Rural Educational Advancement Project (READ)

Dear friend,

The past few months, the pupils at Bulla Afya Primary school, have seen several changes in their school's environment: They now have a permanent source of water and two fully functioning latrines in their school compound.

Previously, the County Government of Mandera installed a solar operated water pump on the school's shallow well. Unfortunately, due to poor workmanship and lack of proper maintenance, the water system broke down altogether, leaving the children with no water source. For sometimes, the pupils waited until lunch before having water to drink.  GENCAD overhalled the water system, including installing a 24KVA  Inverter, two solar batteries and a  new water pump. In addition, GENCAD paid for the re-wiring of the water well and moved the control point into the staffroom for protection against theft and direct exposure to the high temperature of the area. Now the pupils have access to clean water for drinking and watering trees in the compound, improving the school's environment. We thank our donors for their support.

GENCAD also constructed a twin-toilet, repaired the existing one and supported the school administration on how best they could organise the children to look after the toilets.  In our last report, we mentioned that 76 vulnerable and orphaned girls were identified to receive school. We are happy to report that they have all received their uniform. The happiness expressed by parents and pupils during the distribution event was priceless. Parents were delighted that GENCAD's support lifted a burden from their shoulders, and they will be able to use the saved resources on their family's other needs. The girls who received school uniforms were happy, too, since they now have a spare school uniform they will use.

The community leaders who attended the event expressed gratitude to GENCAD for the initiative and welcomed further support. Bulla Afya Chief Alio said, "  We thank GENCAD for the support. I am sure our girls will be more motivated to attend school now." His sentiment was echoed by parents and the board of management who attended the event.

Now that the school has a permanent water source, we plan to start a tree nursery to promote environmental awareness amongst the pupils and start community agroforestry in the school compound. The idea is to plant fruits trees such as mango, Pawpaw and moringa trees. Then, the school can provide the fruits to their pupils and sell the surplus to the local community as an income-generating activity. We welcome the support of our incredible donors to support this initiative. Thank you for your continuous support.

May God bless you.