Help Provide Education for Girls in Kenya

Harambee in swahili means, "all put together," and the community surrounding the Ondati Girls School has fully embraced this concept as a means to see the further development of the school and joining efforts to fundraise in December, helping the building of a third classroom. The beginning of a new term means new hope and a new group of eager students ready to take on their futures. The second year and third year students number in 50 total, with an additional 40 girls in the first year class. 

Getting off to a good start and ensuring another year of valued returns is a goal shared by all involved in helping create a positive and educational environment. This brings in five new teachers to the Ondati Girls School, one of whom will be the new head teacher and very committed to self-sufficiency. Meanwhile the current partnership with AfricaNow has come to an end, which means a new plan for the year is in process of being created. Teach A Man to Fish is also working on creating a Distance Learning Guide, which may help strengthen the schools progress. 

Below are the businesses that the Ondati Girls School is maintaining:

Bees: 2 of 6 hives have been populated and producing honey

Solar: A mobile phone charging business is up and running

Dairy: All the milk produced is being sold locally

Pineapples: 1000 pineapple suckers of the best quality were purchased in June and are being installed

Tree seedlings: Mangoes have been planted. Seedlings are being sold locally

Grain store/office: Grain has being sold

As the new term continues, and school businesses grow, with that working together as a community effort, it will continue to grow.

Since our last report, the village of Ondati has experienced harvest season. The fruits of five months hard work in the fields come to bear at this all important crossroad in the fortune of the village. Between a bumper crop and a poor return lies the difference between a farmer’s children eating well or going hungry.

As the fields of sweeping green were once again reduced to reddish brown, the opposite was happening at Ondati Girls Secondary School. The first stage of pineapples has just been planted with high grade suckers sourced by partner organization Africa Now.

In the school dairy farm, the first two of our cows calved down, thus marking a significant increase in the amount of milk available for sale. This was our first big step towards the final goal of financial self-sustainability.

Another major contribution of income is set to come from our bee-keeping project after the decision was made to allocate funds for an investment of fourteen more hives and a centrifugal extraction machine. We were visited by two bee-keeping experts to impart vital skills to our staff, committee members, students and interested community members 

While there is a need to be ambitious and maintain good progress in all of the projects, it is important not to get ahead ourselves and lose focus on the small details which make a big difference. The tendency to overlook problems when they are at initial stages is tempting, especially when there are more exciting things to be getting on with.

Speaking of exciting, I have never seen people more excited as African school children when they score in a sports match. While attending the district sports day, I saw goal celebrations ranging from 2 minutes to well over 10 minutes! The most compelling of them all came from a girls team when ALL of their supporters invaded the pitch and, together with the team, proceeded to charge around screaming with arms flailing above their heads!

The Ondati Secondary School has had a promising start, but we need your support to keep moving forward. Any donation, no matter how big or small, will contribute towards the education of the girls at the school, by supporting the businesses at the heart of the school.