Have you heard the news? Miruya Primary School (MPS) in Rongo, Kenya has seen some big changes – and there’s more to come!
Brick by Brick Fundraiser
Thanks to our incredible donors, EC completed our Brick by Brick fundraiser at the end of August, successfully raising the remaining $5,000 needed to build a new classroom at MPS. Building should start within the next few months and we can’t wait to update you about the progress!
Students in outdoor classroom at MPS in January 2023
Four Classrooms
So, what else has been happening at MPS? In partnership with the school’s Board of Management, local contractors, and local parents, four of the current classrooms at MPS were painted, tiled, and had glass panes put in the windows. This was truly a collaborative effort by all parties – the windows were even installed pro bono by the contractors who helped tile the classrooms because they believed in the mission of EC and wanted the students at MPS to have safe and dry classrooms. How incredible is that?
Photo of classroom taken by Tracy in January 2023, before renovations
Photo of classroom taken after renovations in August 2023
The Importance of Partnership
One of EC’s main focuses is to work at the grassroots level in partnership with the local community. Without the knowledge and endorsement of local people, our projects would not exist. It is through constant collaboration and a shared caring for the welfare of the students that we get the job done.
This morning’s “spring forward” has me reflecting on a few months ago, when EC’s Executive Director, Ruth and I flew seven hours forward to the land that holds our hearts.
Two other travelers joined us on our journey: Jennifer Solomon, who was returning to the country and people she also loves, and René Idowu, who was visiting Kenya for the first time. After a three-year hiatus, we finally made it back to Kenya. And Kenya greeted us with open arms.
To Rongo We Go
Day one found us tossed into the hubbub of Nairobi. Honking horns and busy footsteps on their way to work guided us as we drove out of the city, past the swirling dust devils in the Great Rift Valley, and toward the red-dirt roads of Rongo in western Kenya.
View of the Great Rift Valley – Hakuna Matata!
After a brief twilight stop at Kitere Primary School to glimpse their flourishing student-grown gardens, we journeyed to William Aludo’s house where homemade chapati and much needed ‘catch up’ after so many years were waiting for us. The next morning we returned to William’s house to deposit approximately 75 pounds worth of college-lined notebooks and black-inked pens as supplies for the camps William leads for orphaned secondary school students during their school breaks. (These supplies were donated by students at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, VT!)
Donated pens and notebooks from students at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, VT
Miruya Primary School
Following a mug of chai, we traveled to Miruya Primary School in the hills of Migori County. We were welcomed by throngs of students who gathered to see us even though our visit happened during their school break. After touring the school and assessing the needs there, the headmaster and some of the local partners treated us to a lunch of local goods – sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, and juicy mango – as a thank you for visiting the school. One of the local parents also gifted us with a goat, which is an honor in Kenya.
I named the goat Wilbur, and since he didn’t fit in our vehicle he has now become the chief lawn mower at Miruya Primary School.
Wilbur, chomping on grass at Miruya Primary School
From Rongo we made the seven-hour trek east to Nakuru where we met with EC-sponsored students at Bishop Donovan Secondary School in Lanet. Our team encouraged the students to continue their studies and keep persevering.
Ruth and William with EC-sponsored students at Bishop Donovan Secondary School
Living Faith International
Our last day in Kenya brought us back to Nairobi where we visited Living Faith International, a nonprofit organization which sponsors orphaned students so that they may continue their studies. This visit stood out for me as I was reunited with Martin Hallelujah, a 16-year-old EC-sponsored student whom we met during our 2019 trip to Kenya. As one of Living Faith’s newly sponsored students, Martin’s happiness could not be contained. He proudly showed me around the grounds and thanked us for everything EC has been able to do for him over the years. He asked me to say hello and send his thanks to all of you as well, dear readers and supporters.
Tracy and Martin reunite in Nairobi, Kenya
Although this was a short trip, we returned home with inspiration and a renewed devotion for the mission of Everyone’s Child: to help orphaned children and vulnerable communities in Kenya.
