Introduction
We're really excited to tell you about our latest upcoming project in Kenya. Over the past few months, we have been making plans and working alongside some incredible fundraisers to launch the construction of a new school in the Tsavo region of Kenya that will provide desperately needed educational support for around 400 primary school children. Our supporters have raised nearly £4,500 towards this initiative ... well over half the total project amount ... and now we need your help.
Boosting education and reducing poverty
Mwanangao has a population of over 2,000 people and is located within the Taru desert close to the Tsavo National Parks. It’s nestled between Sasenyi (Mwagwede), Kale and Marungu communities. This area is seasonally very arid and unemployment levels are high, creating a challenging existence for communities here due to poverty that is compounded by food and water shortages.
Due to chronic underfunding and high poverty levels, children are not getting the start in life that they deserve. Those few who are lucky enough to attend school are showing poor academic performance due to the absence of an adequate learning environment. This is an exciting opportunity to support the community in tackling poverty issues and enabling children to thrive for many decades to come.
The current situation
In 2016 the community established a single classroom block because of a desperate need for school facilities for their children. Previously, more than 300 children as young as five years old were forced to walk alone over 4.5km in the searing heat to attend the nearest school. The building was funded through a Community Development Fund (CDF). However, despite the obvious need for more school infrastructure and an ever-growing population of young children, the government has insufficient funds to be able to build a proper primary school and the community don’t have the financial resources to expand on the existing structure.
Our plan
We are planning to construct a purpose-built public school for approximately 400 primary aged children in Mwanangao. Land has kindly been made available for this development by the local Catholic church and has good transport accessibility.
The new school will include 13 classrooms that will cover the Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes, along with Standard 1-8 classes (lower and upper). Construction will also include the following:
A school library and resource centre
Staff, boys and girls ablution blocks
Teachers administration block
Water installation (roofing, guttering and storage)
Electricity installation
Kitchen installation fitted with fuel efficient stoves
School desks and furniture
Sports pitch and school landscaping.
The government has committed to supporting the school by employing full time qualified teaching staff once the school is complete.
How you can help
We are very close to reaching our project target and need only a few more dedicated supporters to help us raise the final £3,000 to ensure that this project is completed as soon as possible.
Since 2008, Camps International has been working to improve educational facilities in this region through a number of school construction and renovation projects. We have offered continuing support to six local schools and enhanced the learning environment for nearly 20,000 children, many of whom could not previously attend school due to lack of classrooms and facilities.
If you would like the opportunity to support this project please contact us. If you are able to sponsor this project or donate, please follow the links below and quote project KC-MGO-001 to ensure that your donation is allocated to the correct project.
We will be providing regular updates through our project blog so please keep checking back to see how we are getting on.
Thank you for all your support.