The Bondo Children’s School Successes

Most kids would not consider it a treat to wake up at 6:30 a.m. for school. But for the Bondo children, it was a welcome change.

A typical day, in a typical world, started as early as 3 a.m. when Jacqueline would wake up and begin preparing breakfast, “either tea or porridge.”  Children weren’t far behind, waking up as early as 3:30 to eat and get ready for the day. The children went to school in multiple trips, and returned home later in the day, Jacqueline would have dinner prepared. After eating, they did homework and had a family devotion time before bed. But all of that changed.

Jacqueline’s children, like other children at Maono Light and around the world, stayed home from school for the next year. There weren’t any buses to catch, so children got a welcome three extra hours of sleep. “The big boys would work on their family farms before the sun came up.”

The rest of the day passed normally, with breakfast, morning studies, a break for lunch and play, then dinner, and more studies before going to bed around 9:30 p.m. In the absence of in-person schooling, Jacqueline did a great job of supporting her kids with everything from the radio to jumping rope.

“They used to have radio lessons,” Jacqueline says. “There’s a radio station called Kenya Broadcasting Corporation that used to have classes for different subjects and grades.” Depending on the subject and lesson airing at the time, Jacqueline set it up for her kids. She also encouraged group discussions, engaging in them with her kids when they “got stuck.”

Despite the year’s abnormality,  Jacqueline is pleased to say the children did well with their studies. Two students, Byron and Edgar, have even received awards for their good work!