A friend of mine, Courtney, wanted her primary to learn about primaries in different parts of the world, so she wrote requesting information. I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else is interested. This picture is from our branch's primary Christmas presentation during sacrament meeting.
Primary here is pretty small. We have between 5-16 kids depending on the day. Most of the kids come without their parents. Most people here don't have very much money, so the kids come to church in whatever they have. They try to wear their nicer clothes, but are often in T-shirts and pants. The traditional outfit for women and girls to wear here is called a kanga. Many, many people still wear them. You buy kangas in to matching pieces. They have a pretty design or pattern on them, and a saying in Kiswahili. Often times, friends give one of the matching kangas to each other, then they wear them at the same time. It isn't uncommon to see friends in matching kangas, holding and hands and walking around. Kangas are left as a big piece of fabric, then wrapped around the waist for a shirt, or wrapped around the shoulders, wrapped around the head, used to tie babies on to backs, and any other thing you can imagine.
One thing that makes primary different here is that it is held in English, even though the children all speak Kiswahili. We're hoping someday it's in Kiswahili as it's very difficult for the kids. They're pretty patient though.
Jambo is hello. So our kids like to sing the hello song with Jambo in it. Think of Lion King for Kiswahili. Simba is lion, asante sana is thank you very much, rafiki is friend. Habari is how are you. Nzuri is fine. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 is moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa.
Let me know if you want more Kiswahili, or anymore information. There is a lot I could send you. The big thing here is poverty. Most of these kids live in tiny cinder block houses, without private toilets. It's beyond hot in here, so most people don't spend time in their houses during the day.
Primary here is pretty small. We have between 5-16 kids depending on the day. Most of the kids come without their parents. Most people here don't have very much money, so the kids come to church in whatever they have. They try to wear their nicer clothes, but are often in T-shirts and pants. The traditional outfit for women and girls to wear here is called a kanga. Many, many people still wear them. You buy kangas in to matching pieces. They have a pretty design or pattern on them, and a saying in Kiswahili. Often times, friends give one of the matching kangas to each other, then they wear them at the same time. It isn't uncommon to see friends in matching kangas, holding and hands and walking around. Kangas are left as a big piece of fabric, then wrapped around the waist for a shirt, or wrapped around the shoulders, wrapped around the head, used to tie babies on to backs, and any other thing you can imagine.
One thing that makes primary different here is that it is held in English, even though the children all speak Kiswahili. We're hoping someday it's in Kiswahili as it's very difficult for the kids. They're pretty patient though.
Jambo is hello. So our kids like to sing the hello song with Jambo in it. Think of Lion King for Kiswahili. Simba is lion, asante sana is thank you very much, rafiki is friend. Habari is how are you. Nzuri is fine. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 is moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa.
Let me know if you want more Kiswahili, or anymore information. There is a lot I could send you. The big thing here is poverty. Most of these kids live in tiny cinder block houses, without private toilets. It's beyond hot in here, so most people don't spend time in their houses during the day.
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