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TheGivingMachine
  Our School
  When we discovered the school in September 2008 it was being run by two young Kenyan men in a slum. The men had a dream that poor children should be entitled to education in small classes and so they worked as night security guards to fund it.
   
   
Inside one of the classrooms		   There were no resources, the walls were bare and the furniture was makeshift. But the children were happy and learning.
During the following three months we managed to gather educational resources, toys and clothes and shipped these out to coincide with our return.
  In February 2009 we returned to Kenya on a fact-finding mission.
  The two rooms used by the school were even more appalling than we remembered. One of the two small rooms held 22 children aged from 2 – 6 seated on the concrete floor whilst another six older children were cramped together at two dilapidated desks. This situation was immediately remedied by the purchase of sufficient small plastic chairs and new wooden tables to enable all the young children to be seated at a table.
        Display on the walls
  The new tables   Display on the walls
  The teachers (unqualified) had achieved their Secondary School Certificate; and were keen to train as teachers. They are now enrolled on an in-service Teacher Training Course which they started in April 2009.
  Taken at the start of the rains   The mould growing up the walls was, we discovered, the result of the flooding that occurred in the rainy season. Our plan to run the school from the existing building until land for a new school could be found was clearly untenable and efforts were made to find alternative accommodation.
  Taken at the start of the rains
  A generous donation received on our return enabled us to proceed with our plans. A new building was found and the children moved in.
 

Very few administrative systems were in place. There were no financial accounts. There was no safe storage for personal information. Parents had clearly been very happy with their children’s progress but it is important to have a record of this and their level of achievement.

 September 2009 saw many changes within our school Miche Bora (meaning precious shoots.)

We now have three strong committed teachers. Irene is a qualified teacher and she is currently running the school supported by Bernard and Sonery who are continuing their in-service teacher training.

                             Bernard

   Sonery Kavere                       Irene  Changawe                        Bernard Wekesa

The teachers now have salaries, contracts including conditions of service and job descriptions which they are carrying out as true professionals. Good administrative systems are now in place and we receive regular reports of progress.

Unfortunately we have as yet been unable to secure a plot of land on which to build and so the school continues in a rented building. We remain hopeful that this situation will be remedied in the near future however as we are currently in negotiations with the richest landowner in the area.

Updated December 2009
 
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The Mustard Seed Project (Kenya), UK Registered Charity No. 1127935,
Company Limited by Guarantee No. 6778042 and registered as a Charitable Trust in Kenya.