Support Teachers to Educate 200 Children Monthly

Dear friends,

The drive to ensure quality teaching is given to students who are vulnerable continues. It has been a long school year at Msingi Bora Learning Centre yet the resolve to do better as teachers in the coming year has never been stronger. You can sense it in the earnesteness of the questions being asked by the teachers.

"What must we do to get our children to improve? Our challenge here is comprehension. The children can read but the comprehension levels are still low? We must exchange ideas to improve their perfromance in this area."

These are words from one of our staff during a review and planning meeting on how to ensure students are getting what they need. It is encouraging to say the least. The passion is evident as strategies are shared. We have a pool of resources including a years subscription to access relevant research from the International Literacy Association (ILA).

The teachers will have access to strategies to intervene in situations like the one mentioned above. This interaction with research into reading, comprehension and how poverty affects literacy would help us develop local interventions. 

As we dare to integrate research into daily classroom practice we know teaching quality will improve and children will have a better chance at succeeding in life.

Your part in enabling this transformation is most appreciated and we trust to see results multiplied as we continue standing together, working together, sharing ideas, and pointing us to best practices that will sustain the impact we are having in the live of vulnerable children who would otherwise not be able to access quality education.

Thank you most importantly for giving generously, sacrificially in support of the vision to give children a fighting chance in life. 

Dear partner,

Had you been the one sitting across from Wanjiru, you would have but warmly returned to her shy smile. Yes she smiles, despite the scars on her face which were the results of burns that she suffered when she was six years old during an epileptic fit. The burns scarred her one eye, forehead and scalp. Wanjiru the last born of 6 children lives in Nguluni village. She is a total orphan; she lost her mom at an early age and the father about two years ago.

              It has been three years since Wanjiru joined Msingi Bora, a school run by Acres of Mercy that gives at risk children the hope that is education. Its teachers have been equipped to work with vulnerable children. For a while she was able to come to school because the environment was right for her. “I love learning here because the teachers are caring,” she remarked one day when asked about what she thinks about Acres of Mercy.

Sadly though, Wanjiru fell ill over a prolonged period of time- about 6 months. Her hospital bill was catered for with support from partners, family and friends. Her illness caused her to stay out of school yet again. When she recovered she could not dare return to school. And even though we managed frequent home visits we let off at some point. I wish we hadn’t almost given up. Almost, because an opportunity arose to give her what she deserves.

I met her on the way to the school about three weeks ago early July 2015 ever smiling. She is still somewhat shy, but she had matured in the last 12 months. Her remarks stunned me. I asked her how she was doing and why she wasn’t coming to school anymore. “I cannot come back. It is shameful,” she said. “All my classmates have gone ahead of me. How can I learn with the children I left behind in the same class?” She reasoned. That floored me. But it was the hard truth, her reality. How could I expect a 17 year old young woman to go back to class 5? And sit with 10 and 12 year olds?

But all’s not lost. Wanjiru can still learn-access education. She however needs friends and partners like you and I to help her through counseling, and enrolling in an adult classroom. She will need a tutor and learning resources. She still needs health attention. You see Wanjiru has arthritis, a condition aggravated by her Anti Retroviral Therapy. She still needs nutrition and a host of other psychosocial support. We all deserve a second chance. Let’s give the gift of hope to Wanjiru because she also has a right to education. Take the chance, support Wanjiru by clicking here. I am giving hope

Sometimes we take a different path from the normal because perhaps we might discover what we lost. This here is a story of a young girl who was at our school, but because we lost touch with her reality-she is now out of school.

May it inspire us all to grab a second chance even the first chance to walk with the children we serve, to give hope, to ensure better futures and lives.

Dear Partner

It's another time to share the changes that are happening and the impact that you are creating here in Nguluni through your giving.

We had new enrolment of about  36 new students coming in from surrounding public school syatem. These were students who had been mostly repeating classes because of low academic achievement brought about for the simple reason that they did not know how to read and understand. They have also had discipline challenges in their former schools . We have now placed them in our reading program where they are being taught how to read and at the same time being counselled.

So we are seeing children like Daniel who came in February not knowing how to read, write well and had discipline problems in class and a chronic truant settling in to become a better student. 30 days into the program, he is reading simple sentences, he has not missed school once and he is happier. "He has changed," remarked his parent during one visit to see Daniel's class teacher.

