Educating orphans & the disadvantaged in Kenya

You recently received our September 2019 Newsletter giving an update of the highlights and main points of interest for 2019.  Apologies if this GlobalGiving update seems to be somewhat of an ‘overload’ but the GG platform requires that we update supporters every three months on projects that we are working on.

So, we are coming to the end of the school year for 2019 and next week will see the close of Term 3.   We will finish the year with 102 pupils of which we are pleased to be sponsoring 72.  

Most of our children live in the surrounding small villages with a few from Murang’a town, but we have broadened our catchment area and now pick up children from as far away as 11kms from the school, an area where the choice of schools is limited.    There is still a 4km walk for these children to get to the pick-up and drop off point but they have no complaints and are happy to complete the journey on foot.

We still have 16 children on our list to be sponsored so if you are interested in sponsorship or know anyone who would be happy to do so then please let us know.  

This year has seen many improvements both in terms of academics, staff development and expansion of the school.  Not least improving the comfort of children and reducing the environmental footprint of the school.

The first, and perhaps the most important, initiative was to double the class ceiling to reinforce the thermal insulation. This is important because the roofs are made of corrugated sheet metal, which warms up very quickly in the afternoon under the effect of the African sun, and which then radiates heat on the heads of students (and teachers), making their concentration difficult.

The simple solution was to nail plywood planks just under the roof; the result was immediate, with a reduction of several degrees of heat in the classes that were equipped. Teachers and pupils are pleased with the results and productivity has increased.

Another major improvement was to the way meals are prepared in the school kitchen. The fuel used for cooking is, as is very often the case in Kenya, wood, the intensive use of which for food cooking is a major contributor to deforestation.Thanks to the financial support of American missionaries, the school was able to acquire efficient stoves. The result: a wood consumption divided by two, and a reduced environmental footprint.

We continue with our mission to help the elderly grandmothers and our Elderly Ladies Group received two lots of donations of maize and beans this year.  A week before each of the two rainy seasons we call the ladies to the school for a small lunch so they can socialize and catch up on all the news and to donate a bag each of maize and beans for planting.  We are currently in the midst of the long rains and it promises to be a good harvest as rainfall is consistently heavy throughout. 

These are exciting times in Kenya as the Ministry of Education has made radical changes to its Curriculum, which has not changed since 1985.  The new Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) is good news for pupils as it concentrates more on a child centred approach to teaching. Roko 20 has made a good start on the new CBC and teachers are working hard to adapt to the new system.  We are pleased to report that after completing our own research we found that we are much more active with the new CBC than other schools in the local area. Next year places emphasis on improving teaching methods with in-house teacher training to fully deliver the new CBC.    

These improvements, simply put, would not be possible if it wasn’t for faithful donors like you.  So a big thank you for supplying the funds that we need to make a difference in the lives of our pupils who would not benefit from such a good full time education in a safe and supporting environment. 

Here follows an update from Roko 20 Academy as we approach the end of Term 2.

As the year progresses, we are pleased to report that the performance of our pupils has improved dramatically.

During the County games, two of our Class 5 girls qualified and played handball for the winning team.

Exam results were recorded and compared with other primary schools in the district. One of our Class 3 boys came 1^st in his year out of all the 10 competing schools within the district. In addition, mid-term exam results put our Class 4 pupils in third position.

Our Debating Club has done extraordinarily well and, whilst it started with debating at our neighouring school, word has got around and now other local primary schools have shown an interest in debating with us. We have some bright and confident pupils from Class 4 and 5 who put up a good case expressing themselves in English.

There have been major improvements not only in academics and behavior but also in cleanliness. It’s no mean feat for children to keep clean whilst playing in the playground at breaktimes. It is literally a dustbowl during dry season. Handwashing is encouraged and a ‘white’ towel and soap is provided at the water tanks. A Soap Monitor is on duty to ensure the soap bottle remains topped up. Hands are washed before entering class in order to keep their books clean.

