Build Skills with the "lost" Youth in Kenya

Dear Rafiki, dear friends,

Our first vocational school, the SERGOEK campus, has been rising to new heights:

- The school was selected to become an examination center for the district thus increasing it's visibility and role in the area - New equipment was provided by the local governement bringing stores, closets & computer desks to the classrooms         - The catering students proudly displayed their culinary know how to the delight of the community on graduation day

The school will be expanding soon and we are presently raising funds for the women's dorm and bathrooms.

Our second vocational school, the KOSHIN campus, has become very active:

- The principal started registering the first students for the recently opened electrical department                                                             - The school held an official ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new computer center                                                             - The latest bulding under construction with a Multipurpose Hall is raising it's roof on large trusses at the present time.

We expect that this higher level institution will be taking off very fast as the novelty has a large appeal.

We are moving. We are active! Students have school uniforms and Tshirts, they are playing sports and graduating with new skills. Our brand new equiment and the improvements look amazing.

There is still a lot to be done. Thank you for so much for your support that means so much to us all, in France and in rural Kenya! We wouldn't be where we are today without you. Kweli! (really!)

Claire 

Dear Friends,

These last days & months have been busier than ever on the ground in Koshin:

- A huge generator, the size of a room, was delivered to the school on March 28, 2017

- 2 huge trucks with containers with electrical equipment have arrived from the port of Mombasa on May 15, 2017

- Power and lighting has been connected to the institution for the very first time on June 4, 2017 !

- The equipment for the elctrical workshop took 5 days last week to assemble & install 

- The teacher's desk is now installed, complete with projector, desktop computer and accessories

- Seedilings were delivered and planting along the hedges of the compound was done earlier this month too

- The last building of the quadrangle with 2 classrooms & a multipurpose hall has now reached the ringbeam level

- The stage of the multipurpose hall is already built

- Recruitment of teachers is being conducted by the principal

We are overjoyed to see our school become a reality. Our combined efforts, energy and generosity has borne it's fruits. Students will now be able to access this learning institution soon.

We are grateful to the Kenyan Goverment for furnishing and running the school; we admire the ceaseless energy of the Rafiki Ya maisha community and our friends in Kenya for pulling it all together; we thank all of our donors for beliving in our project and for their generosity. It is all flourishing in full view now! We couldn't have done this without anyone of you!

Team work is our strength and daily joy. You encourage us to pursue this until every workshp is equiped and the school is brimming with students. Come and visit soon!

Claire Mathijsen

Dear Friends,

There is much going on this spring in Chepkanga.

A Rafiki Ya Maisha Youth Group emerged from a handful of highly motivated university students who want to bring change to their community. Encouraged by the energetic presence of Agatha F., our young volunteer from France, a youth charter was drawn up and a Board nominated. These young people decided to call a meeting with the village elders, the community leaders and the school principals of the Vocational Training schools that Rafiki Ya Maisha has been sponsoring. They read their charter, discussed their action plan and sollicited the goodwill from the older members. All present pledged to help these youths intent on convincing their peers to lead creative and productive lives. The top ambition of the group is to create a Talent Center for the Youth in Chepkanga.

The reason for this awareness grew from an observation and a growing concern. Twenty years ago, there was ONE bar in Chepkanga. Over the past five years, that number has exploded to 12 and as a result, the number of young alcooholics has risen drastically.

A volley ball and football tournament was organized and presented a great occasion to meet and promote ideas. Rafiki Ya Maisha T-shirts were designed and drinks offered to a large gathering of 250-300 young people from the area. The principals of both schools announced that registration was open and that government loans were accessible.

At KTTI, the Benina building foundations were dry and sofar, the construction looks like a promising new addition to the campus. Several meetings took place with the architect, the contractor and an officer from the Ministry of Works. The new Board of Governors gathered for meetings during my February visit. We spend 2 days in a seminar learning about our new duties and responsibilities as members of the BOG of the fledgling Institute.

We are very excited about this dynamic Youth Group in Rafiki Ya Maisha's heart - aren't you proud of them too?

THANK YOU ALL for your support in this adventure,

Claire Mathijsen

 Dear Friends,

This year has been full and exciting: an Ambassor's visit, inaugurations, a star student & a 1st prize, a new clock tower, a new Principal, prostpective students, goverment support and of course, a strong & motivated Rafiki Ya Maisha Kenya team. Now, we are ending this quarter with the biggest news of all .....we are breaking ground at Koshin again!

KTTI is scheduled to open officially next February and in the meantime, we have sourced funding for the largest building of the school. This building is the fourth and last of the central quadrangle: it contains two full classrooms and will be completed with a multipurpose hall that can seat 320-350 people.

This building - the future Benina Building - for the name of the Foundation which has sponsored the project, is designed to hold assemblies, graduations, exam sessions and conferences. In the future, it will house shows, plays, concerts and performances by the students of the planned Talent Center.

Our local architect has drawn up wonderful plans: see & admire the facsimile of the future building below.

Thank you all for your support and your interest which is making this school come more alive than ever! Our generous land donor, Margaret K. visited us in Paris. Please do the same and return the favor. We hope some of you will be able to join us next year in Eldoret, either for the official opening taking place mid-February 2017 or for a fall visit later in the year when the school is fully operational and the weather is on the dry & sunny side. 

Thank you my friends - without you this project would be no fun and we certainly would not have gotten this far!

All the very best,

Claire

Dear Rafikis and friends,

The Chepkanga community listened attentively during our last visit in July when Rafiki Ya Maisha International and Rafiki Ya Maisha Kenya spoke at Saint Joseph's church, Chepkanga. Many families are looking forward to sending their teenaged children for vocational training at the schools we are sponsoring.

Rafiki Ya Maisha was invited to attend a meeting of the Moiben Youth Against Drug Abuse and we were impressed by this local initiative. We have decided to partner with them and support their efforts.

Campus news. From humble beginnings several years ago as a Youth Polytechnic we have now reached the status of a Technical Training Institute. The Kosyn Tecnical Training Institute, known as "KTTI" is an administrative reality! It is a mid-level technical Institute located 15 km from Eldoret town and 20km before Iten town, the world capital of marathon runners.

The first principal of KTTI was appointed on July 15th. We welcome Mr. Ernest Cheruiyot as the piooneering steward of this new school. His credentials as former strategic planner for the famed Rift Valley Technical Training Institute, bodes well for the success of our adventure.

Our friends in Rafiki Ya Maisha and Mr. Cheruiyot are busy coordinating with the local authorities to source funds and equipment to open the Institute in the coming months. Electricity is coming, running water is there, the sceptic tank is going in and the avertizement boards are up on the roads."This will go a long way in meeting basic requirements in preparation for student amission at Kosyn TTI", says Mr. Cheruiyot.

We are looking forward to the new developments and hope to give you exciting news at year end!

We are moving fast now and want to thank you for traveling this road with us so far. We are reaching somewhere together!

Claire