Solar Lanterns for Tana Students

Dear Friends,

Receive our greetings from Tana Delta Kenya. Hope you are all keeping safe during this pandemic.

Schools in Kenya have opened for the last term of the year 2020 which will run for 2 months and later in July they will start the 2021 academic year. Our monitoring and evaluation team visited Bahati and Mnazini Primary schools who were beneficiaries of the project. In the previous year of 2019, Bahati Primary school had a mean score of 177.1. In the year 2020 National Exams, the class scored a mean score of 196.88. This showed a significant improvement. Their class teacher informed the team that the results were due to the students using the lanterns during night preps and early mornings in their homes.

For Mnazini primary school. In the year 2020, TRLF donated Lanterns to class sevens of this school and they will be doing their exams in March 2022. Mnazini village is not connected to the national electricity grid. The headteacher Mr. Mwalili acknowledged that through the project they’ve come up with better strategies of helping their students where Board of Management (B.O.M) teacher, is tasked to supervise students during their night studies at the village. They are expecting to have better results when they sit for their exams.

From the observations by the monitoring and evaluation team, the project has been of great help in the interior schools of Tana Delta, precisely to those that are not linked to the national electricity grid. Thus, continued support towards such schools will in turn bring out positive impacts to the students and the entire community. The lights will shine brighter to both the learner and the community at large.

God bless you all for your continued generosity.

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year 2021! It is our hope that this update from Tana River in Kenya finds everyone of you well and in good health.

Schools in Kenya have re-opened on January 4th, 2021 after 9 months of unprecedented closure mandated by the government of Kenya beginning 16th March 2020.The government has imposed stringent measures to be adhered to by all learning institutions for the safety of the students while the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

The Ministry of Education has barred visits to schools by members of the public, until May 2021 subject to the Covid-19 situation in Kenya. As a result, Tana River Life Foundation (TRLF) will suspend carrying out its field trips until it is permissible to do so.

In 2021 TRLF is looking forward to helping more students in the interior of Tana River with solar lanterns so that they are able to continue with night studies at home. As previously mentioned in our August 2020 report, TRLF has received additional Solar Lanterns requests from secondary schools in Kitere and Minhaj which are not connected to the national grid. Hence, we are hopeful that in this year of 2021 we shall be able to provide an essential tool to the students to work towards achieving their educational goals and aspirations.

We are very grateful to all donors for their continued support to the students of Tana Delta, Kenya through their generous aid of Solar Lanterns. God bless.

Dear Friends,

We convey our warm greetings to all our friends who have been journeying with us on this noble course.

Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, Kenya was also adversely affected by the pandemic. As a result, on 16^th March 2020 the government of Kenya ordered closure of all schools. Due to government’s sanctions meant to mitigate spread of Covid-19, TRLF field reps have since then been not able to visit schools hence being not in a position to gauge student’s progress as triggered by the Solar lanterns.

Furthermore, the Kenyan government is relaxing the restrictions, thus we’re optimistic that schools will re-open latest by early January 2021. As a result, TRLF is hoping to continue with the Solar Lanterns project in reaching out to more deserving students in the interior. For instance, TRLF has so far received requests for Solar Lanterns from Kitere and Minihaj Secondary schools which aren’t connected to electricity. We therefore look forward to continue helping such students with the lanterns for realization of their educational goals.

Lastly, we thank all donors for journeying with us in lighting rural homes through Solar Lanterns for a brighter future of our students in the Tana Delta of Kenya.

Dear Friends,

It is our prayer that you are all safe wherever you are with the current COVID-19 pandemic hitting everyone all across the globe.

In Kenya we had our first case in March and ever since movement have been restricted in some Counties where no one is allowed in or outside those counties (3 in the Coast and Nairobi County) since early April. Schools were all closed by 15th March 2020 with no exact date of when they shall be reopened.

Luckily, one week before the closure of schools, our team visited Bahati and Mnazini primary schools in Mnazini sub-location of Ndera location for the deliverance of solar lanterns to class 7 pupils of both primary schools following a survey that was done by our team in the region early January this year. 52 solar lanterns were donated to the class 7 students of the two schools witnessed by Parents and Teachers. During the distribution Mgawa , a student from Bahati Primary was quoted,” Am very happy and appreciative to the donors who have contributed towards the purchase of these lanterns, I’ll ensure that I make good use of it to academically perform because at least I can find sometime during the night to revise and make personal studies.”

We are expecting relaxation of these restrictions in the next couple of weeks hence I think we will need to learn how to get back to business with thoughtfully crafted new policies and precautions, e.g. continuing to wear masks in public, enforcing physical distancing especially in indoor environments, etc.

No positive cases have been reported in Tana River County and since the population in the area is less. dense, it is our hope that the situation will help the children and parents to stay well and hopefully have a less chance of contracting the virus.
Our fundraising events usually held in Asia have all been postponed, at least for the next three months or so depending on how the current pandemic will be. We are very grateful for the continued financial support with our monthly and annually supporters, plus all regular donations.

Stay Safe and be blessed.
.

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings to all our donor friends and Gong Xi Fa Cai to our Chinese friends.

We started the year by interviewing a student, who was one of the first beneficiaries of this project, whom we are now sponsoring in Secondary School. We met 18 year old Buya again when he came to our office to apply for a bursary to start his secondary school education in January this year. Buya who hails from Vumbwe village of Tana Delta studied in Kulesa Primary. He joyfully expressed his gratitude for being assisted with the lantern when he was in class 7 way back in 2017. Academically by then he was scoring an average of 213 out of a maximum of 500 marks. After receiving the gift of the solar lantern and using it for approximately 2 years during night studies, he managed to score a much improved average of 281 marks out 500 marks in the national exams last year. As a result, he was legible to join secondary school to continue with his high school studies. He was quoted, “For me it was nearly impossible to attain 250 marks. After receiving the lanterns, I perceived a positive improvement and was motivated to work even harder.”

This year our team also visited two new primary schools that we intend to assist with solar lanterns this term. We identified class 7 pupils of Bahati and Mnazini primary schools in Mnazini sub location of Ndera Location. The area is usually affected by floods during the long rains.

Bahati Primary School has a total of 20 students (5 girls and 15 boys) in Class 7. Fatuma a 14 year old girl from Bahati, overwhelmingly said that, “If I get a lantern, after helping my parents at home, I will use the lantern for my night prep studies following my timetable which I strictly adhere to.”

We had to cross the river with canoes to get to Mnazini Primary School which has a total of 34 students in Class 7. Teachers at Mnazini primary school highly welcomed the project to assist their pupils to excel in their national exams. For instance, Class Teacher for Class 7, Mr Maro said the following: “According to our harsh environment, these students are not able to do much homework and studies at their homes during the night hours. Academic performance is planned for, it does not just happen. We have to plan for it and make early preparation. These solar lanterns will be of a very great assistance to our students.”

We thank all our donors for making it possible for us to light up rural homesteads through these solar lanterns, and thus enlightening minds and thereby brightening lives of so many students in the Tana Delta of Kenya.

Prepared by Komora Benedicto and Oscar Raha

Idsowe, Tana Delta