The teachers are encouraged by the progress and are more motivated. We hope to keep their motivation up by more training and mentoring to help children like Daniel. 

But all of this work is because of the partnership that we are having and the giving recurring and one time gifts that is making the impact possible. Thank you very much, on behalf of the children, their parents and the teachers.I also want to thank you on my own behalf and the Board of Acres of Mercy- I celebrate you.

And this May, 13th we have an opportunity to make available more resources to these children and their teachers. GlobalGiving will be matching every donation made and I am asking you to consider taking part. It is a great time to have us double the impact we are having.

Your giving is changing the world, one child at a time. That is real. Thank you...

Links:

• Get Updates on Acres of Mercy Education Program Initiatives

Dear Friends and partners

2015 is here! It would be however an injustice if we do not look back at what we achieved together in 2014.

Indeed  together- you, the teachers and other partners alike gave the GIFT of EDUCATION to 173 children throughout the year 2014. 

The following are a few highlights:-

1. Construction of 1 New Classroom in January through May. 

2. Talent and Skill Development in March & May (over 60 children participated in athletics, soccer and other field games)

3. Mini Health camp (Treating Bilharzia & Deqorming) March

4. Chicken & Rabbit Project Economic Empowerment for 180 Guardians/Children April through June

5. Over 30 students graduate from mentorship class in August

6. Students work together to work on a school fencing project (local resource use) October

7.173 students graduate to next class- Another year of getting educated for 173 children (November)

For all these things we are grateful for your committment, generosity and consistency in giving to our cause.

We have plans to go many steps better this year 2015 and together we will each achieve more.

Thank you so much TEAM !

It was a good year. Thanks to you.

(Attached are a few pictures)

Picture beautiful faces of children beaming with joy as they receive learning materials, play materials and other other basic hygiene stuff. Hear their rapturous appplause as they thank those who have brought these gifts to them, 170 or so of them.

We have seen the impact continue through the month of July. We received disbursements for the project of $ 613.75, which was approximately Ksh. 52169. Thank you to all you partners and friends who made these donations posibble.

We have had three big milesstones with some of our partners. GlobalGiving has seen the children's education program supported by Ksh 52169 or $613.75. These funds enabled us to provide a safer environmnet in regard to the girls toilet so they would not be sick. Many children were going to the toilets which were always wet with urine. These children had no proper shoes and so working on the toilets ensured we got the children to be in class more. Some of these funds about $ 376 supported the teachers salary payment. During this period upto August the school was able to pay all the teachers without any arrears. This improved their morale and transalted into them concentrating more giving their best to help students improve learning outcomes. Students such as Luke and Kelvin who are orphans have been able to attend school through out the last term because of this kind of support. So has John and 3 of their siblings whose single parent mother's daily income is less than $2.

First Baptist in Michihgan through Caring for Kenyan Kids supported the children with learning and play material worth over Ksh. 50000. These included toys, flashcards, coloured pencils, teachers biro pens and sports equipment. There was alos over 50 packs of toothbrush and toothpaste that were used to teach the children about hygiene. This was done with the lower classes duringtheir science class in August.

Through the local community including parents and other local organizations, lower primary children were able to get 3 weeks supply of ten o'clock porridge and beans supply for lunch which worked towards improving the children's health and levels of concentration in class.  The levels of parental involvement has improved especially after we gave all the children animal inputs to improve their economic outcomes. As such parents who are contributing has moved up from 40% at the beginning of the year to 47% in October 2014.

Current Needs

Many of the students still lack enough llearning textbooks with 1 textbook being shared by 15 students for all the subjects. Students have found ways to work in study groups to share the available resources. Independednt study is limited though. Having sufficient textbooks would support these children's independent study.

A complete set of compulsory textbooks would cost $30. This is to support the current class seven who would be sitting national exams in about a year. There are 17 students in this class. $ 476 would be sufficient to provide them with these textbooks and thus improve their motivation to learn.

I would like to encourage you to consider raising your recurrent giving so as to help cover these and also support the teaching staff payments. You could also ask friends tosupport the textbooks project and thus give lasting gifts for the better lives of these children.

Again, Thank you for your kind donations and sacrificial support.