RVA

warning! blog entry without a photo. :)

trying to get the blog up to date before leaving this part of africa...

after visiting kongwa (map of kongwa below)


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... we had 1 night back in dodoma, then had 3 flights on 2 little MAF aeroplanes up to arusha, kilimanjaro int'l airport, then wilson airport in nairobi. managed to get out to Rift Valley Academy (RVA) by the afternoon of monday the 4th of jan. it felt sort of strange to arrive back at the school at which i spent 3 good years of my life (grades 9, 10 and 11). RVA is like a little piece of the US that someone's cut out, lifted up and dropped down in the middle of kenya. it's surrounded by high fences and guarded 24 hours a day with tight security. (the gates of the school were paid for by the US government and installed at their request following the bombings in nairobi and dar es salaam in 1998). -- watch a video of the school here.

it felt strange because there is such a well established system at RVA and jane and i weren't part of it during our stay. we weren't students, nor were we parents of students dropping our kids off, and not teachers either. we were just floating between the hustle and bustle of the place. got to catch up with my ex-girlfriend and her family... was good to compare memories of our dating history. there were also a couple of teachers still there who remembered me. talked with one of them about the school's IT policy and attempts at using online collaboration for teachers and using IT in the classroom. quite a challenge when you realise that IT requires substantial and reliable infrastructure -- which is quite lacking in africa in general.

if you're interested in a map of where RVA is located click here.