TGE Trip 2019 – Day 4 8/30
For each TGE Group that visits Kenya, there is an allotted “free day” each week to go out and do something in Kenya. Two years ago, Drew and Susan opted to devote that “free day” to an academic incentive trip for the kids at Morning Star. Each year, Susan and Drew speak with the kids about how important education is and the importance of keeping their grades up. So for each child that improves their grades from the previous year, they have been invited to participate in a special day of fun to reward them. Two years ago, the group went to the safari park. Last year, the group visited the amusement/water park at Two Rivers Mall. This year, Drew and Susan, generously invited all of Morning Star to join the excursion as they have always told the kids that they wanted to take all of them on a special trip. This announcement was met with so much excitement!
In the morning, we set off towards The Hub Karen shopping mall (about an hour’s drive away). We all marched through the mall on our way to Fun Scapes amusement park complete with carnival rides, arcade games, a giant multilevel climbing structure complete with ball pit, and a mini-golf course. The kids threw themselves into the activities and tried everything – even if they were scared. Perhaps the hit of the day was the jungle gym/ball pit where they played until they were exhausted and hungry!
After playtime was over, we headed out to have a special lunch of KFC and Domino’s! The spread was quickly devoured with every piece of pizza, chicken and french fries picked over. It didn’t end there! Mahre and Gary generously offered to buy an ice cream treat from Carrefour for each of the kids. Ice cream is a rarity for them and some have never tried it. You could tell how each taste was savored and the cups were just about licked clean.
After lunch we divided into two groups. One half of the group headed off to visit Fantasy Soccer, a soccer club for underprivileged communities, to donate jerseys and the other half headed back to Morning Star to accomplish some more crafty activities with the kids. On tonights agenda: Shrinky Dinks, choosing their beanies to go with their pom-poms from Tuesday, beading necklaces and bracelets, and taking Polaroid pictures! The Polaroids were such a hit last year that we had to bring them back! We were thoroughly impressed by all of the creative artwork and beading designs.
This evening, we planned to bonfire and make s’mores with the kids, but rain broke out as the boys were setting up so we decided to postpone for tomorrow. We are hopeful the weather will cooperate as it will be our last night together.