DAY FOUR (5TH AUG 07)

DAY FOUR (5TH AUG 07)
This was to be a very busy day since it involved transporting all the children either back to school or back home to their relatives.

Nairobi girls and the boys to Nairobi were the first to leave, the next lot of three were headed for Murang’a and then last group for the day ended in Gatundu when Vincent was dropped at home. Since it was late in the night we could not manage to take two girls to their homes and therefore managed to get them an alternative accommodation for the night. George Brawn and Peter Njihia were left behind at Thika Variety because they had eye problems and were told to wait for spectacles the next day. They had an appointment with an eye specialist the next day.

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.

DAY TWO (3RD AUG07)

DAY TWO (3RD AUG07)
The day began very early in the morning at exactly 5:30am with vigorous exercises to help refresh both the body and mind. This went on for two hours after which the students were given a break to take shower and prepare for breakfast which was served at 8:00am.

After tea, the classes resumed at 8:30am with a word of prayer from one of the students. The facilitator gave a chance to one of the participants who took the students through what they learnt yesterday and after that she introduced them to the topic of the day which was about the Journey of life. This topic was taught using the tree of life where every part of the tree was found to be having a particular function. The students also learnt about self esteem, levels of self esteem, and different aspects of self esteem. The students were divided into groups and given work to do.
The group then went for lunch at 1:00pm.

Immediately after lunch, the students learnt about decision making, key steps of decision making and types of decisions and how to make good decisions. They were also taken through relationships and how to make healthy relationships and also learnt about conflicts and how to resolve conflicts.

The day ended with group work where by the students were required to at least share their lifetime experiences. After this the students were served with 4 o’clock tea and thereafter given time to rest and prepare for supper which was served at 7:00pm.

A.K.I.N. program in action

There was a lunch break at 1:30pm.

The group came back from lunch at 2:30pm and continued with their discussions where they found out the characters they were learning in animals were also the same with human beings characters. They also learnt how to help individuals build on to their strong character traits and discard their weak ones.

The participants also learnt about communication where they were told that it is a means of sending and receiving information.
They also discussed various types of communication and how to have an effective communication. They were all happy after learning communication and they promised that their communication was going to improve.
They were also taken through the elements of relationships which they found out to be;
Respect
Responsibility
Understanding
Cooperation and caring

The lesson ended at 4:30pm with a word of prayer after which 4 o’clock tea was served and the participants were given time to share their experiences with one another. At exactly 7:00pm everybody gathered for supper at the dinning hall where the students were served with a delicious meal. The day’s events ended and everybody retired to their rooms.