Content tagged with Kenya

Loise’s presentation brought to light the challenges facing girls in Kenya in relation to receiving education. Loise began working at Senior Chief Mutunke Primary School, a rural government run school. The school building was an unstable structure that had 3 toilets that were shared between 91 children, 10 teachers and 3 additional workers at the school. After six months, the building collapsed leaving 91 children without a structure. Loise’s first priority was the safety of the children, as well as being concerned about them being prone to infection and disease. Parents in the community were earning between $10 and $ 50 per month and when approached for fees, would often remove their children from the school. Through fundraising and donations, Loise acquired timber, iron sheeting and stones to rebuild the school. Out of several proposals that she sent out, only 2 received a response. This did not deter her from her goals for her community. Noticing that girls would have regular absenteeism once a month, Loise found out that when the girls were menstruating they were staying at home, effectively missing an average of 40 school days per year. Government provided the school with sanitary pads, however they fell short on delivery. Again, Loise approached her friends and organized delivery of sanitary pads in six month intervals for the girls. The positive ripple effects of having these items provided was that when government finally did deliver sanitary pads, they could be sent home to be provided to the mothers who also cannot afford to buy the products for themselves. Currently the campus consists of 5 classrooms and an admin block with extra toilets provided.