Build Skills with the "lost" Youth in Kenya

Dear Friends,

A last and newsfilled report on our good work outside of Eldoret before the year end.

Our Koshin school is developing and we are very excited about the two new constructions that we have undertaken. Yes, you read correctly: TWO new constructions at once! And this thanks to our contributing members internationally, the Rafiki Members on the ground, the local community and the school staff, substantially supported by the Benina Foundation. We eagerly await 2023 when we will inaugurate these new buildings. Building two structures at the same time is more efficient technically and financially, brings the global cost down.

A teaching kitchen and a girls' dorm will fill gaping holes in the school's operational capacities and have a large impact on it's attractiveness. We have been hoping to fill the school more. The Board and the staff under the dynamic leadership of the new Pricipal have been working hard towards capacity building. The kitchen will meet the needs of future hospitality students, a strong drawing card in the region. Once skilled and equipped with either a certificate, a degree or a diploma, trainees can enter a job market rife with opportunities.The kitchen with it's large dining hall will allow everyone to purchase lunch on the premisses and various functions and events will be able to be catered on site.

A girls' dorm and in the future, a boys' dorm, will answer the needs for housing and for security. This, in particular, will have a direct impact on the attractiveness of the school especially for students who apply from different regions of Kenya. KTTI is a national institution and the idea of housing one's son or daughter with local inhabitants in the area is less reassuring than what an institution can offer and guarantee. 

The big event held this month was the blessing of the new building constructions by the recently appointed Bishop of Eldoret. The great news too is that the masonery students are doing their attachment in their own school. These trainees are in fact building their own school! WONDERFUL to know how applied knowldge and skills can benefit the students themselves!

Have a wonderful year end with many many thanks for your generous and impactful support.

Claire

Dear members, dear rafikis,

This is our summer report and there is lots to share. A new chapter is opening in Eldoret.

It seems that the presence and efficacy of Rafiki Ya Maisha has never been felt so strongly. Efforts by all have been crowned by the steady flow of water to the school in Koshin with pumps and transformers now solidly in place. The structural issue is behind us opening the way for further projects. Two new buildings are pending approval by the Ministry of Works (1) a teaching kitchen/dining hall and (2) a lady's dormitory, due to start by September.

In our Rafiki team in Kenya, Dr.Dinah M. our new chairperson is replacing James C., after his 15 year tenure. She is a formidable catch and we are honored that she has accepted this position. Former director of technical & vocational schools for Kenya, former PS in the Ministry of Education for Science and Technology, with a PhD from Heidelberg, Germany, Dr.M. put Koshin on the educational map as one of the 8 chosen pilot vocational schools in the country. A few years ago, she delivered 2 large containers of electric & electronic equipment to our fledgling school.

Thanks to this true believer and benefactor of technical education, we are confident that wider and broader prospects for our schools are in the cards. Complacency and stagnation are being replaced by renewed energy. Dynamism and joy define the change of climate.

Zipporah K., recently appointed principal in January, had already raised the number of students to 500 in just one term. From this point onwards, our average institution, can only improve exam results from where we currently stand.

Enjoy our review in the picture gallery and thank you as ever for your support.

Kwa Heri,

Claire

Dear Rafikis,

A dash visit to Eldoret early December to inaugurate a new building, attend Board meetings and meet with officials, finally brought RUNNING WATER to our Koshin school! This had not happend since the school opened in 2017. A major feat.

WOW! This is the feeling that sums up the past 4 months. Our last quarter provided more excitement than I can remember. Due to the combined efforts of a new woman principal, the community, an active neighbour, the deputy governor of the County and Rafiki Ya Maisha, water is finally flowing! Tractors were loaned, a pump was crowdfunded and students grabbed their shovels to dig trenches. Toilets will now flush, the future bathrooms will have full showers and life will go on as expected.

More than that, the project of a dining hall/teaching kitchen which seemed impossible without running water, will be made possible. The plan is ready. A girls' dorm, also in the works, is being considered for the near future.

Ernest, the former principal was transfered to another institution after having lead the school throught its initial growing pains. A very dynamic Zipporah, loaded with experience, came early January to open the new academic year. We wish her a very warm welcome. In a few week's time, she increased attendance from 300 to 550 students. 

As metioned, we managed to inaugurate the new Design and Applied Technology building at the Sergoek school, courtesy of the Benina Foundation, one of our main donors. A prestigious and colourful graduation ceremony took place on March 25th. No less than 882 students, covering the last 2 years, received their Trade certificates and Craft diplomas. They wrote a poem celebrating their future as CEO's of their own businesses and their 4000 guests in attendance were over the moon. So are we!

Thank you ALL for your wonderful support that makes this ALL possible!

Claire

Dear Friends,

I admit to surprising myself when I sit down to write this quarterly report. Amid the global pandemic slowdown, if not flat out downturn, development seemed at a distant possibility. Our Kenyan school projects have never appeared more remote. Students and trainees lost a whole year and yet they are being fast tracked. 
If our building project of 4 classrooms was stalled, things are heading towards the finish line now.

At Sergoek, a donated car is now fully refurbished and on the road. Once a broken vehicle recovered in a ditch on a corrugated dirt road in the far North and offered as teaching parts to the automotive workshop students, the Nissan Navara is operating as a full Service vehicle! It even looks like it may have come out of the car dealership yesterday! 

The Garment Workshop of the school was busy last August sewing workers Overalls with reflective tape for the County’s workers at Moiben. This order came courtesy of Governor Jackson M.himself, a great fan of the vtc, vocational training center.

The latest addition of the 4 classroom brick and mortar building is inching it’s way towards completion and starting to look good.

At Koshin, the plans for a new teaching kitchen and refectory are in the making and several contractors have been competing for the job. We are still busy collecting their proposals before both the local and international Rafiki Ya Maisha boards can validate the drawings and the BQ and put it before the school Board.

The school here is still struggling to get their water supply under control and have been promised help by the central government. I joined the Board meetings on line this year - a first -  allowing me to stay more closely in touch than before. Definietively, a positive adjustment of the last year.

Thank you for your support which allows us to pursue the development of these two schools. Koshin seems to be the most in need of help and your friendship keeps us energised!

Asante sana,

Claire

Dear all,

We are proud at the professionalisation of the schools and the great work that the headmasters and staff have put into our schools. Currently, we have upwards of 600 trainees in one school and 300 in the other. We are happy to see everyone back in person and eager to catch up after a lost year. 

The three new workshops at the Sergoek college have been delayed due to the sanitary situation and construction will be picking up soon again. The old iron sheet building was recycled and constitutes the sheds needed for the masonery workshop and other "dirty" work.

Plans are on the drawing board for a new kitchen and dining hall at the Koshin institute. When these facilities are on site in a rural school, it encourages more students to enroll. We need your continued support so we can build this dining hall and thereby give this school the means to increase their student intake.

Asante sana!

Claire