Today we met first thing at the school to discuss our ideas with the faculty and administration. As we shared our ideas for each student at the school we brainstormed together on possible ways to implement some of our ideas. The faculty and administration seemed really receptive and had some great ideas, questions, and comments. We were careful to reinforce that the employees at the school know the students best and that these were mere suggestions. We also discussed that these ideas were meant to be a spring board. I was sad to leave the school and the students.

One particular moment (there were many) that stood out to me today was when I was singing hello to one of our students. I decided to change the words of my hello and goodbye songs to Swahili. Wow! What a difference! Though the students seemed familiar with some English, translating to Swahili made all of the difference to this student.

In addition to being cognizant of the language, I was careful to be mindful of the culture. When using songs, I changed many words to reflect what is common in this culture. For instance, “We’ll all have chicken and dumplings when she comes,” became “We’ll all have beans and rice when she comes.” Just simple changes can make a big difference to the clients. I really enjoyed getting to know these students, the faculty, and administration.

Enjoy this video update from the Children’s Garden. We had a great time there today. Ace had some adventures too, meeting new friends and drinking fresh coconut water!

Here’s another update from the end of the day. It was a wonderful day with the students.

Today was a wonderful day of getting to know our students. We made music and memories, and I can’t think of a better combination than that. Here is a video update at one of the places we worked at this afternoon. I’ve also posted a picture of some of our team with Ace.

Enjoy this short video update from our first day in Nairobi. I’ve also included a few pictures with some beautiful smiling faces.

We started here, and then…

Wait a minute, that’s the wrong purple team! Then we went to…

And, finally after many hours of travel we landed here in Nairobi.

Flat Ace is ready to go!

Our crew is traveling to Kenya. For the first week of our trip we will be providing music therapy services to children at a school. I’m looking forward to sharing our journey with you.