Students in Kenya Read Letters They Wrote to Snow-Weary Bostonians

After hearing about this wild winter we’re having, students at Flying Kites Academy in Njabini, a town in Kenya’s Aberdare Mountains, have a message for Bostonians.

The four-person, Boston-based Flying Kites team conducts weekly Skype calls with the organization’s 30-person team in Kenya. But like everyone else in the city this winter, the Boston team—based in the WeWork space in the Seaport—often had to work from their homes due to snow.

“It was a novelty explaining to them that the reason we were all at home in our pajamas, is because we’re all stuck at home, since it’s a snow day,” said Flying Kites founder Leila Chambers.

“Everyone kept saying how snow days are such a hassle,” she continued, “But there are so many kids, who are so desperate to go to school, that [the video] seemed like an obvious parallel for us.”

Founded in 2007, Flying Kites Academy enrolls 58 students, half of whom live with their families in the community. The other half, who don’t have any family, live in dorms on campus.

“Boston has embraced us,” said Chambers, whose organization has raised over $2.5 million, largely from donors in the Boston area. “So when our kids think of what they call America, they think of Boston.”

Some of the best advice the students give in the video is wear “three pairs of socks,” and “if you are stuck in a house in a snow day, you can play chess.” One boy said he hopes the snow melts soon.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

SOURCE:http://www.boston.com       http://www.flyingkites.org