DAY THREE (4TH AUG 07)

DAY THREE (4TH AUG 07)
This being the grand finale was a very busy and special day. Busy because we had a lot to do and special because we were expecting very important visitors; AKIN Directors Paul Miller and Shelley together with their daughter Tess and other invited guests.
The day began as usual very early in the morning with the normal physical exercises and breakfast that was served at 8:30am. After breakfast the students prepared to meet their visitors at the gate. We had all anticipated their arrival and were anxious to welcome them. At around 10 o’clock our dreams came to reality when the car they were in entered the college gate.


They were treated to a grand welcome, as they were greeted with songs and outpourings of affection from all the AKIN children. It was an emotional and joyous experience to all the children and guests. The children felt very happy and motivated when Paul joined them in a dance.
The vocational students presented samples of their work in different styles. This was to prove to the directors that the initiative of AKIN to take them to college was a worthy investment. The girls displayed some of the products they made included; table clothes, marvins, socks and sweaters. The boys showed us metal and woodworking projects they had created. They were very proud of their achievements and they promised to work even harder to come up with high class products that will attract international market.
The guests were treated to a presentation of dramas, songs and recitations in their honor.


Paul then thanked the students for the welcome they had given them and informed them that AKIN was dedicated to ensure that their education goes on smoothly.
After that the children were then subjected to one on one assessment whereby Shelley did individual counseling sessions, and Paul conducted a writing seminar.

Twenty two year old Moses Mukami who is the head of Martin Luther King Foundation in Kenya, also joined us in the afternoon and engaged the kids in games, races and contests. He even gave several students the experience of sitting in his car and starting the engine that made them very happy and motivated to work hard.

Besides this, Tess staged a fashion photo shoot featuring all the girls in the program. The girls participated very enthusiastically in a fashion show which was very interesting and helped the girls to develop self esteem in them as they brought out the beauty in them.

Other activities included hair dressing lessons, health assessments and group and self evaluations. A specialist in hairdressing was called to have a training session with the Nairobi girls who were interested in the subject and they were very happy having shared and practiced very freely with the instructor.
When the day ended, it was sad to say good bye to the visitors who had already blended with the children into one family and resulted into questions of when the dear visitors would come back. All in all the day ended after supper with the children in an up beat mood especially after receiving the news that there would be a farewell party which had been funded by Shelley Miller.

Everyone enjoyed the party and they didn’t want to retire to bed since it was their last day and they didn’t imagine that they would depart from one another the next day.