After a brief lunch, we went back to the school to meet with four students from class 6 – Topisia, Karen, Joy Line, and Mary. Most of the students at KCE come from the surrounding rural area. Given their cultural upbringing, they tend to be very shy and reserved. The school admits students based on academic potential as well as social/economic needs. Currently the school haa 183 students almost evenly split from class (grade) 4 to 8. Out of the 183, 30+ students are orphans rescued from villages and are enjoying full financial support (~$90 per year), who otherwise would have been at severe risk of dropping out school or exposed to FGM and early pregnancy. For instance, there is one girl from class 4, Ann Kukubi (10 years old) whose parents both passed away when she was nine. Little Ann had to take care of her younger siblings and as a result constantly missing school. Upon receiving a call from Ann’s aunt, Dr. Kakenya went to the village and took Ann back to school. In a sense, KCE is truly a safe haven for girls.

   

 

Among the four girls, Karen and Mary were clearly more comfortable with speaking up and voicing their opinions. But Joyline and Topisia were very quiet, sometimes almost spoke underneath their breath. We tried to use games and candies to loosen up the atmosphere, but 10 mins into the interview with the girls, we quickly realized that our initial approach, a laundry list of questions to gauge confidence etc., would not work. Many of the questions were too open-ended that even an adult would have difficulty articulating, furthermore the list of questions were just too long. It’s hard and unfair for girls at their age to go through a 40-min of dry questionaries. We need to quickly devise a simpler way. As a result, we cancelled interviews with other classes for the day.

Nik decided to continue working on developing a different approach, while Julie and I decided to sit through a class. Julie went to grade 8 and I went to a science class with grade 6, where our first four girls come from. It is in the classroom where I saw a different side of the girls. The teacher, George, was a very passionate teacher and the girls eager learners. Sitting in the back of the classroom, I received a lot of curious stares from the students, but it is after the teacher left the room that the girls became more lively and engaging, starting to ask questions about me and my family etc. 5 mins into an intense Q&A where the girls learned about where I come from “, my parents and grandparents’ names, I gave everyone a white rabbit (my favorite candy growing up in China), that certainly helped loosen up the atmosphere. Then someone in the crowd asked “can you sing for us?” Though I was a little surprised by the request, I instantly realized that this could be a great opportunity to truly engage and connect with the students. So I asked “can you sing a song first?” To my surprise, they happily consented on the spot (hmm, I thought they were shy) and bursted into a perfectly chorused Maasai song. The purity and harmony in the song took my breath away. This is exactly the experience that I was seeking, intimate interaction and exchange with the locals! After their song, I sung a Chinese love song. Apparently that was not enough and they wanted more tunes from the Mzungu they just met. So I requested another song from the girls and they happily obligated. At this time, all the shyness was gone and all I saw was a group of outgoing and genuinely happy children. After another well choreographed song from the girls, I did a English (Starry Starry Night) and a Hindi Song (Tum Hi Ho) that I performed at Columbia Business School’s open mic night.

   

 

At this time, the students have put down their guards against me as a stranger and began me into their community. I was even invited to their after-school games in the play ground. Instead of being a Mzungu, everyone in class 6 now addressees me by my nickname Ice :).

   

 

Walking back to the guest house, I felt exhilarated by what I have experienced. It reminds me again the joy that human connection gives me, especially when that connection is cross the barrier of culture and skin color.