APU Team

The Azusa Pacific University Team returned to our campus after five years due to the impact of COVID. The team was here from July 8-22, 2024. They were led by Dr Chege, Dr Tonni, and Dr Joy. The student team was led by Megan Jimenez and included; David Khair, Anagha Madgulkar, Calandra, Stephanie Claros, and Joann Ly. They were a combination of doctorate and masters Students majoring in Clinical Psychology. They had varying specializations including marriage, family, trauma, and substance abuse counseling.

The team was a great service. The children enjoyed the fun activities organized by them. They also facilitated group trainings for students, teachers, the Joram GM staff, and the PCH staff. The training topics for students were based on the self-report information from them. After being welcomed by Dr Githumbi, the team solicited input from all the students to determine a focus for each grade level. The topics for the student trainings were as follows: Grade 4, 5, 7, 8, Form 1 and Form 3 received trainings about bullying. Grade 6 focus was on Interpersonal conflict, Form 2 focus was on bullying and managing emotions, and Form 4 students asked for help with anxiety, trauma, and substance abuse. The collaborative training approach engaged students to identify the solutions and ways of bringing change and empowering themselves on how to move forward in a more informed and healthy way.

Team members who had previously been at PCH in 2019 marveled at all the campus improvements. They toured the newly remodeled Rehoboth Home and got to see and use the new Community Center and playground. They used the new Community Center for whole group activities, study, and fellowship. They loved the architecture and design work that the 2023 Mission Teams funded and made possible. At the school they admired the completed girl’s dormitory and boy’s dormitory, as well as the improvements to the Brenda and Larry Watson Learning Center, which hosts the Junior Secondary School, the psychologist’s office, the library, and the reading room. These were not present when they were last in Kenya. The team used the reading room for planning meetings, meals, and debriefing sessions.