NKASIOKI KENYA - THE FIRST PROJECT FOR GARY''S FUND
THE NEED:
In November 2006, the students of Nkasioki Pre-School were sporadically attending class in a decaying mud hut and a dilapidated mabati structure. They shared pieces of chalk with the nearest primary school which could only be reached via a 15 kilometer roundtrip walk through the bush. The young children could not enroll at the primary school as the distance was too great for them to travel on foot. There was a desperate need for a new and suitable pre-school and kindergarten classroom building.
Please click in the center of the picture galleries below for additional photos of this wonderful project.
To learn more about the Maasai people and the community where this school is located please go to the Nkasioki Community Page.
The school compound before our project began. Both buildings were in terrible condition.
The original, dilapidated pre-school building was not structurally sound or suitable for the children.
The interior of the original pre-school. The children shared pieces of chalk with a primary school 7 kilometers away.
The school compound before our project began. Both buildings were in terrible condition.
Members of the community crushed stones for the gravel used in construction.
Elders from the community in front of the partially built school.
Completed two-classroom schoolhouse.
Members of the community crushed stones for the gravel used in construction.
THE PROPOSAL:
In November 2006 Gary’s Fund accepted a proposal from the organization Africa Exchange, to build, furnish and supply a pre-school/kindergarten and to provide certificate training for one teacher from the community
The building would be an 800 square foot, permanent structure and would also include a water containment system, providing the community with an additional source of fresh water.
Gary’s Fund made an $11,000 donation, every dollar of which was used for the implementation of this project. High school student volunteers from Nairobi and members of the Nkasioki community contributed labor and the community also provided the gravel for the foundation.
GROWTH AT NKASIOKI SCHOOL - AN ADDITIONAL DONATION FROM GARY'S FUND:
Over time many of the students at Nkasioki stayed on at the school as they aged out of kindergarten. The nearest primary school had reached full capacity and their families wanted them closer to home.
In 2012, Gary's Fund made a donation of $1,000 towards the construction of a mabati structure to be used as additional, badly needed classroom space. These structures are built using wood posts, corrugated tin and other materials and are temporary buildings. They only last about 3-5 years until the termites and elements cause them to deteriorate beyond repair.
The mabati building put up with a 2012 donation from Gary's Fund.
Opening ceremony for our schoolhouse completed in 2007.
The school compound in 2012. Our mabati structure is on the left, our 2007 building in the middle and a very old mabati building is the right.
The mabati building put up with a 2012 donation from Gary's Fund.
A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT
Since its completion in March 2007, the school has been fully operational. For several years two teachers happily served approximately 55 children per term under the age of seven. Gary's Fund provided the training for one of the teachers, Wilson, who has been with the school since its inception. A few years after the school was launched the community independently completed the steps necessary to register the school with the Kenyan government and received a government funded teacher as well.
By fall of 2014 the school had grown to include grades pre-kindergarten through grade 6 and there was a desparate need for additional classroom space. Please continue to Nkasioki School, Kenya - Second Project for more information.
All photos provided by Africa Exchange.