Last Updated on Thursday, 02 February 2012 09:28 Written by Paul Miller Tuesday, 31 January 2012 05:10

All fifty-eight currently sponsored AKIN  students gathered in Nairobi on December 16th for the 2011 Student retreat. The three day event was organized for the first time by our partners at ANPPCAN and they did a wonderful job. The student retreats always offer a great opportunity for students to reconnect with one another. Since our youngsters attend schools throughout the country, but are connected through their common history as former residents of the St. Francis Children’s Home , which closed in 2007, these retreats are a chance for our children to share experiences from school as well as their personal lives.

This year’s retreat was particularly meaningful because it came as we marked the end of the first year of our partnership with ANPPCAN. Many of the activities were designed to give students and staff an opportunity to interact. Throughout the weekend small discussion groups were led by the students and dealt with issues pertaining to our new organizational structure.
Each group appointed a student leader who stood before the entire gathering and spoke about the ideas and questions raised during group discussions. It was a very productive experience.

Speakers from the community also addressed the students, and gave them motivation as well as practical advice for handling the challenges of their lives. Graduates of the program came back and spoke about their lives since they have left school. This is a topic that causes great stress for our students as they approach their final year of secondary school.

The retreat was not all business, however, there was plenty of time for fun. A highlight of the program was an activity called Community Stitch, which was led by AKIN Board Member, Shelley Miller. Shelley showed the girls how they could make small purses using locally purchased fabrics. Within two hours, thirty-six small purses were produced, and the girls had a wonderful time