Recently cut off from the town’s water supply for almost two weeks we thanked our lucky stars to have remained with a constant water supply due to the large water storage tank kindly donated by Narberth and Whitland Rotary Club.

All this progress would not be possible without the commitment from our team of teachers and staff who are working together as a team to get the best out of our pupils.

After a rigorous academic first half to the year, our pupils and staff got to spend some well-deserved time enjoying an educational trip. Upper classes visited the Mwea Irrigation Scheme and Sagana Tanneries, followed by some adventure playground fun and a dip in the swimming pool. The younger two pre-school classes and Class 1 and 2 had an interesting nature walk near Thika where they met with porcupines, crocodiles and ostrich to name just a few. Following this they had the most exciting time on the rides at an adventure playground finishing off with a very cold dip in the small paddling pool.

As you can see the school is going from strength to strength. We couldn’t be more grateful for your support.

Thank you.

Links:

• Roko 20 website

We are happy to update you with news from the first term of 2019.  

Athletics

This year we were fortunate enough to be able to participate in the zonal athletics competitions competing against nine other local schools.  

Two of our pupils, John Kamondia and Beatrice qualified to the next level in the 5000 metre race.  

Beatrice, who is 11 years old, amazed everyone by winning her race and beating the runner-up with a gap of 200 metres on the finishing line.  Unfortunately, whilst competing in the sub-county level races she became sick in the last lap and went on to finish in 6^th place.  Despite the set-back Beatrice will still qualify to the next level. 

We recognise that Beatrice has focus, perseverance and talent.  We will do all that we can to ensure she reaches her full potential by helping her to maintain good health and become more self-confident. 

Water Tank

We are so very grateful to have received £550 from the Rotary Club of Narberth and Whitland to purchase a 5,000 litre water tank. 

We have now become self-sufficient having a permanent supply of drinking water and reserve water for the kitchen. 

Pupils and staff maintain good water drinking/ hydration habits so they do not develop any unnecessary health issues as a result of dehydration or suffer from the illnesses associated with poor water storage.

We fitted three taps outside the pre-school classes so pupils have easy access to drinking water as well as a constant supply for hand-washing.

A big thank you to all those who made this possible.

Level ground for the playing field

Rebecca and Matt, two volunteers from the UK, are doing great work assisting teachers in class and on the playing field developing football and athletic skills. 

Shocked by the state of our playing field, which these days rather resembles Mount Kenya as the incline has become quite steep, they decided to start a fundraising campaign in an effort to help us fund levelling of the field.  Their JustGiving campaign did tremendously well and they exceeded their target raising £620.

During the recent school holidays we hired large machinery to level the soil.  We dug deep trenches to prevent soil erosion and have plans to lay tarmac on the field in the not so distant future.   Pupils will be thrilled when they return to school for Term 2 to find a playing field which will allow their game to improve.

Big thanks to Rebecca and Matt as this is a huge step forward for Roko 20.

Roko 20 depends on the generosity of people like you, to raise funds and give precious time to helping us improve. 

We are indebted to our staff on the ground who, despite considerable challenges, are dedicated to making Roko 20 one of the best performing schools in the area giving pupils an opportunity to change their lives for the better.

Thank you all so very much!

Roko 20 is a community making a difference to those who are most in need and all of this could not be done without your amazing support. Thank you for helping us get this far.

2018 was, without a doubt, a turning point for Roko 20.  This was due to the collaboration of two very special people, Benoit and Florence. A recent life changing decision brought them to Kenya to volunteer at Roko 20 in early 2018. During their time with us both were struck by our commitment and passion for the project, were in full support of Roko 20's Mission and Vision and were swept away by the resolve of our children. Notwithstanding this they recognised an urgent need for organisational advancement relating to management, communication and systems of administration.

Ben and Flo's decision to fully commit to Roko 20 came at the right time and we could not have been more delighted. This was the start of a collaboration which has already resulted in us having a clearer and more efficient organisation.

