Yesterday was a bit different. Sorry for the detail but it’s necessary for this post 🙂
We arrived at C4KK and when I went into the new toilet
there were muddy shoe prints on the seat (not the lid, the seat) and I thought “that’s odd”. When we asked Ann (matron) about it she said most likely the smaller kids do not realize you are supposed to sit on the toilet. They were using it like they use the latrine….standing on the seat and squatting. I still thought that odd but then realized we don’t actually “teach” our kids in the US to use the toilet…they are put on the toilet/potty chair when they are small and just know that’s how it works. Here the kids were used to a latrine (basically a hole in the ground you squat over). I could imagine them looking at this new toilet and wondering “why did they put this stand over the hole, now I have to climb up to squat”.
So that night we had a ‘use of the toilet’ lesson using a chair for demonstration purposes! We did emphasize to them the danger of standing on the seat instead of sitting…thinking of one of the little ones falling down the hole gave me chills and stressed to everyone YOU SIT ON THE TOILET!
We also talked about responsibility (things were broken and no one told us about it…found out by accident), not eating the tomatoes in the shamba (some kids would pick one, take one bite and throw…not allowing others to enjoy the tomato) and about the group coming for a visit…everyone was excited about that!
And we ended the evening with the kids on a high note…celebrating July birthdays!
from left – (twins) Jane & Edward (15) and Naomi (12)