Posted: 09/16/2018 08:00 AM
In KoderaAs many of you know, the big news from Kodera is the new well at the school. After drilling two bore holes that were dry, a third try - this time 150 meters down in Christopher's banana yard - yielded 3 cubic meters of water per hour. At the right, you can see the drilling rig, with some of the first water pouring out at the bottom. Read more
Written by Kodera News for
Pine Lake Academy and
Kodera, Kenya
Posted: 09/16/2018 08:00 AM
In KoderaAs many of you know, the big news from Kodera is the new well at the school. After drilling two bore holes that were dry, a third try - this time 150 meters down in Christopher's banana yard - yielded 3 cubic meters of water per hour. At the right, you can see the drilling rig, with some of the first water pouring out at the bottom.
Next they will dig a ditch to pipe it across the road to the school where they will build a water tower and be able to get water right there. Up til now, it has taken four women all day long, every day, walking 1/4 mile to the nearest water, and returning to the school with 5 gallon buckets. This is a great thing for the community as well, since Christopher plans to make water available to others for a small fee, that will then be used to help pay for maintenance of the school buildings.
In SammamishThis Sunday (September 2nd) at 11:30 there will be a lunch event in the PLCC Community Room to share highlights from the recent trip to Kodera.
Charlotte Morin is joining the PLCC Missions Team, and will work with Priscilla and the Team by focusing on the Kodera website and increasing communication with student sponsors and other Kodera supporters.
SponsorshipBesides Kodera News, we'll also be letting you know about your sponsorship status on a regular basis. Sponsorship is $30 per month, paid monthly, or $360 per year.
There are lot of kids who are not current on their sponsorship, so if you're a sponsor and you're not certain your student is current, please check. To find out, you can contact Charlotte at 4charli@gmail.com, reply to this email, or log in to REACH at this link. Thanks! Read less
Written by Kodera News for
Pine Lake Academy and
Kodera, Kenya
Posted: 01/31/2018 03:00 PM
January 31, 2018
Dear Pine Lake Academy Sponsors,
Thank you so much for your continued support of your student(s). PLA students have exceeded all regional education expectations and are learning very quickly. They love coming to school; some even walk 6 km each way for the privilege of attending this school. Read more
Posted: 01/31/2018 03:00 PM
January 31, 2018
Dear Pine Lake Academy Sponsors,
Thank you so much for your continued support of your student(s). PLA students have exceeded all regional education expectations and are learning very quickly. They love coming to school; some even walk 6 km each way for the privilege of attending this school. Your ongoing investment makes all of this possible.
Your sponsorship pays for:
Breakfast and lunch (nutrition is crucial for learning and many do not get enough at home)
Loving teachers
Adequate school supplies
Sponsorship Increase
We have made the decision to increase the sponsorship to $360/year ($30/month). It has been 5+ years since we have had an increase. The teachers have not received increases or many months have received less than expected and therefore we have lost some good teachers to government schools.
If you are making online monthly payments automatically through your bank or the REACH website, please update your monthly payment to $30 to reflect this increase.
If you have any questions, or if you desire to add another child to your sponsorship commitment, contact Amy Quinn (amyq@plcc.org).
Thank you for your support,
Pine Lake Covenant Missions Leadership Team Read less
Posted: 12/12/2017 10:00 AM
PINE LAKE ACADEMY
11TH GRADUATION, 2017/11/10
And it came to pass that on the tenth day of November 2017, Pine Lake Academy held its annual graduation ceremony cum community fair. There was a huge turnout, a crowd of over 600 guests attended the ceremony this year. A lot of processes were the very usual ones that we do every year in our graduation days. Read more
Posted: 12/12/2017 10:00 AM
PINE LAKE ACADEMY
11TH GRADUATION, 2017/11/10
And it came to pass that on the tenth day of November 2017, Pine Lake Academy held its annual graduation ceremony cum community fair. There was a huge turnout, a crowd of over 600 guests attended the ceremony this year. A lot of processes were the very usual ones that we do every year in our graduation days. This include the giving of merit awards to various students in the areas they have shown some exemplary performance. The air was full of excitement as always even as the events progressed as was planned. We got some serious downpour of rain which has become God’s tradition with us during our D- day. This time we had to stop all activities twice in order for the rain to subside.
There were also a few notable things during this event of this year. First, I got to learn that a number of women in the community had already developed a habit/tradition of buying new dress purposely for the graduation ceremony at pla. I met one lady from the community heading to kisii and when I asked her what she was going for, that is when I got to learn of this aspect of the goings. I kind of insisted that the story could not be true and so she gave me names of five other ladies who had got new dresses purposely for the day. It was nice to hear that some members of the community have put additional value attachment to the annual even at Pine Lake Academy.
Secondly, there were quite a number of new faces attending the function for the very first time. We had a slot in our program of the day to acknowledge those who were in attendance for the first time ever and that is when we found out. Some of them came forward and asked that they be allowed to transfer their kids to pla as from next year. In addition to this, almost all of our alumni were present because the schools closed earlier than usual due to the elections in our country.