Their five-step plan of improvements starts with Item 1 simply called 'Organisation'. This item establishes how we operate, obtain our goals for future growth, defines our hierarchy with the school, indentifies each job, its function and where it reports to within the organisation and establishes school and disciplinary rules. Working closely with Job, Roko 20's Manager, the preparation of Item 1 has taken many months and involved intensive management communication training, staff consultations, workshops and extensive research. Implementation of Item 1 began 3rd January at the start of the new school term and the new Year. So far it has been a huge success. 

We are about to commence preparation of our next item 2. This item will deal with Pedagogical rules and define, explain and control the official teaching program, extra-curricular lessons, teaching and examination methods. Items 3 and 4 will deal with Management of Teachers and Staff, define global HR policies and profiles, the assessment process and administrative processes. The final item 5 will deal with the role and interaction of volunteers.

Roko 20 has started its journey of improvement and things can only get better.

On Thursday, 24^th January the United Nations and people around the world will be observing the first-ever International Day of Education.  265 million children and adolescents around the world do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school— we’re working to change that!   Celebrate International Day of Education by supporting our work.

By simply spreading the word about what we do to encourage friends and family to sponsor a child you could help us to reach our target of having all our pupils sponsored to receive a full-time quality education. 

Contact Tracey at roko20academy@gmail.com or visit http://roko20academy.weebly.com/how-you-can-help.html for further information.  

Wishing you the very best from all of us at Roko 20 for a healthy, happy and successful 2019!

Links:

• Roko 20 Website
• Bingo Fundraising Event
• Jonny's bingo bash

Roko 20 Academy continues its mission to provide a quality education accessible to all, to transform the lives of the disadvantaged children within the community and to work with less fortunate families to make them self-sustainable.  We are achieving all of that thanks to your continued support.  Here's a short update on the past few months at Roko 20.

Classroom Construction

A special thanks to all who donated to our latest GlobalGiving fundraising campaign to build a new classroom for Class 5.   Unfortunately we didn't reach our goal.  Admittedly it was a high bar we set and the shortfall is close to £3,000.  Plans are underway to host a fundraising Bingo event in the UK this November which we hope will bridge this gap.  However if you would like to help us reach the target there's still time to donate on our Global Giving page.

Pupil Achievement

One of our stars shone particularly brightly last term when Nancy, one of our sponsored pupils, achieved second place for her year out of all the girls in the 12 schools in Gikundu Zone in the end of term two exams. We are very proud of her.

Welcome back!

At the beginning of last term we were pleased to welcome back, Job, our Manager.  As he takes over the day-to-day operations at Roko 20 we are confident that we will no longer find ourselves in the difficult financial position we experienced earlier in the year. 

We were overwhelmed by the responses received from our supporters to that call for help.  Your generosity ensured that we were able to continue operating for quite a number of months.

Development

Roko 20 has recognised the need for a clearer and more efficient organisation and currently the management team is busy developing governance and operational policies to ensure the long term success of the school.   Our first policy sets out the organisational structure to establish how we operate and assist in obtaining goals to allow for future growth.  By January 2019 we will have everything in place.

Improving lives

A number of our pupils suffer from Jiggers, (Tunga penetrans or chigoe flea).  This is a parasite insect that burrows itself under skin, particularly the feet, and if left untreated, can lead to secondary infections that can be fatal. 

Jiggers burrow into the skin of animals like dogs, cats, rats, pigs, cattle and sheep, so people living in rural areas like ours are more likely to catch them.  In addition they are found in the dust and on dirt floors of many homes and schools.  Timothy faced these difficulties and many more. 

Whilst we regularly treat a small number of pupils each day at school to keep jiggers from multiplying it is simply not enough. 

We recently received enough funds from two sponsors to replace the dirt floor in Timothy's home with concrete.  Donations of crocks and plastic shoes as pictured here, and provided by Narberth and Whitland Rotary Club, also helped.  Jiggers are no longer a problem for Timothy and he is now painfree, healthy and happy.

Thanks to all concerned for enabling us to make a difference to this boy's health and future and for your continued support of Roko 20.

Links:

• Roko 20 Website