When the students arrived on Thursday morning, I arranged to distribute the various gifts that the community members of Coyote Ridge Elementary had donated. Their excitement in receiving all of the generous gifts was so great it took awhile to calm them all down enough to capture this photo:

After that, I pulled a few students aside to interview them on camera and get their thoughts on the projects and new school the Mwebaza Foundation has founded. I quickly realized how difficult it was to get them to respond to my questions at all let alone expand on their thoughts. This was a completely different experience than the one I had interviewing the students in Colorado for our first documentary video. From what I've experienced, the nature of children in the U.S. versus the character of children in Africa pose a striking difference. The children of Africa are completely comfortable singing and dancing for anyone that will watch, however I have found great difficulty in getting them to speak about their thoughts or feelings. Conversely, children in the U.S. are incredibly reserved when they are asked to perform, yet if you ask them what they are thinking you will have a hard time getting them to stop! Fortunately, I was able to interview a few parents of St. Paul students as well and they were able to expand on many of the points the students had brought up. 

That afternoon, I met with the newly hired maintenance workers that will be overseeing each project implemented at St. Paul. Identically to the way I have arranged things at Mwebaza School, the maintenance workers at St. Paul will be expected to fill out a daily questionnaire of what was accomplished that day. This will help us monitor the success and progress of each program. Below are pictures of the maintenance workers I met with.    

St. Paul Cook

Orchard and Garden Attendant 

Piggery Maintenance Worker

Once we reviewed the charts, I gathered a team to help me fence the orchard saplings that have been damaged due to neighboring cows and goats that graze in the area.

Newly Fenced Orange Tree Sapling