Thirdly, for the first in our graduation ceremony, the recorder music was played thanks to Terry and the team of Teachers. Seth of grade 8 and his little sister Anabritta of grade six performed with the recorder, the song; “Showers of blessings”. You couldn’t believe your eyes as the duet was being performed that the crowds with amazement that you could think that the mouths were wide open so as to help the eyes see better. There was a thunderous applause and the end of this and also it marked the end of all performances for the day.
Lastly, we had a PLA Newsletter and because we were not sure of the possibility of people’s reaction and demand for it, we produced 50 copies and put a price for each copy at $ 1.50. Amazingly, the very first people to come in took all the fifty copies and then the demand was in hundreds and yet were unable to produce more. The production cost for each newsletter was $ 3.50. Now we know what to expect and the number of newsletter to produce.
The guest of honor for the day was the Principal of Mititi high school who in his address promised to transform the Mititi high school into a national school so as to get the lion share of students from Pine Lake Academy. Every Principal in the region want to have Pine Lake kids join their respective high schools.
As the event of the annual graduation ceremony, the day was a huge success. As the Pine Lake Academy’s organized community fair, the day was a success. Thanks to all.
Christopher. Read less
Posted: 12/12/2017 10:00 AM
Dear Sponsors;
We just want to thank you for your continued support of your student at the Pine Lake Academy. Without your help, these students would not be flourishing the way that they are. Please enjoy the newsletter by clicking the link below. Read more
Posted: 12/12/2017 10:00 AM
Dear Sponsors;
We just want to thank you for your continued support of your student at the Pine Lake Academy. Without your help, these students would not be flourishing the way that they are.
Please enjoy the newsletter by clicking the link below. This was designed and written by Christopher Sure's son Dams Sure.
Click here for the newsletter Read less
Posted: 10/23/2017 02:00 PM
SCHOOL TOUR
SEPTEMBER 6th – 9th, 2017
This year’s 8th grade study tour was on the dates stated above. The team comprised of 17- 8th grade students, 6 PLA staff and 1 member of the school community. Mrs. Read more
Posted: 10/23/2017 02:00 PM
SCHOOL TOUR
SEPTEMBER 6th – 9th, 2017
This year’s 8th grade study tour was on the dates stated above. The team comprised of 17- 8th grade students, 6 PLA staff and 1 member of the school community. Mrs. Nyamweya, the mother to Elizabeth of 8th grade was the lucky one to be included on the tour this year as part of our ongoing program of getting more and more of the community into participating in the affairs of the school.
The student’s excitement about the trip cannot be exaggerated but was so evident that anyone one could tell from their faces that indeed this is what they have for so long waited for. At PLA, nothing can be taken for granted. Everything means so much to so many at any one given time. For example, would you believe if you were told that more than a half of the students in grade 8 this year had never stepped inside a bus, leave a lone travelling buy bus? You can imagine what it meant for them to get into the bus and to travel by bus for the first time in their lives. Here nothing is taken for granted. Everything matters!
The journey to Nairobi from PLA takes 8hrs given that this is a study tour where the bus makes several stops on the way for sightseeing and teachers explanations. This would sound like being on the road for ever, but for the students, every minute, every hour brought more joy and excitement that they wished to keep on the road for ever. Hardly anyone of the students had travelled past kisii town before so going past kisii town on this day was beyond ordinary and a dream come true. Everything was worth seeing including the road on which the bus travelled.
Arriving in Nairobi was a wow. The newly built highways; one way roads within Nairobi was never in anyone of the students mind at all. Many cars, tall storey buildings, and traffic jams kept the students off their seats in order to get a proper view of all things.
For the first time ever, the team got accommodation in a different place from their predecessors. Good enough, this new place which was more comfortable and equally more expensive was close by the place our teams have stayed in for the past five years. They were able to appreciate that they got accommodation in a newer and more decent institution than the former tour teams.
I had to personally go through the routine of the tour regarding sleeping places with the students and the teachers (some of the teachers). This is about how to use the toilets (they only know the pit latrines/out houses), how to use the showers with hot and cold taps, how to lock the doors with keys and a few more other tips to help them know how to more around in their rooms and the place of stay.
6:00am on Thursday 7th September, we were on the road and the first stop was at the United Nations Offices at Nairobi (UNON). The United Nations was both exciting and intimidating. Seeing the buildings and the flags of all the member states of the United Nations was an excitement. Being in a first class premises of the United Nations just created some fear in the students and the teachers a like. Having lived and known an environment of dirt alone made them question themselves inwardly if indeed they were truly accepted into the premises. Slowly as the tour gained momentum, you could see them getting more relaxed and feeling like that was what the tour was meant to achieve. The tour guide did a tremendous job and when they were more relaxed, they asked as many questions as they could to an extent that the tour guides felt like they wished they had more time to spend with such bright students from upcountry.
Among the many questions that the students asked the tour guide included: “How did you get employed here and how do people get to be hired to work in this place?” You get a sense that they kids had developed a liking for the place that in their minds was; “I want to work in this place”. That is inspiring! The tour guide herself was from the island of Bermuda of the British and her answers and encouragement to the students just thrilled them to resolve to work really hard.