As always, Kenya gifted us with welcome, warmth, and a wonderful sense of a home away from home. EC’s work is anything but finished, so stick with us, there’s more to come.
Many of us are familiar with the saying “less is more”, but I’d like to suggest that there are also times when more is more. In this case, more instead of less classroom space for teaching children.
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.
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.
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 hereto add your support.
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.
I have some very exciting news to share. Last month EC received a very generous grant from Christian Broadcasting Network! The grant is designated to help establish a struggling primary school in western Kenya.
The Miruya Primary School
As some of you already know, last summer EC’s Program Coordinator, William Aludo, discovered a school not far from his home where young children gathered each day, hoping to get an education. The only problem was that there were no teachers there to help them learn. The school building was solid, but it was unregistered as a public government school. Apparently the Kenyan government had run out of funding to register the school. As a result, they were not paying to send licensed teachers there to teach the children.
Outside the Miruya Primary School
Each day between 50 and 100 students showed up and sat on the floor as there were not enough desks. They stayed simply because there was no where else for them to go. Parents from the area pooled their money to hire an untrained teacher to stay with their children, hoping that she could teach them some skills, and trusting that she would at least watch their children throughout the day. Unfortunately, because their resources were limited they were unable to pay her regularly, so sometimes she chose not to show up. The children continued to go to the school, mainly because they had no where else to go. Needless to say, it was distressing for parents to learn that their children were left on their own day after day.
The Promise of Assistance
The grant we have received from Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) will help put the Miruya Primary School on the map in western Kenya. Five teachers will be hired, desks and textbooks will be purchased, and a lunch program for orphaned and vulnerable students is being established. Best of all, plans are underway to dig a well on the school grounds! At our last staff meeting William reported that the promise of assistance has breathed new life into this area, and already new students are beginning to come to the school.
A circle game with students and their teacher at Miruya Primary School
Two Events
This past January two more important events for the Miruya Primary School happened. First, parents in the area held a successful fundraiser, raising enough to begin purchasing textbooks for their children. And secondly, William initiated a breakfast program of porridge for all the students, allowing everyone to focus on their studies instead of their empty stomachs. These events have given everyone a sense of ownership and pride in their school and their community. And now the additional promise of funding from CBN has made an impact that goes beyond many of these villagers greatest expectations.
CBN
CBN’s funding couldn’t have come at a better time for this small primary school. Beginning in April, desks and textbooks for teachers and students will be purchased. A much needed latrine will be dug, and a lunch program will be established soon afterward. The hope of a well with potable water is also in the works. None of this would be possible without the help of CBN’s Orphan’s Promise. This is a program that assists orphaned and at-risk children throughout the world, helping them to “thrive so that they can live full of hope and realize their God-given potential”. It goes without saying that we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to partner with CBN.
Exciting News
If you want to be a part of bringing exciting news to at-risk primary and secondary school students in Kenya and India, please click here. Please note that there are several ways to lend a hand. This link outlines other ways to contribute to Everyone’s Child.
As always, ASANTE SANA (Thank you very much) for being the best part of Everyone’s Child!
Every year I begin our Annual Appeal with these words, and every year I have the pleasure of crossing off “friends” and personalizing each letter that goes out to our supporters. The rest of the letter describes our programs and gives a short report of what has happened in the past 12 months. I love being able to add a note at the bottom as it brings me that much closer to those who have helped EC to accomplish so much.
The Appeal
Three weeks ago I sent these appeals from coast to coast and even into Canada. My hope is to once again reach out to the dear friends and supporters who have been so faithful to the children we serve overseas.
