GlobalGiving.org: 1000 Voices for Hope - Building Mahiga Hope High

Great Results from Mahiga!

Turk Pipkin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:45:00 GMT

Building Hope Book Cover - order at www.nobelity.o

When The Nobeltiy Project partnered with the communty of Mahiga, Kenya to build the area's first high school, we didn't realize how many great things would come from this work (which was launched by the 1000 Voices for Hope campaign). The campaign is still underway, and with the first Senior Class starting 12th grade in a couple of weeks, we very much need to raise funds for 12 Grade Textbooks. $100 funds shared textbooks for two students for all subjects (with the sharing being a nice team function that has students helping each other with understanding the work).

While you're considering a donation, here are a few of the accomplishments at Mahiga:

- Mahiga Hope High School construction complete on the RainWater Court, 8 classrooms, 2 science labs, kitchen, dining and study hall, soccer pitch and gardens.

- Primary School reconstruction complete (all classrooms now made of local, handcut stone). Results on November's dreaded KCSE, the exit exam for all 8th graders, were stellar! Average scores at the school were up 25 points, with top scores over 350! These are great marks in a year when test scores across much of Kenya fell (blamed on increase use of Shang - a hybrid slang language which doesn't boost understanding of English and Kiswahili textbooks).

- Mahiga Preschool construction complete with two grades and now with two teachers. For 2012, the combined schools have well over 600 students in 14 grades.

- Building Hope - the film - has had tremendous response, starting with the Audience Award at SXSW, and most recently with a great Africa premiere screening at the Nairobi International Film Festival. There's also a beautiful new companion book (that comes with a dvd of the film), available only at www.nobelity.org

Parents, students, teachers and the Kieni West Education District are all supporting these great schools. But a good school needs approved textbooks just as much as it needs infrastructure. This is a project where every dollar has gone a long ways, so thanks for helping us provide opportunity and hope for the kids of Mahiga!

The Gates to Hope

Turk Pipkin — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:31:17 GMT

The Gates to Hope

From the very beginnings of Mahiga Hope High School three years ago, I'd envisioned that when the students of Mahiga, Kenya had completed their early morning walks to school, they'd pass through a set of gates that symbolized a door to opportunity and hope.

Gates weren't a priority of course. We had to focus first on classrooms, a library and computer lab, science labs, kitchen and all the other parts of this wonderful infrastructure. We somehow managed to find funding for that infrastructure and much more than we'd first envisioned. But we never were able to build those gates.

Shortly after the students moved into the new science labs, I received a photo from Joseph Mutongu and Mahiga. While I was dreaming of gates, the school was building them, which makes this a great opportunity to thank everyone at Mahiga for being such dedicated partners in this endeavor.

THE GATES TO HOPE ARE COMPLETE, BUT WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP.

I'm on my way to Kenya to work on all the Nobelity Project's schools (ten in all) and we have some important work left to do at Mahiga. This includes security fencing for the entire property, and the fencing and raised beds for the organic gardens and orchard.

Your donations will plant trees that produce fruit for the school and vegetables that will be served in our beautiful kitchen and dining hall.

Thanks for the support. We're almost there!

Music Class at Mahiga Hope High School

The Miracle of Mahiga

Turk Pipkin, The Nobelity Project — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:42:56 GMT

Dirt floors no more! A new primary classroom

We are just back from Kenya and a fantastic working trip to Mahiga Hope High School. Now part of the Kieni West Education District, the school has a fine principal, deputy principal and a growing staff of teachers. Enrollment in the high school has grown from our first nine students two years ago to over 150, now in grades 9 - 11 with an even mix of boys and girls.

Construction on the last two buildings - the science labs and the new primary school classrooms - is also complete. On the primary school side, both the new preschool and primary school playgrounds are gorgeous, and we were thrilled to cut the ribbons on the final four stone classrooms.Once and forever, the mud floors are gone! The combined schools now have 600 students, all of them working diligently to take advantage of this opportunity for a quality education.

We still have some funding challenges. A desk, chair and classroom materials for one student costs $50. We're almost a hundred kids behind and growing by 100 per year, so it's important to raise $10,000 in the coming months.