After the United Nations, the second stop was at the national museum of Kenya. The third stop was at the parliament of Kenya. Unfortunately, the assembly was not in session at this time so we did have guided tours of parliament and teachings about the roles and functions of parliament including what constitutes the national assembly. The fourth and final stop of the day was ontop of the tallest building in Nairobi. Using the elevator was the first amusement and being able to see the whole of Nairobi from the roof top of a tall building was unimaginable and unbelievable. It was like a day dream, yet it was true.
The first stop on the third day was at the Kenyatta International airport. Seeing aero planes on the ground is one of the highest points of the tour. Students always get the stories from their fellows who have been to the tour but always find it hard to believe what they are told until they see for themselves. That was the joy and the feeling at the airport. They saw, they asked questions, they got answers from the tour guide at the airport and there was a sigh of relief that finally they were able to see for themselves the aeroplanes on the ground, as they landed and as they took off.
From the airport, the next stop was at a huge store in the city. The highest point at the store was using the staircase escalator. Only teacher Silas had seen and used this before. The rest of the staff and the parent plus the students had never seen anything like this before. It was so spectacular as each one stepped onto the escalator with all manner of fear and uncertainty. Eventually they got used to it so that they went up and came down many more times. But not before their cries of fear drew a crowd of shoppers who came to see what was happening. That was Koderans, from the middle of nowhere into the middle of the city.
The third stop of the day was at the giraffe center. Apart from the classroom lessons at the center, getting very close to giraffes and feeding them was something more than a lifetime experience. Giraffe Ed, was still there. I tried to explain to them how he got the name Ed since they did not recall who Dr. Ed North was.
The last stop of the day was at the Bomas of Kenya where we were treated to a variety of traditional dances and a tour of the traditional Kenyan villages of old.
Before starting the journey back home, we all gathered in the dinning place for prayers. But, before we prayed, we had a discussion about the trip. Like an overview of the whole study tour. Discussions about; how it was, what was so impressive, which part of the trip did you like most, what did you not like, how do you see this experience change your life … and so on. It is worth noting some of the reactions from the students:-
All of them agreed that they would not wish that their lives be condemned to live in “Kibera” the largest slum in Africa which is in the city of Nairobi.
Don Crispine said that his experience has given him the urge to work harder to be able to work in a place like at the United Nations.
Molletta and Nancy whose dreams are to be doctors said that they have been motivated the more by this trip. Having seen the “Karen Hospital” which is a top class hospital in Nairobi, they now knew what to look forward to for they had only known the dirty kisii hospital and thought that all hospitals are like that and that all doctors work in the same type of environments. They now desire to be counted among the best doctors in the country and be able to work in such places as the Karen hospital in Nairobi.
Givens stated that she was amazed at the many women she saw driving cars. She said she has only seen Vicky drive my car in the village of kodera. She is determined to come to a point in her life that she will have her own car and drive.
Those who want to become pilots said that they were unstoppable in their quest to achieve their dreams.
Those who dream to become engineers felt that every part of the tour was about them. They saw the cars, the road infrastructure in the city, the bridges and the buildings and their conclusion was; “there is so much work for us”. “We must be next batch of engineers to work on the next generation designs.
The tour motivated, inspired, renewed the strength of the students to work hard for a better future for them and for the society they live in. The tour gave them a unique opportunity to see and to experience the world they never thought existed. The tour opened their eyes to see and to compare what they saw and what they know and what they have. To compare how and where they live with where and how others live. The tour gave them a special opportunity to reflect on their school’s motto, “Empowered to serve” so that they understand that the privilege they have enjoyed is not an end in itself but that through them there will be continuity of such privileges extended to others and that their hard work is the guarantee for such continuity.
Thanks to all friends, supporters and sponsors of Pine Lake Academy. Your support and your effort is not in Vain and will not be in vain. Every effort and every support is so highly valued by the community of Pine Lake Academy.
May the blessings of God fill your hearts with everlasting joy,
Christopher.
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Posted: 05/05/2017 02:00 PM
Thank you all for your generous support of the students and teachers at the Pine Lake Academy in Kodera, Kenya. Here is a picture and note from Quinter, the first teacher at PLA. Here is a picture of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new building. Read more
Posted: 05/05/2017 02:00 PM
Thank you all for your generous support of the students and teachers at the Pine Lake Academy in Kodera, Kenya.
Here is a picture and note from Quinter, the first teacher at PLA.
Here is a picture of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new building.
Read less
Posted: 04/26/2017 02:59 PM
Posted: 03/29/2017 12:17 PM
New School Building pictures March, 2017 sent from Christopher.
10/25/2016 07:00 PM
Sponsors,
A huge thank you for your continued support of Pine Lake Academy. The following video is a testament to the changes made to a small unknown village in Kodera, Kenya through your love of those around the world. You are changing lives.
Read more
Posted for
Pine Lake Academy
