Support Quality Schooling of 250 Kids in Nguluni

Dear friends,

April, May and June have been months of gifting students in a unique way- mentoring and ttraining their teachers.

We started in April with coaching teachers to read to their students every morning for 10 minutes. hrough this we aim to improve the listening and communicating vocabulary as well as fluency of the students. This initiative is being carried out from Pre-School level to Grade 3 level.

The older students from Grade 4 are being given opportunities to borrow at least 1 book at their reading level at from the library daily to aid with the same goal- improving fluency and comprehension.

In May and June the teachers were trained by volunteer teachers from the U.S. on how to identify special needs students and plan for lessons that would accomodate their needs. The training also touched on how to plan for lessons that would ensure minimal student indiscipline and maximise their engagement.

The training also involved other 4 schools from within the school zone.

We are already seeing the impact. "My students are now able to have more agency in their learning," remarks a teacher after incorporating some of the strategies learnt during the training.

We are hopeful that the same impact will be experienced school-wide iin the coming months.

Thank you for your continued support.

Dear friends and partners,

Easter Greetings!

The first learning quarter in 2018 gone. I want to ask for your indulgence once again as I share about our work here.

36 years ago, in a little village on the shores of Lake Victoria a little life made the first entrance onto this place called Earth. He had no idea what the future held. These were tumultuous times. There was a thirst for change. There were forces that clamored for a kind of transformation that would lift the masses out of a perceived iron fisted political oligarch. This little boy had no idea just how far these forces could go, as was manifested four months later when a bloody coup threatened to forever isolate the community he was born into. This was Kenya. The year, 1982. The little boy was me.

Today, as I celebrate my 36^th birthday, much has changed. However, the oppressive forces that surround us. Poverty is still high, corruption is a monstrous force threatening to destroy the future of our nation and social injustice is keeping communities chained to a millstone that is the lack of life transforming progress.

Technology has brought you and I together to fight for the people where they are. Together we are affecting change through innovations like GlobalGiving. Humanity is winning. Care is bringing hope to where it is needed. Since January we have continued to see progress and hope. Yet again Acres of Mercy became a part of the stories of hope that are being woven across the global community through your involvement. We have enrolled 4 students who had been denied the opportunity by the public-school system to complete their primary school education because they were not able to make the grades. Armed with the believe that every student can learn, and every student deserves every opportunity, we took them in and started the hard work that will enable them and the other 100 students have the 21^st Century skills they need to succeed; The problem-solving skills, the basic literacy skills, collaborative skills and the character they would need to navigate their next level of learning.

Noticeable is our declining student enrolment. This is Our One Big Challenge. The other is difficulty recruiting the right teachers for these students. We need advice on how to access teachers who can deliver on the learning objectives that will equip our students for life. As fate would have it, and I make a big assumption here, our crop of trained teachers who are locally available at our current remuneration offering isn’t skilled enough to teach students in the way the child can learn. We have a Human Resource challenge even with the curriculum changes happening in our education system. Our challenge, together as partners is How do we leverage technology to bring great teaching to these students? Can we overcome the challenge of accessing the best teachers using technology? Is it even acceptable as a matter of policy? How do we as grassroots organizations access the wisdom of others who are successfully intervening elsewhere around the globe with the same set of challenges? What market-based strategies can we implement to resource, train, and keep the best teachers?

Meanwhile, I call for more sustained support from you our partners. When we get more partners giving recurrently we can attract the best teaching talent from outside our locality. Let’s call upon friends and friends of friends to support the cause and let’s give the students what they deserve because the world needs better people everywhere to truly progress.

Thank you for doing it yet again these last three months. The gains are real. The challenges too, but together we are pressing on, building a better world, one child by one child, one teacher by one teacher, classroom by classroom.

P.S. Consider rallying friends to help us complete the new classroom block. Thank you

Dear friend,

It has been a great 2017. Since our last report “Rising Stars” we saw the end of what we could term a fairly impactful school year. I will touch on a few key highlights from the year 2017.

The school year started in January 2017 with 146 students. The term lasting through to April 2017. We started by investing in Textbooks so we can give every student better access to textbooks. During this term students participated in term one Ball Games and Athletics, an activity that plays a big role in helping us identify and nurture students’ talents in various sporting areas such as soccer, volleyball, netball, track events and field events. In 2017, we encouraged students to try their hands at Javelin and Shot Put.

When schools reopened after the April holiday, we had them participate in Drama and Music Festivals. Over 30 students participated in Performing Traditional Dance, Giving Speeches and Reciting English and Swahili Poems. We continued investing in story books and revision material for students. In April student population dropped to 138 as some parents opted to transfer their students. This was after we demanded more responsibility and involvement from parents and guardians.

In October 2017, Grade 8 students sat for the national examinations to facilitate their transition from Primary level education to High School. 24 students-12 boys and 12 girls, sat for these examinations (Kenya Certificate Primary Education).  79% of students got the opportunity to join High school while 21% would get the opportunity to go to Technical Schools. I

The exiting students did a simple exit assessment where we were learning from them which areas we needed to work on. Below are some of their responses.

