May 28, 2009
Amani Watoto: A Mother's Perspective
Millicent works at Amani Nairobi and recently shared the following reflection following the April 2009 one-day Amani Watoto (Children of Peace) program. Amani Watoto is a special program of Amani ya Juu. This year, the children are learning principles of peace through the story of Jonah from the Bible. Millicent’s role was to help with the puppetry, skits and songs.
My girls who attended Amani Watoto are Peris and Angie. They really love the program and in their own words they say “Amani watoto ni poa” which means the program is pretty cool.
For Peris who is the oldest and will be turning 9 years in November, her favorite part is the lesson and the memory verse. She sings the verse even in the matatu (bus) when we are going back home and writes them down to share with her friends. She also enjoys the part where she gets to interact with other children and play games. This is normally the first thing they get to do in the morning before the program begin.
Angie who is 5 loves the puppetry so much. She talks about it all time. She also loves playing in the playground with other kids and it’s hard to get her out of the field when we have to go home. One thing I can say is that they really have a treat and look forward to the next Amani program and wish it could be the whole week.
The girls have really changed since they started coming to Amani Watoto program. They get along with their friends more and also share their toys. Before, everyone kept to her toys but now they say that in Amani Watoto program they are told to share with their friends. It’s funny because Angie may not want to share, but Peris will ask her, “What did teacher Josephine say at Amani Watoto?” She will remember and start to smile and eventually play together.
Below are some photos from Amani Watoto's day camp in April. Enjoy!
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