Children receiving their lunch in Kampi Ya Moto, Kenya
This Year
This past year in Kenya EC fed over 430 orphaned and at-risk children daily, educated 21 orphaned high school students, and led a monthly mentorship program for seven orphaned high school students. Two state-of-the-art preschool classrooms were built and dedicated in April. We also started a unique after school program for 20 at-risk primary school children in rural India. Each of these children now have a chance to reach their potential in life. And that is possible because our supporters have made it so.
Learning after school – an important part of life in India
Our Goal
In the coming year our goal is to continue feeding, mentoring, and providing an education for as many orphaned and at-risk students as we can, in Kenya and now in India as well. The children at the Miruya Primary School in Kenya needs school supplies including desks and schoolbooks. They also need a well. Altogether, our fundraising goal for this season is $50,000.00.
Your Part
Even if you did not receive a personal letter from me asking for your support, you can still help. Your gift of $30 will feed a student for one month. $300 will provide a high school education for an orphaned child for one year. $1,000 goes a long way toward digging a well for the Miruya Primary School. And $2,000 will fund EC’s After School Program outside of Hyderabad, India.
All donations are tax-deductible, used for and appreciated by the children we support. Please click on this link to make a secure online donation to Everyone’s Child. You can also send a check or money order to Everyone’s Child, 19204 Cole Road, Conneautville, PA 16406. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your gift will make an immediate and real difference in the lives of these children.
This past June I wrote about the Miruya Primary School in western Kenya where children were in attendance, but there were no teachers. Since then, William Aludo, EC’s Kenyan Program Coordinator, has told us about the hardships these children face on a regular basis.
As many as 112 children are on the rolls at this school, but their teachers only come once in a while and do more crowd control than any actual teaching. The issue is that although the Kenyan government provided a school building for these children, soon afterward they placed a moratorium on registering new schools due to a lack of government funding. Therefore, there are no trained teachers at the school. However, parents in this rural area continue to send their children to the school and have hired three untrained teachers who are paid infrequently and show up sporadically. The children technically have a school, but they aren’t receiving a quality education. What’s more, they face a multitude of difficulties every time they go to school.
Outside the Miruya Primary School
The Challenges
Here are some of the hardships that children are confronted with at the Miruya Primary School:
Lack of potable water – There is a need for clean drinking water. The nearest water source is a river that is two kilometers from the school.
Lack of trained teachers – Ideally, the school should have at least five trained teachers. Instead, it has three untrained teachers handling 112 children in preschool through to grade 5.
Inadequate classrooms – The school has only four classrooms, one of which is incomplete with an unfinished floor and un-plastered walls. Students in different grades have to share one room; which causes confusion and distraction when more than one teacher is teaching. The school needs four additional classrooms to accommodate the current number of preschool and primary students (grades 1 to 5).
Inadequate desks – Some students sit on the floor due to a shortage of desks. William Aludo donated desks to the school, but more desks are needed.
Lack of textbooks – The school does not have the requisite textbooks for covering the current curriculum set by the government. Ideally each pupil should have a textbook for each subject, although in many schools like this one, three or four students usually wind up sharing one textbook between them.
Inadequate toilets – There is only one toilet at the school. The school should have separate toilets for girls, boys and teachers. Two other latrines need to be built.
Lack of adequate nutrition – There is no food provided for the children. A daily, nutritional lunch program for the children is also needed.
Miruya Primary School
The Miruya Primary School Challenge
In a few weeks, EC’s annual appeal will be starting. Many of you choose to contribute regularly throughout the year, while others choose to give generously once a year. We are very thankful for both types of giving. Your gifts help to fund student scholarships and lunch programs for orphaned and vulnerable primary and preschool children in Kenya, and a unique after school study program in India. This year we are also hoping to raise funds to help the Miruya Primary School get on its’ feet. We are aiming for $50,000 to get us well on our way to funding our current programs and addressing the challenges the children in Miruya face every day.
Please click here to learn how you can help us provide a quality, sustainable education for these children. All donations are tax-deductible, used for and appreciated by the children we support. With your help we truly can change a generation through education.
