It’s hard to believe that a month has passed since the last blog – such a lot has happened during that time. As mentioned before, we were visited by a group of 36 from Limavady Grammar School and they certainly kept us on our toes! The main reason for their visit was to begin building a Girls Secondary School – the first of its kind in the area.

The first cutting of the sod was performed by Head girl, Naomi Canning and this represented the culmination of many years of planning both by the Diocese of Kajiado here and Limavady Grammar School as the latter have organised a sponsored walk every year for the past 4 years in preparation and raised a very generous amount of funds.

The pupils and leaders participated in many different jobs and many learned new skills – like slashing the long, dry grass and then baling it in order to clear the site for building. They also set out the outline of temporary roadways for the site traffic using large stones. Then there was lots of digging with shovels and pickaxes, pushing wheelbarrows laden with soil until the foundations were complete. These were then filled in with more rocks. Everyone took part with great enthusiasm and burned off lots of calories!

The group visited a place called Oltiasika, run by Maasai Rural Training Centre which was really out in the bush and they had the chance to experience traditional Maasai life and interact with those who lived there. The variety of landscapes between a sub-tropical rainforest on top of the Chyulu Hills to a game drive on the flat, dry plains below which overlooked Mt Kilimanjaro was stunning and a great contrast to the building site. This trip was summed up by one pupil who described it as “The best day of my life!” At the end of their time, Bishop Jeremiah Taama, clergy, many leaders and people from the local community and the Limavady group all walked around the perimeter of the worksite to dedicate it to God, along with all the building work which will continue for several more years. Also there were prayers for those who would eventually come through the doors to study.

For us, this was a very moving ceremony as it reflected many years of research and planning and eventually God’s timing in bringing to fruition something which we hope will be of great value to the local Maasai community. It has many ties with CMS Ireland – from Limavady School to the Hillsborough Architect and Banbridge Mission Partners. No doubt many others will join in many different ways in the future years to come. Our Son Philip was the official ‘photographer’ for the team and he has put together a CD and DVD of the whole trip – a copy of which is available in the CMSI Belfast office if anyone wishes to have a wee look! May God bless this school richly and all those who come under its influence.