Grevy's Zebra: Who Else Lives There?

School Days in Rural Kenyaver wonder what it's like to go to school in another country? Are things the same as here, despite the different customs?

Check out our photos of school life in rural Kenya. When Zoo staff members visit there as part of their work to save endangered Grevy's zebras, they bring back snapshots of kids in various schools. Some of the scenes may look fairly strange, but we'll bet many are amazingly similar to life in your school.

Lucky to be in School

One thing you should know: not many rural Kenyan kids get to go to school. Life is hard for many families in the countryside. Many children have to look after livestock or help transport the family's daily water from faraway streams. So the kids who get to attend school think of themselves as the lucky ones. In the photos below, compare the similarities and differences to your own school.

Kenya	.
CLASS WORK...	.
	Preschool Even children this young feel lucky to be able to go to school.
	Older kids These middle school students come from a wide age range.
	Math test Tests are on the blackboard and in English. While villages may have their own native language, most classes are taught in English. How many languages do you know?
	All-school assembly Held outdoors to allow everyone to fit!
	Group project These girls are building a solar cooker to take home to their family.
	Headmaster Mr. Barack Ototh heads the GirGir School in Archer's Post, Kenya.
	Science experiment Students in a science class erected this rain gauge in the schoolyard.
	Choir performance This choir at GirGir School won Fifth Place in the Kenya national competition.
	Music lesson Kids in music class are learning about various musical instruments.
	Singing/dancing Kenyan kids take pride in performing their traditional songs.
	Exam notice Every school has tests! This is a warning about an upcoming exam.
	Exam day These kids are taking their final exam of the schoolyear.
HOW IT LOOKS...	.
	School campus These are typical school buildings in rural Kenya.
	Classroom Most Kenyan classrooms are usually crammed with kids, since there often aren't enough buildings to fit all the students who want to attend.
	Classroom without walls In the past , most rural schools looked like this, since there wasn't money for buildings. Today more and more schools are putting up permanent buildings.
	"On-line" lessons First graders in this outdoor classroom learn their ABCs from letters stitched on fabric and hung on a line.
	School rules The more traditional GirGir School has its rules and mission statements posted at the school entrance.
	School lunch The typical menu for lunch is usually maize (corn), beans or lentils.
	Cafeteria School lunchrooms look the same the world over!
	School kitchen These pots are big enough to cook a lunch of maize (corn), beans and lentils for every day-student.
	School library Like every school library, this one seems to have more books than shelves!
	Bathrooms These bathrooms are brand-new. (Of course, there are separate boys' rooms and girls' rooms.)
	Girls' dorm This much-needed new dorm was built with money from Saint Louis Zoo donors.
	Inside the dorm Dorms like this allow kids who live far away to attend school; otherwise they couldn't attend at all.
HANGING OUT...	.
	Recess Kids playing in the schoolyard like to ham it up for the camera.
	Basketball Kids at the Wamba Boys Secondary School play a mean game of basketball.
	Friends These middle school girls attend GirGir School in Archer's Post, Kenya.
	Club project Members of the Conservation Club plant trees around the school.
	Football Whether you call it football or soccer, it's one of the world's most popular sports.
	Friends Goofing off looks the same in every school, no matter what country.
	Drinking fountain The water from this drinking fountain may not be ice-cold, but it's tasty.
	Lucky These kids know how lucky they are to be in school. Besides, who says some parts of school can't be fun?
	Club Conservation Kenyan kids have started their own Club Conservation. When will you start yours?