Dear friend/partner,
When the government announced an impending return to school, we set to prepare our learning environment to comply with the basic health protocols given by the Ministry of Health.
We have ensured we have the following: -
The measures have been sufficient, allowing us to reopen school for 26 students, and 10 staff as we prepare for the rest who are expected to rejoin school in January 2021.
I take this opportunity to thank you our partners for enabling us meet the above-mentioned protocols thus ensuring our children are safe and protected, both within the school and outside of the school.
I look forward to our continued partnership to do more in terms of innovative interventions for to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 within schools, school systems and the home.
We celebrate you!
Dear friends and partners,
I hope that you have all been safe!
This is our first post COVID-19 Pandemic report. So much of the world has changed since our last report in March and so has the nature of our work. Thank you all for having us in your hearts and for working through this period with us even though things changed so much for everyone.
They certainly shifted our work form the plans we had from the years start. As a reminder we wanted to accomplish the following goals, namely; -
When lockdown in Kenya was put in place on March 12th 2020, we had just done reviewed our plans midway through the term and were ready to shift gears to implement better for the remaining half of term, but this wasn’t to be.
As I write this report, our government has officially given the school reopen date as January 3rd, 2021. However, we repositioned ourselves to intervene in our immediate community starting with our children and their families and our staff and their families to provide food support and mitigate any negative impacts that was within our power and capability to do.
The following measures were taken by the Board: -
In the implementation of these decisions, the following has been achieved: -
Currently, we are working on getting our school program ready to take-off when schools are given the go ahead to reopen. With the strict requirements and guidelines being given, we hope to raise sufficient financing to support better sanitation, hygiene and protective equipment provision as well as add extra learning space, isolation space and extra staff (school nurse and security guard) to help manage the school in a new post-COVID-19 school environment. The organization will also ensure better nutrition support for students so as not to put students at risk due to the effects of poor nutrition at home. For these reasons we are engaging in learning what is working in other parts of Africa and the world for countries that have reopened to see the role of non-profits working specially with vulnerable children through schools and other school related programs.
With the level of partner flexibility already experienced, we know we will overcome the challenges ahead to ensure that we will continue to nurture children and ensure a safe environment for them to grow and establish their foundation to be productive citizens in a new world. Thank you for this kind of support, for your dedication and sacrifice as you have held out your hearts and hands to Acres of Mercy and continue supporting the vision to reach out to our children, and the adults working with them. You too are heroes in the frontlines f our work, and we salute you and celebrate you!
Dear Friends and partners,
The year 2020 started in earnest from day one. The following are some key indicators for our Education program -
This can be attributed the fact that we had a transitioning class that was exiting the school and no clear strategy and plan to ensure new admissions in the new year
A year ago, in February 2019, we set out to achieve the following goals. I have indicated how far we went with achieving them
On behalf of the Board, the staff and the children of Acres of Mercy we thank you for your continued support. Let’s make 2020 with all its unprecedented challenges a successful year
Dear partners, friends,
First is to thank you for your continued support to the work. We have made tremendous progress as far as putting in place school infrastructure to support the education of children here in Nguluni.
As at the end of October we were working with 140 children up from 118 at the same time last year. The buildings at the school has increased the community's confidence in the interventions we are giving in the area of literacy, character and skill development.
The teachers motivation has also grown with aone commenting, "Now we can move from the "slum" classrooms, to better classes next year." She was referring to the tin classrooms that had been for such a long time their teaching space and the children's learning environment.
In November, we brought down the tin classes and in their place we started a library and administration block.
For the classrooms, we have been able to do the following since the last report in September:-
1. We have put in the partitions and now have three classes and a hall.
2. The walls have been painted, both interior and exterior.
We still haven't put in the tiles and window panes and plan to complete these in the next three weeks before school resumes in January 2020.
See the pictures for the progress made so far.
We also plan to complete the library before April 2020 and would encourage increased recurrent giving for us to get disbursement more frequently.
Once again, thank you for your continued support in enabling Acres of Mercy Learning Centre fulfill the vision of nurturing the potential of every learner.
It will be a deserved December break for all of us. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas!
Links:
Dear friends and partners,
It's another time to share project updates on the classroom project this far.
Much has been achieved over the period since we began the new classroom block.
The goal for this year's project was to increase the learning space by 2000 square feet.
Since January 2019 800 square feet of classrooms have been added and are currently in use by Pre-primary one and pre- primary two children.
1200 more square feet should be ready by the end of the year.
For this to happen the following works must be completed:-
1. Putting in partition doors to divide the space into three classrooms (costing $2900)
2. Putting in window panes (costing $350)
3. Tiling the floor (costing $1200)
4. Painting the walls (costing $450)
5. Fixtures ($350)
The total cost to completion of the 5 class and student hall is approximately $5,250.
Through GlobalGiving the project has since June 2019 received $432.71 towards the building project.
With your continued support at the same level of giving we can paint as soon as the next disbursement. My appeal is to consider inviting friends and family so we can raise enough to complete painting and window pane fixing.
The classes have been appreciated by the students and many children are inspired to come to their colourful classes. Even teacher morale has been boosted through the addition of the new classes.
Thank you for the sacrifices you make to and have made to bring the project to its current state. Together we will build, not just classrooms bit better lives for the 145 children served by Acrrs of Mercy every month.
Thank you!
Links:
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