The story of Mahiga Hope High School is told in our new feature film, Building Hope, an inspiring work which won major awards at the SXSW Film Festival and at Maui Film Fest. Just like the miracle of the amazing changes that have come to this community, the film ends with a miracle of it's own. After months of no rain in this very dry area, The Grand Opening of the high school and the first basketball game on the RainWater Court were rained out by a beautiful, heavy downpour that nearly filled our 30,000 liter water tanks.

That miracle seemed to repeat itself on this trip. With the entire high school, we gathered in the dining hall/theatre. After the drama club put on their first play for us, it was our turn to turn out the lights and show the students the film in which they star. The room was filled with laughter and joy as we watched how this community's dream grew into reality. As the film progressed towards the miraculous rainstorm that ends it, I began to hear scattered raindrops on the roof above us. Once again, this was the first rain in an extended period and the local farmers were on the verge of total crop failure.

Within minutes, the rain was pouring down in a giant flood of huge drops mixed in with small hail that had been formed high in the clouds above Mt. Kenya. We turned up the movie to overcome the deafening clatter on the roof but it didn't matter for the sound of rain from the film and the skies above us were all one.

To everyone who contributed to building this school - or who is thinking of contributing - you are a part of great and wonderful miracle. Your faith and partnership in this great community will provide real opportunity to young people for generations to come. That's the kind of miracle we can all believe in.

Turk Pipkin, The Nobelity Project, www.nobelity.org

- Don't forget to watch the trailer to Building Hope at nobelity.org. Our New York premiere is coming up on Monday, July 25 at the Tribeca Cinemas.

Lily Pipkin & friends at new science labs!

The High School watches 'Building Hope'

Links:

Watch the trailer for Building Hope

SXSW Audience Award for Building Hope, the Story of Mahiga Hope High School

Turk Pipkin, The Nobelity Project — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:09:28 GMT

The SXSW Film Fest poster for "Building Hope"

It's been quite a year for Mahiga Hope High School and The Nobelity Project. One year after we broke ground and began construction on the classroom building and the Rainwater Court, the school is open with 135 high schoolers enrolled in grades 9, 10 and 11. That number goes up every month, and we are well on our way to capacity of 350 students.

While we were working with the community to build the school, I've been shooting the Nobelity Project's third feature documentary, Building Hope. We had a World Premiere at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival - and Building Hope won the prestigious Lone Star Audience Award! We also had a Public Premiere at Austin Paramount Theatre, where the response from 700 people in attendance was just phenomenal.

Our 1000 Voices for Hope Global Giving campaign plays a role in Building Hope - just as it did in building the school - and is featured in a segment that explains how we were able to connect a thousand people in the U.S. and an African community working to create a better future for their children.

The film's reviews have been as extraordinary as the audience response.

‘Building Hope is an inspiring documentary that not only builds hope for the youth of Kenya, but also empowers people thousands of miles away to affect change through small yet significant contributions.’ - Slackerwood.com

‘Turk Pipkin traces the building of the Mahiga Hope High in Kenya with the moving Building Hope. The movie concludes with a rousing grand opening of the school.’ - Austin American Statesman

‘Inspirational Red Bull for the humanitarian soul and proof positive that you – yes, you – can help fix our broken world and make a difference in the lives of countless others.’ - The Austin Chronicle

We'd like for all our 1000 Voices for Hope supporters to have an opportunity to see the film. We expect to screen at Austin's new Violet Crown Cinema the first week of June, and hope screenings in other cities will follow. To receive (occasional) updates on the film and Mahiga Hope HIgh School, send an email to: info@nobelity.org

We still have some specific construction to fund at the school - improved fences and security for the kids, more computers for the computer lab, dining room tables and chairs, teacher desks, low tables and benches for the new preschool and laboratory equipment for the Chemistry and Biology Lab.

Thanks for your role in Building Hope. Spread the word, and renew your contribution if you can. We've come so far and are almost to the finish line

Computer Class on the new Dell Computers at Mahiga

Lunch break fun in front of The RainWater Court

Links:

Merry Christmas from Mahiga!

