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By Steve Feldman & Caleb Mooty
The Nyanza Province of Western Kenya faces severe challenges of historical, social and political nature and has as a result ended up confronted by severe poverty, hunger and disease. The public education sector struggles to provide adequate books, school supplies and stay sufficiently staffed with teachers. Many families, surviving off subsistence rain-fed agriculture with no significant source of incomes are forced to pull their children out of school to help provide for the family. Young males are often needed for their labor and young women are frequently subject to early marriage or pregnancy hence compromising their health and chances of development. Those students that are able to stay in school through Secondary are faced with learning without proper materials, and in some cases without trained motivated teachers.
African Sky Kenya will work with communities in Nyanza Province to improve the quality of education and provide opportunities for better life, especially for girls and women. Starting in the village of Kajulu, Kisumu West District we will work with Kajulu Secondary School and St. Peter’s Primary School, Awanya to improve the quality of education available to children in the surrounding villages. To do so, we will work with community members to reinstate a school lunch program in both schools. This free meal will serve as an incentive for students to come and stay in school, and will help students maintain focus and energy in the classroom. We aim to work with a local women’s group to prepare lunch with food purchased by African Sky Kenya; the income earned by the women for preparing this meal will help them provide for their families and develop a capital base that could offer a chance for further economic pursuits. At the Secondary School level, our project specifically targets the math and science education that is poor in Nyanza Province. We will deliver textbooks so that students have greater access to learning materials. Finally, we will teach in these subject areas on an interim basis and work to secure dedicated, full-time local teachers as well as offering opportunities for overseas volunteer teachers.
African Sky Kenya aims to have a long-lasting, positive impact in the communities in which we will work. We hope to expand our Kajulu Schools program to include the construction of separate girl’s and boy’s bathrooms, the provision of sanitary napkins for girls that have reached puberty, and the creation of a school garden to supplement our school lunch program. We also hope to support or construct a Women’s Center where vocational skills can be learned and shared. Most importantly, we look forward to building friendships through which we will create new solutions to fulfill the potential of Kenyans.
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