Kenyans Show Appreciation for Expansion of Primary School

By Mass Communication Specialist First Class Larry Foos

CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

TANA RIVER DISTRICT, Kenya – About 300 children from 10 surrounding villages took part
in a celebration at the Gadeni Primary School July 12. The Gadeni School Choir, Baptist Choir
and other groups from every village were in the celebrating mood, dancing, playing their
customary instruments and singing in English with a Swahili accent, saying, “You’re so lovely,”
“May God bless you,” and many other harmonies to U.S. and Kenyan guests in attendance.

The Kenyans were celebrating the renovation and expansion of the Gadeni Primary School — a
joint project between the East African country and U.S. that improved classrooms and a kitchen
and bathrooms. Funded by U.S. Africa Command, the work was contracted to a Kenyan
company and was completed in May, 2010 — 56 days early. The project expands the school’s
capacity, which currently accommodates 296 children between the ages of 6-12.

In a region that receives marginal government support, the Gadeni residents appreciate having
this school in their own neighborhood. “There are 3,400 people that live in the surrounding
villages, and some walk as far as 10 kilometers to come here,” said Gadeni School Headmaster
Titus Malao, who acted as master of ceremonies for the dedication. “Parents would not be able to
pay the fees to send children on buses to other schools,” he said.

The school dedication included a ribbon cutting ceremony of one of the renovated classrooms.
Tana River District Education Officer Abdallah Ahmed invited Lee Brudvig, U.S. Embassy to
Kenya deputy chief of mission, to do the honors of cutting the ribbon. Brudvig was the
dedication’s keynote speaker and spoke on the importance of the celebration.

“The ceremony is symbolic because it goes from a project that you have supported to a project
that you own. It’s a project that provides for the community, for the people and for you,”
Brudvig said.
U.S. Navy Capt. Scott Vasina, who spoke in behalf of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of
Africa, also expressed the significance of the efforts in Gadeni. “Today we celebrate the
partnership between the United States, the commonwealth of the district and the people of
Gadeni … we share an appreciation for what education can accomplish and how it can advance
the lives of the young people,” he said.

The school provides stability in an area where it is most critical. Located in East Kenya near the
Somalia border, inhabitants in the region often become nomadic and have little means to support
themselves. “They have to move due to droughts or (severe) rainy days,” explained Malao.

Understanding where they come from, the school dedication is a cause for celebration. “We
show appreciation by dancing,” Malao said. “We love Americans, we love the British—we speak
the same language. We take them as our brothers,” he said.