“When I came to our school (Acres of Mercy). I did not know how to read, but now I can read.” J.

“I liked the good lunch and having textbooks so the pupils can learn well.” E.

“I liked the arrangement (of the classroom) in groups because we helped each other to learn what we had not understood.” H

“I liked the no corporal punishment policy in the school.” R.

Hearing these words coming from the students make us believe we had an impact in their lives.

The older students received continuous mentoring from community partners throughout the year with a team building activity in September and a group mentoring session being held in October a week before the schools closed for December holidays.

The year ended with us having one teacher to every 12 students, 1 textbook to 8 students and a school population of 134 students, of whom 65 were girls, 69 were boys. I would like to thank you for making these and many more happen in the lives of all the students we worked with in the year 2017. Thank you for the generous and continued support. I wish you an awesome and successful year 2018 on my own behalf, the children, the staff, and the Board of Acres of Mercy.

Dear friend and partner,

We are in the middle of a ‘STORYWORLD’ session with one of our students. ‘STORYWORLD’ is a do-it-yourself effectiveness kit we use at GlobalGiving to improve our effectiveness by ensuring our work is relevant to the children we are working for. I am talking with a 15-year old Class 8 girl. Let’s call her Yves. She tells me about how she sees her present environment, and talks about her dreams and aspirations. My eyes are opened to the realities and challenges she and girls like her have to contend with on a daily basis. Despite being orphaned at age 7, she has remarkable strength of character, foresight and a good dose of hope for the future.

When we first enrolled her at Acres of Mercy five years ago, Yves was just learning how to read. I ask her a question and she works hard to find the right words to paint the picture of the situation she is trying to describe. We are talking about the challenges facing girls her age in Nguluni. Yves, talks candidly about teenage pregnancy and sex outside of marriage and its impact on girls’ education. I dared suggest to her to feel free to use Swahili to which she replied. “I am now learning English. I want to become better at English. I will just talk in English.” Her resolve to want to better herself and her community is so strong she echoes the same sentiments when she says, “I need someone to help me become better at Math. I need someone to help me every day so I can become better at Mathematics.” You see the same force of character when she takes up her position as a midfielder playing for her school soccer team.

Yves has come a long way. With the help of the dedicated team of teachers, partners like you and supportive guardians and or parents she and other girls and boys at Acres of Mercy are working towards fulfilling their dreams. It is this partnership that has made the changes we see in Yves possible. Thank you for making it possible. Friends, In three weeks, she and twenty three others will be sitting the national examinations that will see these students transition to High school in February 2018. Asked what she is doing to make a difference in the community, especially on the teenage pregnancy issue. She responds, “I will continue talking to the girls, give them advice. ’And in future, I want to be a teacher…yes, I want to be a teacher, to make a difference in the lives of students.” The future is lit. Thank you for keeping these flames alive.

Dear Friend

June 17^th 2017 was a heavy day for me.

It was the day when we would lay to rest the remains of my Dear Departed Grandpa.

Two weeks before, I had the honour to be part of the team that was putting together his eulogy.

Dear Friend and Partner allow me to dedicate this report to the honour of his work in Education…to the man who in many ways reflects what GlobalGiving and its partner organizations around the world are doing-Philanthropy that changes lives and creates lasting impact. And to many men and women and youth just like him today all over the world.

My Grandpa was born James Ezekiel Mbori Yogo in 1932, Grandpa lived his early years in his home village until one day soon after the end of the Second World War -1939-  a man came to his village urging youth to go to school and get an education. I did not get the name of this man, but like many of us today supporting dreams across the globe, he changed the course of a generation.

Eighty-six years on, having sired 24 children and left behind 51 grandchildren many among whom have become teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, bankers, professors and various other professions, Grandpa passed on. But he also passed on a legacy.

It is part of his legacy that Acres of Mercy, Kenya does what it does today…gifting education to children. In our lives path we all are playing our different parts in living behind a legacy of changed lives. June 17^th 2017 reinforced my resolve to be part of this generation that is making a difference in Education just like Grandpa did, even much more.

By his example I had my Aunt's rally together to ensure I completed my university education. They gave in ways small and big and when I graduated Grandpa was there to congratulate me. Today, you and I and the teachers working with the children continue giving and supporting children who are not even part of our direct families, yet we know we are part of a bigger global family. 

Today Acres of Mercy continues to provide subsidized education to many children who might not have otherwise gotten the opportunity to be in school. By the end of June 2017, we had 133 children being served by 12 teachers and one support staff. 51% of these children are boys and 49% are girls. Our present intervention has been the drive on getting students to be independent students, problem solvers, creative thinkers.

Perhaps they would be able to do much more that my Grandpa Hon. James E. Mbori, who served his country first as a teacher, a teaching college lecturer, a legislator and a member of the Cabinet but most importantly as a man of integrity who left a mark in his generation.

Together we have been doing it, in your contributions, in your support and in standing with the children that Acres of Mercy supports. Thank you. You are part of the legacy…we are all leaving a fitting legacy in our generation.

Thank you. Thank you