Turk Pipkin — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:26:18 GMT

the new kitchm with high-efficency wood stoves

In the days before Christmas, I've received lots of wonderful Christmas greetings and heartfelt thank you's from students and community members in Mahiga and wanted to pass those along to everyone who's helped build this wonderful new high school. Kenyan schools are on a trimester calender so the month of December is a school holiday, but that has not slowed progress on construction. The new Footbal pitch (a soccer field if you're an American) is nearing completion, thanks to the support of local Minister of Parliament Warugongo who arranged for us to use the Community Development Fund grader with The Nobelity Project paying for fuel costs.

The new Primary School is also complete. Likewise for the conversion and remodel of an old storage building into a slick looking administration building, and construction is moving quickly on the new Science Lab Building.

Christy and I also want to thank you all for your support and for helping to spread the word about Mahiga Hope High School. We're also very pleased to announce that this Spring will see the premier of a new Nobelity Project feature documentary, Building Hope, an inspiring film which chronicles the building of the school.

In the meantime, we are still fundraising. If you'd like to make an end-of-year donation and take advantage of a 2010 tax deduction, we still have a number of items at the school we'd like to fund.

Merry Christmas to all and the happiest of new years!

Mahiga Hope Grand Opening a Huge Success!

Turk Pipkin — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:31:46 GMT

Primary School Choir at the RainWater Court

The Grand Opening of Mahiga Hope High School on October 1 was a tremendous celebration with The Nobelity Project's Turk and Christy Pipkin, Architecture for Humanity's Greg Elsner and Michael Jones, and over a 1,000 members of the local community who turned out to see the area's first high school.

Greg Elsner has spent over a year living in Mahiga, but his work on the award-winning RainWater Court was not completed until the mounting of the backboards and rims the evening before the big event. Ready for basketball and for the performances on the new stage, the court's 30,000 liter storage tanks were ready for the first rain.

The giant crowd was entertained by two school choirs, by local women performing traditional dances, and by the performance of new school song by the high school students, along with their inspiring poem about education, "Now or Never." The shows were followed by ribbon-cuttings of the new classrooms, the computer lab and library, which now has over 2,500 volumes in circulation for primary and secondary students, and for others in the community.

Our new kitchen - with high-efficiency wood stoves saving 70% from former wood construction while protecting the cooks from harmful smoke - helped to turn out food for the entire crowd. I've seen great development work in 20 countries on five continents, but this was the most inspiring day of my life, culminating with the first rain on the roof and in the gutters and tanks of the court!

And that was just the beginning. On Sunday, we welcomed a great performance by the deaf acrobatic troupe Sarakasi, who travelled many hours from Nairobi. Also coming from Nairobi were the men's and women's STORMS professional basketball teams who conducted a long b-ball clinic with our students, followed by scrimmage play between the pros, the championship St. Mary's High School team from Nyeri, and our less-polished but surprisingly good Mahiga girls and boys teams. I played a few points myself for Mahiga, and the crowd was LOUD for the home team. As the girls team scrimmaged against the lady pros, a true miracle happened - the thunder roared and the skies opened up - a torrential downpour that lasted nearly an hour and which put over 15,000 liters of clean drinking water into the courts big tanks.

We are deeply indebted for Nike GameChangers, Architecture for Humanity, the community of Mahiga and all of the Nobelity Project's supporters who have made this school a reality. AND WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

We also broke ground on the new science lab building - with physics, chemistry and biology labs - and an extensive gardens and orchard that will help provide food for the school kitchen. Beginning in January, Mahiga Hope High School will have the full support of the Kieni West Education District as a full, four-year high school. Your donations have changed the life of so many in this wonderful community, and completing the school will make it into a shining beacon of education for generations to come.

Turk Pipkin, The Nobelity Project, www.nobelity.org

Mahiga Hope Computer Lab

Team Mahiga!

Tremendous Construction Progress and New Pics!

Turk Pipkin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:35:07 GMT

9th & 10th grade - looking good!

It's really getting exciting in Mahiga! Christy and I are back from a work and planning trip and have lots to report. The Classroom and Libraries Building has reached its full height and is completely roofed. Windows and rails have even been completed since I took the photo below. Likewise for the lower sidewalk and grading around the building.

