classroom building project Archives

Change Has Come

After years of waiting, praying and wondering if building would begin, change has finally come to the Miruya Primary School in Migori County, Kenya. Last week, a group of 7th and 8th grade students filed into their brand new classroom. After settling in at their desks they looked around to admire the painted walls, tiled floor and glass windows. They were speechless.

a cinder block building with orange posts at each corner — The new classroom at Miruya Primary School

You can watch them entering their new space for the first time below:

Miruya Primary students entering their new classroom!

When More is More

This classroom represents years of planning and hoping, as well as a multitude of prayers on the part of the Miruya community. When William Aludo first discovered the school in 2018, he found an abandoned building. Eighteen children were there, sitting on the cracked and dusty floors of an empty classroom. There were no teachers. The government had all but forgotten this really rural area, and consequently no teachers had been hired to teach at the school. That same year Everyone’s Child received a generous grant to help breathe life back into this little school. We hired teachers and a cook, and built bathrooms and a new kitchen. The enrollment began to grow. Within one year we were holding a Matching Challenge to raise funds for a new classroom. The number of students had multiplied and they had run out of classrooms to hold them.

A teacher and students sitting at a desk under a tree — Students being taught outside at Miruya Primary School

Commitments

At a recent meeting, the EC Board of Directors made a commitment to build another classroom at the Miruya Primary School, allowing current and future 7th and 8th graders to have their own learning spaces. Our next step will be to investigate the potential of having a well dug so the children and staff will have access to clean drinking water. These small steps are the beginning of a revitalization of this neglected but beautiful area of Kenya. If you are in a position to help with either of these projects, please click here to add your support.

When More is More: a view of green fields and brown roads in Kenya — A view of farmland near the Miruya Primary School

Asante Sana

More space, more water, more opportunities, and more hope. That is when more is more. The children of Miruya Primary School may not be able to thank you for your support first hand, but if they could, they would shout “asante sana!”, and their joy would be felt across the ocean.

Blessings,
Ruth

As we look ahead to the new year, I think we can all agree that a fresh start is needed. However, I’m not so sure we want to begin from square one. We’ve all been somewhere this past year and returning to January 2020 to start over again is not at all what I am recommending. But a new beginning is a welcome thought.

An Extended Vacation

The pandemic wreaked a special kind of havoc on children all over the world this past year. Kenyan students were sent home in mid-March for what turned into months of an extended vacation. This led to widespread apathy, a rise in crime and teen pregnancies, and other issues resulting from sheer boredom.

Everyone’s Child took action soon after the schools closed. Starting in April, we redirected funding for the student sponsorship and orphan feeding programs to purchase and distribute enough food for 600+ orphaned students so they could eat during the months of lockdown.

A group of 8 students at Bishop Donovan Secondary School in Kenya with bags of food — Students from Bishop Donovan Secondary School receiving their monthly food distribution in December 2020

A Fresh Start

Thankfully change is in the air. The number of COVID-19 cases in Kenya has been decreasing since November. Furthermore, after nearly a year of being closed, Kenyan schools will reopen on January 4th. EC is looking forward to seeing students return to classrooms once again. A fresh start is in store for students all over the country, and especially for those returning to the Miruya Primary School in western Kenya.

Building Project Progress

For the past two months, William Aludo has been making the two hour trip from his home in Rongo to track the progress of a building project at this school. The development has been remarkable. To date, a security fence has been installed, a gatehouse has been built, three foundations have been laid and a new classroom is on its way to being built.

Stones arranged on the ground for the fresh start of a new classroom foundation — Three foundations at the Miruya Primary School

A grey sone wall of the new classroom at Miruya Primary School — The beginning stages of a new classroom at Miruya Primary School

A New Beginning

Enrollment is rising in the area and will continue to grow in years to come. The exciting news is that current and incoming students will have an indoor space to learn and grow. Kenya’s warm climate might cause some of us in northern latitudes to prefer an outdoor classroom, but the heat and rain in Kenya are both reasons to bring education indoors. This new classroom symbolizes a fresh beginning for the students and their teachers, and will allow them to move ahead with their studies safely in the new year.

students in Kenya sitting at rough hewn desks under a tree. There is no fence, so securing the perimeter is needed here. — an outdoor classroom for students at Miruya Primary School

Adding Your Support

We are as pleased as can be that the classroom we raised funds for in 2019 is finally being built. Our plan is to continue sponsoring and providing daily meals for orphaned students between preschool and high school. If you are interested in participating with us in this effort, please click here to add your support. All contributions are tax-deductible, used for and appreciated by the children we serve.

As always, thank you so much, and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and very new New Year.

Blessings,

Ruth