SCHOOL LINKING
School links and Global Education have always been a corner stone of the work of Development direct. Not surprisingly COVID 19 and reductions in funding for the British Council Connecting Classrooms programme have had a significant impact on school linking. However, as schools find their feet again after the considerable pressures they have been and are under, it has been encouraging to see a renewed desire to enhance and enrich the educational provision both here and in Kenya through Global Education.
Having travelled to Kenya multiple times and having worked on the British Council ‘International Schools Award’ with several schools, I am available to support the amazing work done by schools if it is helpful. Recently I have worked with Abigail Dixon and Penina Akinyi from Belsay Primary and Kirambo Schools respectively as they have made initial contact and are now working on a food / cooking project.
In March 2025 it was a joy to work with Y3/4 pupils at Belsay cooking a Kenyan meal outside over a fire. The menu of, Chicken Stew, Ugali and Sukuma Wiki was inspired by the food diaries sent by children at Kirambo. Most of the children enjoyed the meal and there was much discussion linked to the issues and challenges highlighted by the Kenyan children. It was also noted that the Kenyan recipes were largely made from natural, locally sourced ingredients and were healthier than the processed foods often eaten by the children in the UK.
The children at Belsay are now creating work to send back to Kenya sharing their own food diaries, photographing their own food, shops and cooking facilities and thinking through the challenges to healthy nutrition in the UK.
REGENT FARM FIRST SCHOOL AND MERCY EDUCATION CENTRE, MBITA
On Monday 7th April, we held an amazing whole school celebration of our partnership with Mercy Primary School in Kenya. This was the third year of holding this special event. The friendship between Mercy and Regent Farm began in 2015 and we are in regular contact via an exchange of pupils’ work, letters and photographs.
On our celebration day, all children came to school in the colours of the Kenyan flag and took part in African themed activities such as drumming and mask making. Children have also written letters and created art work to send to the children at Mercy. On this fun filled day we raised £250. In the summer term, School Council children will take part in a Teams call with children in Mercy School. As you can imagine, previous calls between the two schools have made the friendship between our two schools come alive.
NEWS
FROM LEMPINTIRA CBO
The camp staff send regular reports of how the community as a whole is progressing. Here is latest report:
WEEKLY REPORT FOR LEMPINTIRA
DATES 20/07/2025.
Below is our normal weekly report.
Climate is changing sometimes sunny in the morning, but it has signs of rain during the day and evening time it’s cold.
CAMP REPORT
We had a fabulous time over the week everything is good with us ,we have been working hard making our rooms all round to be clean and for sure they look incredible Joseph really appreciate the good job we did I hope next time when you people come you will enjoy the best of Lempintira camp ,the garden also looks amazing and serving the community very well everyone really enjoying the best of our garden and we congratulate momma jane for her good idea of having the community garden and for sure we’re going to be one of the best according to level we’re now.
SCHOOL REPORT
Over the week we had a fantastic time at our school , the parents organized a trip to Maasai Mara game reserve for grade 1️⃣ students and for sure we are happy with there unity that shows to us and the teachers appreciate the parents for the good 😊 teamwork they showed off. We really enjoyed the trips with our kids they gain confidence and knowledge during the park we have seen a very large migration of wild beasts and many animals.
COMMUNITY REPORT
We had a wonderful time with our community during organizing of students trip and the meeting with them goes successful and it’s done well and we appreciate there guidance,our community are pleased with the garden they are enjoying free vegetable in our garden and for sure the garden is providing our community very well to have a garden without chemicals in our community is not easy but our garden is out of chemicals.
THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES.
SPONSORSHIP
Sponsorship of pupils in secondary and further education has been ongoing for a number of years.
Sponsorship funds are obtained from a variety of sources: monthly donations from supporters; sale of items on eBay; and sale of books, CDs and DVDs. The trustees are very grateful to all those who help to raise funds to enable these young people to progress through education to give them the best possible chances of securing employment.
Once again, many thanks for those that support Development Direct in a variety of ways. If you know of anyone who may like to support us the charity, please forward this to them and/or ask them to make contact through [email protected] .
If they simply wish to donate, the bank details are:
Development Direct
Ac No: 24922374
Sort code: 60-09-47
With best wishes Gill Blissett
Following a meeting in Mbita in February 2019 and a further meeting in Northumberland in March 2019, all the schools agreed to focus on ‘Quality Education for All Children’, based on the British Council Connecting Classrooms theme. It is hoped that both groups of schools will be able to use this project for ‘improving schools through collaboration, communication, citizenship and leadeship’.
Our Northumberland Calendars are now on sale. We ask for a minimum donation of £8 plus p & p. If you would like to buy one, please email us. Only 36 copies left!