Just across the way, the new kitchen is really gorgeous - the new high-efficiency wood stoves are and wash sinks and gas piping for the gas stove is not far behind.

AfH Design Fellow Greg Elsner has been joined for the duration of the job by his girlfriend and fellow architect, Christina Tapper. Christina's working with the teachers and community to set up the library and other school functions, and has designed a beautiful new preschool to replace the old building that will be repurposed for our new Principal and admin. Christina's also working with Greg and our Kenyan construction team on the biggest challenge - the RainWater Court. Foundation and stonework is now complete, and the structure is going vertical! Check out the attached pics of the 8 massive columns and the temporary Eucalyptus pole tower that will lift the 500 pound roof trusses into place.

Our 9th and 10th grade classes are doing well with their studies in temp classrooms at the primary school, and we even took them on their first field trip, a visit to the game reservation at the beautiful Aberdare Country Club. Though they live in rural Kenya, these kids at never seen giraffes, zebras and other African game (the animals are in huge reserves and it costs money to get in), so this was tremendously exciting for all of us.

If you ever visit Kenya, don't miss a stay at Aberdare Country Club and the mountaintop game lodge, The Ark. Both have been tremendously supportive of our work, and employ lots of wonderful members of our community.

We're getting close to meeting our overall financial goals for funding construction, but still need your donations and your help in spreading the word! Thanks to everyone for the great things you've already helped us accomplish.

Classroom and Libraries Bldg - nearly done!

The Rainwater Court goes vertical!

June field report - construction all around!

Turk Pipkin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:18:32 GMT

9th graders (form one) at Mahiga Hope High

I'm returning from Kenya with great photos and video of progress at Mahiga Hope High School. After a huge dawn-to-dark concrete pour with 50 workers, the classroom/libraries building is now on its second floor. Construction on the new kitchen is underway - with both of those buildings scheduled for a grand-opening in July.

Despite endless weeks of rain that rendered our 3 1/2 km of unpaved road unpassable, the RainWater Court is also moving ahead - now has the huge excavation complete, with full foundation walls also ready. Estimated finish for the entire structure is September! Big thanks to Greg Elsner, our Architecture for Humanity design fellow, who is living in the community for one year while overseeing this great work.

Bigger kudos to the community for their passionate involvement, including 120 parents who worked by hand to spread tons of rock on the road so construction could continue. We now have 31 high school students in temp classrooms, with the number growing all the time.

Check out new photos and our inspiring 3-minute video, Building Hope - Foundations.

And please help us spread the word. We're currently building 3 major structures with 3 more about to break ground. We're buying textbooks, desks and chairs, school supplies, and completing the new computer lab. A little financial support goes a long ways at Mahiga.

Links:

A day in the life, building Mahiga Hope High School

Good news from Kenya - on to Haiti

Turk Pipkin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:07:15 GMT

9th graders laying out the RainWater Court

I have good news from Kenya where our Architecture for Humanity design fellow Greg Elsner reports that both design and engineering work are done on the two principle buildings of the High School. The RainWater Court and the Main Classroom block are fully approved for construction, and a number of contractors are now bidding for the privilege of building them.

Check the photo below to see our first class of 9th graders (currently studying in temporary classrooms) as they use the age-old 3-4-5 method to lay a square and mark the boundaries of the RainWater Court.

Fundraising has continued to progress, and once we've completed the 1000 Voices for Hope campaign, the school will be fully funded. In the meantime, we expect to be breaking ground within a matter of weeks.

I'm making this report just days after the terrible earthquake in Haiti, and am hopeful that the good news from Kenya will ultimately be good news for Haiti. The RainWater court design from Mahiga will be the basis of the Youth Sports Facility and Disaster Recovery Center in Port-au-Prince. The Haiti replication will include water, renewable power and an earthquake and hurricane proof structure and we believe it will be an anchor of hope for Haiti.

Thanks for your support. Keep it coming and spread the word. The sooner we complete funding and open Mahiga Hope High School, the quicker we can turn our attention to Haiti where hope is currently in short supply.

The RainWater Court