End of Year Celebrations – December 2013
Destiny Garden School ended it’s final term with a party to celebrate a successful year, the graduation of the Kindergarten Class 3 students, and prize giving for the children who had come first, second or third in their class. A special meal was laid on for the children and their parents or guardians, who were entertained by the children and staff, and all the children received a Christmas present. The guest of honour was Mishi Mboko, the elected women’s representative for Mombasa County. The parents/guardians appreciated being involved and this event helped to emphasise the importance and rewards of education and promoted a sense of community.
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Full Report by Victor Ongola, DGS School Manager.
The fifth annual Destiny Garden School KG3 graduation and End of Year event took place on the school grounds. This year’s event was a truly wonderful and inspiring occasion which will linger in our memories for a very long time, and was funded by the supporters of the UK Charity, Destiny Children, who support DGS.
The festivities began at 10.20am with a word of prayer from one of the parents present. Destiny’s Kindergarten children were the first to go on stage with their singing game dance which last year famously qualified them for the national music festival. This was followed by performances by the baby class and the upper primary much to the delight of the parents.
Mr Jeremiah Ndiye, the class 7 teacher then recited a poem which he had written himself called ‘Be proud of Destiny Garden School’ which was a sobering reminder to all present about the potential the school has. Abdalla who works as the school gardener and also cook has always been a talented dancer. On this day, accompanied by some members of his dance crew named ‘Kigoma group’ they took to the stage and entertained everyone with their dance routines and acrobatics. The rest of the staffs at Destiny Garden were not to be left behind as they followed on stage dancing and waving to a smooth gospel song.
This ushered the beginning of speeches led by Madam Susan and then the rest of the teaching staff who shared a common theme of urging parents to take care of their children during the holidays and to ensure that they do not forget about their studies entirely. They then wished them all a Happy New year and a Merry Christmas.
The guest of honour upon her arrival was then dressed in academic regalia much like the graduating Kindergarten 3 pupils. The pupils then led the dignitaries to the school hall where the pupils lined up, introduced themselves and what professions they hope to pursue in future which was quite exciting for everyone to watch and hear.
At exactly 12.50pm Jacob Boaz the schools director took to the stage where he introduced the guest of Honour Mishi Mboko who is also the elected women’s representative for Mombasa County. He then introduced Roy Major, who sponsors a child at the school, Rai Wong, a volunteer at the school, and last but not least Brenda Christine Jacob who is a school director. Brenda was first to speak amongst the dignitaries as she emphasised the need for parents to instil positive values onto their children as the schools name was not just chosen out from the blue but with a very good purpose which is to give the children a great destiny.
Mr Jacob then elaborated on the need for values in the children as that is what he had also envisioned for the school. Ms Rai and Mr Roy were both given a chance to say a word where they both thanked everyone for the warm welcome they had received and also praised the good work Jacob is doing at the school despite the challenges that exist.
Ms Mishi Mboko our guest of honour then quickly gave out certificates to the graduating Kindergarten pupils with each child posing for a photograph with her which was quite an honour. After all the certificates were given out, this signalled her chance to address the crowd which she did not hesitate to do. She reminded Jacob and Brenda how the school began and how much they have achieved in such a short period of time. She thanked them both for ‘hanging in there’ despite the challenges they faced all for the sake of education of the children in Mtongwe. She reminded the parents that the only inheritance they can give their children is education as most of them are very poor and have nothing material to give.
She then gave herself as an example of someone who grew up in a poor location but it’s only through education that she was able to make it as a women’s representative. Education is a must she repeated, as it’s also in the country’s constitution in the bill of rights. The 3 pillars of education she said were the director, parents and the teachers as they all played a very important role in the children’s success. She also had kind words for the kindergarten teachers for the work they do as teaching such young children is not easy. She made the audience burst into laughter when she claimed that some parents in the hall couldn’t not even give an introduction in English just as the nursery children had done moments earlier. She promised to help the school more in future as she considered it part of her. She then gave the teachers a small token of appreciation for the good work done. Mishi asked parents not to always expect to be given things as the secret of getting anything is also giving out something. A teaching which she claimed is in both the Bible and Quran. Mishi ended her speech on a light note by asking Brenda to take care of Jacob so that he may continue the good work at the school which brought about roars of laughter from the audience.
Gift giving was next on the agenda as first Mishi, Roy and Rai all took turns to give presents to the top 3 performing students from Baby Class to Class 7. The prizes included pencil pouches, mathematical sets, timetables and stationery which had been donated by local bookshops. Jacob was then left to close the formal part of the day’s activities where he reminded students to concentrate on their studies more next year so as to improve on this year’s performances.
The pupils were then ushered to the kitchen area where they were given the special lunch of goat/kitchen pilau (spiced rice). The parents’ lunch was taken to them in the hall by volunteers where they all ate to their fill. This special lunch was thanks to the generosity of many of the school’s sponsors. Parents were then left free to interact with the class teachers while we gave away the party bags to all the Destiny Garden School Children which is their Christmas gift from the supporters of the Destiny Children Charity. This marked the end of not only our celebrations but also the school year.
