How Long's A Long Drop?

Let me explain... A long drop refers to the toilets in the majority of Eldoret's schools. The "drop" indicating that there is no physical toilet, just a hole in the ground and the "long" being the distance to the bottom of the hole! Whilst we were at Racecourse school I found myself needing the toilet, so I asked where I should go, and was directed toward a small building with no windows and just the one "long drop".

I should at this point tell you it's not Gemma writing this post, it is me, Jim! That now known, those close to me will not be surprised that I have started my first ever guest blog post talking about a toilet experience!

Let me continue... This one small room, with a hole in the floor, had a door, but it had come off it's hinges and was covered in cobwebs, and I mean covered. Not only that but I had a quick look around to find that all of the corners of the walls were in the same state. Despite this, the room was filled with small flies and mosquitos! I then looked down to find out the source of the flies. The room was covered in human excrement. The stink hit me and it was this moment that I had a realisation of just how good we have it in the UK. There was no toilet roll, let alone a toilet. There was no running water to flush and certainly no basin to wash your hands in afterwards.

To save you, and mainly because I did not hang around very long, I did not take a picture to add to this post, but this is the world in which these young people are growing up.

Although the Solomon Project does not focus on sanitation but rather the feeding of these children, since our time in Eldoret we have seen that the Solomon project does not just affect the bellies of these children, but actually it makes the school more attractive to potential funders. An example of this is the biggest school, Langas, who just recently have received funding for a new toilet block, 4 new classrooms and an I.T. suite from 3 different funders, but all credited to the fact that the Solomon Project are feeding the 2900 pupils, which in turn raises their attention spans, concentration levels, and overall well being. This was not expected but was an absolute joy to find out that the Solomon project, and the money donated by it's backers is making such a great difference to these young people.

Anyway, on to today, Day 3, Wednesday 25th September.
Today we headed out with Ruth Major, from Open Arm International, to a feeding project that they run on the outskirts of a slum called Kambi Deso. The aim of the day was to film the shots that would tell the stories of these children living in the slums.

These guys do not go to school at the moment as they are usually faced with the dilemma of being hungry, but want to be educated. In this match hunger usually wins. The days of these children would usually be spent begging on the streets, foraging the dumps for food or being sent out to work to earn money for the family so that they can eat. Normally schools do not provide any sort of meals or school dinners. There are no free lunch places, so if a child wants to go to school they need to bring their lunch with them, which is hard if there is no food in the family home, or ignore their hunger and get on.

For some education wins out, as that is how you better yourself here. But we've been told many stories by teachers and pupils of how children would regularly faint during lessons and some even having to be rushed to hospital.

The feeding program run at Kambi Deso provides the children with a meal each day whilst working with the parents of these children to teach them life skills, business skills and take some of the pressure off the parents, many of whom are single and not working (or just working casual jobs), to provide for their families. The aim is the then get the children into school, where the food is provided and the children can hopefully excel.

My job, as a videographer, on this trip is to capture some of the essence of these children. Their nature to want to play, learn, sing, dance and have their photo taken! But also to capture the harder side of life living here in Eldoret. Today, for me, has been the hardest day. So far we have met thousands of children being feed by the Solomon Project and a huge majority of them are still living on the streets or in the slums, but they are in school being fed and being educated (the mission statement of the The Solomon Project). But today was the first time that we came face to face with some children who's families were not in the position to be able to send them to school. It was the first time that I did not have broken English spoken to me and it was the first time where the stories told to us were not stories of the past, but stories of the present.

This was heartbreaking, not least because it made me think of my two girls, Lydia (7) and Natalie (8). These guys are just children, much the same as my children, my niece and nephew, children of my friends and children that I see in school that I know back home. They do not chose to live in the circumstances that they find themselves, but find it very hard to change those circumstances.

This is why the Solomon Project is so dear to my heart. Over the last four years I've worked on numerous videos and presentations showing the project and trying to communicate the difference that the money donated is making, but I never understood, until my feet hit Kenyan soil, the absolutely life changing difference that the Solomon Project makes to the lives of these 4-17 years old. It takes a very hard decision, find food or go to school, and makes it a very easy one... Go to school and be fed!

If you give, or have given to the Solomon Project... Thank You. If you haven't then please consider joining us and giving these young people a leg up!

Cheers,
Jim