Life in rural Kenya has never been easy but Covid has magnified the difficulties. Like the rest of the world, businesses, schools and churches were closed or restricted for months. Quarantine shuttered Nyamboyo Village\u2019s vibrant social life in 2020. Now as we near the end of 2021, medical resources are scarce but vaccines have finally arrived! As of January 1, 2022, all NTS staff, students, and volunteers will be vaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For NTS, social distancing regulations require that we acquire multiples of many school items. It means more desks, chairs, tools, handwashing stations, thousands of paper towels \u2013 and so much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the crisis has also led to moments of extraordinary action, where the community has banded together to support NTS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most strikingly, it all began when a local farmer mentioned to his church that he had two gum trees (eucalyptus) he didn\u2019t want. The wood from gum trees is a rough timber, not good for fine furniture but ideal for school desks and chairs. The pastor of this church knew that NTS needed more furniture if it was going to open during Covid and meet the government regulations for social distancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, the pastor told Jones Obiria, founder of NTS. Jones negotiated a deal with the farmer. If Jones could find a carpenter to cut and remove the two trees, he could have them for the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones quickly located a carpenter. But he didn\u2019t have funds to pay him so they struck a deal: If the carpenter cut down the trees, he could keep the branches to sell as firewood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the wood from the trunk needed to be split and removed. So there was another deal: To cover the carpenter\u2019s work hours, equipment and travel, he could keep 25% of the trunk for his own use. NTS would keep 75%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, the carpenter cut the wood, transported it all to his workshop and let it dry for two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how do you turn split, dried wood into furniture? Here\u2019s the final deal: Using the NTS wood, the carpenter made 7 tables and 14 chairs. He kept 2 chairs and 1 table to cover the cost of paint and nails. His time was donated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So thanks to a farmer, a church, and a carpenter, NTS now has 14 new handmade chairs and 6 tables. With this furniture, our classrooms meet the national Covid regulations for social distancing. Once Covid is over, we can increase our enrollment without needing new furniture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Life in rural Kenya has never been easy but Covid has magnified the difficulties. Like the rest of the world, businesses, schools and churches were closed or restricted for months. Quarantine shuttered Nyamboyo Village\u2019s vibrant social life in 2020. Now as we near the end of 2021, medical resources are scarce but vaccines have finally […]<\/p>\n Read More