETRY

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION= AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY?

When I saw the litter on the streets,

I was devastated

No one cared about Nairobi

And its beauty

I was devastated

That the environment was given no importance

I assumed

That there was a lack of environmental education

I assumed

That schools did not have environmental education in their curriculums

But when I first visited our community partner site

I realised the opposite is true

But when I first visited our community partner site

I saw environmental education painted outside

I thought to myself,

Do they really teach the kids what they claim to teach?

I thought to myself

If environmental education is actually taught,

What effect does it have

On the school?

If environmental education is actually taught

It must have an impact.

I wanted to investigate

If it makes the children at Garden more environmentally responsible.

It must have an impact on

Their environment

On their surroundings

On their lives

Their environment-

Where they live

Value for the environment is very important

Just like the AKDN values the environment

Where they live

Their founder/ father

Values the environment very much

And treats environmental education as an integral part of the school

Their founder/father-

A dynamic man

I interviewed him

Because I heard environmental education was once the only thing taught at the school

A dynamic man

Told me

How much environmental education has made a difference

In the kids’ lives

Told me

Some surprising things

Like how they have a community cooker (jiko)

Which converts waste into fuel

Some surprising things

Some great ideas

Like how each child plants, adopts and nurtures a tree

And grows with it

Some great ideas

Which have helped reduce illness

Significant because the children

Cannot afford proper healthcare

Which have helped reduce illness

And also drive a chain reaction

Which spreads environmental responsibility

From child to child

And also drives a chain reaction

As I witnessed myself.

The level of cleanliness around was more than I expected

Especially looking at the children’s backgrounds

As I witnessed myself

And as told by other people at the site

Environmental education is taught on the school field

And incorporated into the school’s philosophy

And as told by other people at the site

The father/founder

Encourages the kids to keep an area of

”100 m2” around them clean

The father/ founder

As part of his emphasis on the environment

Has set up a greenhouse and farm (shamba)

Which are maintained by the children

As part of his emphasis on the environment

Environmental education is taught at Garden

Because of the children’s backgrounds, it has been hard

 But emphasis here never stops

Environmental education is taught at Garden

And it has had a great impact on the children

Not being taught such things in the slums,

It has made them more environmentally responsible

And it has had a great impact on the children

As said by my other interviewee

As a student at the school for a long time,

He has seen the difference

As said by my other interviewee

Environmental education was part of Garden

Before it became a formal school

Educating from primary to secondary

Environmental education was part of Garden

From the time of its establishment

My other interviewee: a student

Told me the effect it had on him

From the time of its establishment

As the child told me

It has taught children from the slums discipline

In terms of taking care of the environment (environmental responsibility)

As the child told me

Environmental education

Has taught him not only discipline,

But responsibility towards the environment

Environmental education

Has made a huge difference

He told me there used to be a garbage dump next to garden

And it helped reduce the effect it had on their premises

Has made a huge difference

On the garden community

It has made them more environmentally responsible

By incorporating it in their lives

On the garden community

And I

It has made an impact

I saw how environmental education can change lives

And I

Think

This can be implemented

In other places

Think

What it could do

If all schools had it incorporated

Into their curriculums?

What it could do is

Change the world

Change our surroundings

Especially in a world under the threat of global warming and climate change

Change the world

In a positive way

I would like to encourage schools back home

To implement this

In a positive way

It could make a huge difference

 The situation back home is similar to that of Kenya

And I think it can make a great impact

NUHA Foundation - Learn, Nurture and Grow: every child has potential

NUHA Foundation - Learn, Nurture and Grow: every child has potential



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Where I Come From

Pantoum poetry about Dar es Salaam

Where I come from,

There is no winter

All year round,

The sun shines down on us.

All year round,

We can go to the beach,

The sun shines down on us,

Blessing us.

The sun shines down us,

To radiate the diversity

In our beautiful city,

People from all walks of life.

In our beautiful city,

Order may not be in order;

We find order

In the disorder

We find order

Even in the little nooks and crannies.

Whether it be the beaches or the crammed roads,

A smile is shot right your way.

Whether it be the beaches or the crammed roads,

Or the angry drivers on the roads,

The five star beach resorts

Or the Mama Nitilie on the footpath

The five star beach resorts

Or the dancing vendors and street dwellers

From the skyscrapers to the kiosks

A smile can be found everywhere.

From the skyscrapers to the kiosks

People manage to be content.

Electricity, water and internet may not be assured,

But we don’t get frustrated by “first world problems”.

Electricity, water and internet may not be assured,

But what I can definitely assure you,

Is that the love
Is limitless