Outreach:
Pen Pal Program
Group Letter | Pen Pal
Kenya Connect’s Pen Pal program complements studies of African cultures through social studies and language arts curricula. It also provides an important tool for educators to promote and integrate writing skills across various disciplines. Program participants discover cultural education as it was meant to be -- a live and inspiring learning experience -- not a book exercise. In the first person, students convey information about their own culture and absorb knowledge of a distant one, while also gaining mastery over the art of communication and exchange.
Group Letter
Instructions for teachers
We are currently working with 35 primary schools in the Machakos district of Kenya. This is home to the Kamba culture. If you are tying this project in with a unit on Kenya or Africa, please do not have your students write about what they have learned. Your students are serving as cultural ambassadors and should use this opportunity to teach children in Africa about Western culture or their own specific ethnic background. This is easily accomplished by writing about their personal family history.
Letter contents may include:
- Personal information: parent’s names and occupations, names and ages of brothers and sisters, pets, hobbies, what your home looks like and the land surrounding it, physical appearance.
- Cultural information: food, holidays celebrated and religions practiced, music and dance, ethnic background and other languages spoken (include some words or phrases).
- School information: teacher’s name, subjects studied, how many students in class, friends and their names.
- Photos & Artwork: We highly encourage attaching photos of the students and of your school. Drawing on the back and decorating the borders of the letter is also recommended. Artwork may also be attached.
- Gifts: Please note that no gifts may be sent along with the letters. If you and your students want to assist our enrolled schools, please see School Sponsorship.
Instructions for writing and sending letters through school or organization participation
Have your students use the printable form or have them create their own. Quite often teachers use this as part of a computer lab project. Please be sure that the heading of the letter contains the following information:
- “To My Friend in Kenya”
- Full Name of Student
- Name of School
- Age
- Grade and Gender
Send completed letters to:
-
Kenya Connect
Pen Pal Club
P. O. Box 7487
Silver Spring, MD 20907
Kenya Connect will be responsible for postage to and from Africa and your school. However, we graciously ask for donations to help offset the operating costs of this program.
Personal Pen Pal Letters
You don’t have to be a part of a school or organization in order to participate in Kenya Connect’s Pen Pal program. To start writing to your own personal pen pal, use the guidelines listed above for composing your letter. In your initial letter please be sure to include:
- Your name and mailing address (including your zip code!).
- Your age, gender and grade in school.
- The age and gender of the pen pal to whom you wish to correspond
Please send your letter to the address listed above.
