pro-A-kids

Demokratie braucht Bildung!

Projekt: „African Kids“ heißt
unsere Initiative zur Förderung von
Bildungseinrichtungen in Kenia.

Project Report Christmas 2014

Dear All 

As I sit and face my keyboard to write this I am over filled with great inspired motivation to share some of the notable achievement we have had over the years. I am overwhelmed by how much we have achieved and hadn’t realized the real impact until I put some of it down on paper and closely checked it. I have therefore, broken down the work in several sub-topics for all to get a clearer picture. It’s wonderful to note what started as a little idea has grown this far.

Compound 

When we started almost eight (8) years back the place had two wooden buildings. One used as the classroom, cum office, cum store and the other one a kitchen.  More buildings have been erected since then a wooden class and two permanent classrooms.

The perimeter fence was broken and was a through way inside the school. The fence in now in place and the school has no unwanted intruders.

There was no garden and today the kids enjoy fresh vegetables from the well taken care of kitchen garden. The main crops grown being potatoes, spinach, Sukumawiki (kales), carrots and onions. Children not only have this nutrition but also learn through observation the process of making a garden. The garden needs expansion as the school population has grown.

Trees have made the place beautiful in fact I would say this natural splendor gives more life to the school.

Kitchen

The kitchen was improved since the broken fireplace for cooking was repaired. There has been water sink installed and a closed cabinet for the storage of food to keep rodents at bay. More cooking ware and utensils has been bought to accommodate the population

Population

Age Boys Girls Total
3 yrs 5 6 11
4yrs to 5 yrs 23 24 47
6yrs to 7 yrs 6 8 14
8yrs to 9 yrs 6 3 9
TOTAL 40 41 81

Back then the children were less than 25 and there was high notable   chronic absenteeism in school. Today the children have increased        to 80. This lies within our goals to have more of school aged          children   attend school. Below is a tabulated detailed account of the   children attending school in the two classes. That is baby class and the nursery class.

From this table it´s clear that some children who are over age (above 6 years) have been given a chance to attend school.

More children have been flocking the school for admission but due to the limitation of the resources the chances have been nil.

Those who graduate from the Kiga go to primary schools within Kongoni area. When we started an average of 10 children went to primary school. This year at least 30 children will move on to the next level.

The project has also been able to give free uniforms to all the graduants and this has been a great support for all parents to send their kids to school.

Nutrition and health

Since the inception of health checks, a balanced diet and a holiday programme there has been a very positive impact on the children. Cases of malnutrition have been zeroed, diseases associated with hygiene have been reduced and the faces of the children show it all. The food is carefully prepared by a dedicated cook and those who had a chance to sample her food can bear witness. More of this report will be captured in the report of the just concluded medical check.

 

Teachers

The curriculum developers in this school have continued to improve their teaching skills to better their performance in service delivery. Hillary for example came to the school with a certificate in Early childhood Development Education today she holds a diploma in the same discipline. Even though there has been change of guard due to various reasons the present teachers are deterred and continue to effortlessly take their duties in this royal calling.

Staff welfare

Through partnership and financial assistance the staff has been able to have personal development and also status development. The teachers can advance in their studies and the non teaching staff is able to fend for their families and educate their children. The soft development loans are a great subsidy to their meager income and make this possible. The value of each cent is great goes a long way.

Leadership

ince the school falls in the category of public schools which means its management is guided by the government we have incorporated three members of the community to oversee the activities in the school and question credibility of such activities where necessary. This has given the community a feeling of ownership of the school since before it was treated more like a ‘private’ property.  This has resulted in enrolment of more children to the school and more confidence in the school performance and management.

New teacher Salome Karimi

 

Parents

There are more than 60 parents with children in this school. Some have two or more children attending the kindergarten. Parents attend meetings promptly and slowly by slowly they are playing active participation in the school matters. I believe with time they will open up and follow up their ideas and wishes to propel the facility to greater levels.  Parents appreciate what the sponsors have so far offered to them which includes materials, interactions and working together. They are happy with the relationship with the sponsors.

However all has not been smooth when it comes to payment of school fees. I therefore took some data to help understand why this is a major hurdle and burden to parents and this is what I got from the ones who attended the medical check.

 

Status

Single parents                  9

Married parents              39

Separated                          8

Guardians                          6

Homes

Those who live in rented rooms                              15

Living in their own place                              36

Living or housed by relatives                     11                                              Cook Evangelina giving out the meal

 

 

Parent’s occupation

Most parents do casual work either in the multinational agricultural flower and herb farms or in other people’s farms. The wage/ salary paid by these farms ranges between 8,000 KES, to 10,000 KES. Those who are not lucky to be in the farms get 200 KES per day when work is available. This amount of money is too little for food, clothes, rent and school fees. On average of a family with five members (mother, father and three kids) they consume between 150 KES to 250 KES per day on food alone. The current arrears of unpaid school fees was over 70,000 KES when this report was written. This general overview may be the greatest impediment in payment of school fees and other tangible development.

In my observation these economic disability has a great impact in the full participation of parents in issues affecting their children as they concentrate on the basic survival needs activities.

 

 

 

Community

The greatest beneficiaries of the activities in Kongoni has been the community, since the inception of the project they were able to complete water connection of which Elke asked her friends and well wishers to make donations for its completion. The water installation has been a great resource in changing the lives of the whole community. Most of them are able to grow and sell produce according to their ability and efforts.

The children while at school give the parents a chance to look for work without worry.

During medical examinations some take the opportunity to have the doctors attend to them and also to their other children. It’s common to see parents with kids on their backs or in the company of children who don’t attend school. There are no charges for such checks it’s the doctor’s contributions. This time most child caretakers (parents and guardians) had a free screening for lifestyle and other non communicable diseases.

It’s worth noting that the biggest thing one can ever achieve or do in life is to change other people’s life, pro-A-kids has extended its generosity in participating in matters affecting children. It was involved in running a programme that helped remove the street boys from the small town. It has also been joining hands to support in marking Child Day and sensitization of Red hand day among others.

 

Areas which need attention

As the school population grows so does the needs and one such need is more toilets for the children. There are two toilets serving the entire school (staff and children). These are not enough as the maximum recommended number is 24 persons for one toilet. In the near future its worth to have more toilets.

There is need to expand the kitchen garden to accommodate more crops as currently its straining to have vegetables and potatoes for the kids.

 

The two new classes need shelves and other furniture to be of good use. For now they are not in use since they need ceiling and painting.  These will be done before the end of the year.

 

Gratitude

My thanks go to all those who greatly sacrifice their time, resources, enthusiasm and energy to put all this work in the present level. Looking and having the trust of sponsors is never an easy job and you have been able to do it year after year. The sponsors too have effortlessly being willing to put in their money to this project. This is an indication of work done well.  Much more than words can say have been achieved, the dedicated team of which I have enjoyed working with is a great driving force and my wish is that we continue pulling together.

 

Yours

Francis

 

 

p