Resolution?

A while back I wrote about a problem with the school our African girls attend. One of the teachers had slapped a child.

I went to the school and confronted the teacher, well actually the teachers. All the teachers came to our meeting. Maybe they wanted to protect him, or just see what the white man was going to do. I did not flip out and other than general threatening with my cane in his direction, it went peaceably.

He surprised me. The offending teacher told me the exact same story the child gave us. I had expected him to lie or at least to try and paint our kid as the villain. He did not. I was impressed, at least enough to not use my cane for more than a walking aid.

I demanded an apology, and got it. He apologized and the school did so as well. I also extracted a promise from him to not strike one of my children again. Not easy to judge the sincerity of that promise. Canning or corporal punishment by teachers is ingrained in the Kenyan mindset. Being rude, disrespecting the children, and otherwise treating them as sub human has been part of the school system for so long, that it may take a generation or two to root it out.

Today sees all as well as can be in the school, and we are thankful that they are able to attend school regularly.