Are we together?

1. Good morning Ann, can you explain how this project was born?

It started as a feeding program. It had been born long ago in our hearts even before it physically appeared. We started feeding and clothing children regularly through clothing and food donated by other people. We, Peter my husband and I, felt obliged to do it, we were moved by our wish to help needy children.We served for a duration without a clear direction.

After post-election violence in Kenya in 2007 resulted in more than 1.500 deaths and almost half a million displaced persons, there were a lot of needy children all over the country and especially at Molo, where there has always been ethnic conflicts over many years. At this time, the church where we preached acted as a center that provided help to the people affected.

Later, when peace returned to Kenya, everyone left for different destinations but, to our surprise, we were left with children on our hands and we didn’t know how it would be possible to trace their parents. They didn’t have any other home to go, apart from our home. This served again as an eye-opener, strengthening our wish to serve children.

We started our program with these eight girls and three boys whom we took in with us in our home. Our lives now became very unstable because we had to cater for 15 people at our home. We continued to feed, shelter and clothe them with all our efforts.  Later we realized that these children needed more, they needed education. So we simply thought of an education program which could provide them with a future.

In 2011 we officially started the school program but we could only handle the little children program E.C.D. We employed one teacher and a cook whom, together with other needs, we continued to sustain, with my salary, because I was working by then.

The burden grew very heavy on our shoulders until we suspended the shelter program and fixed children to stay with friends or relatives to share the burden.

Surprisingly many different and similar cases of needy children started cropping up and finally, however difficult it was, we couldn't ignore genuine cases and the number of children we received started increasing.

Fig. 1 Teaching outdoors on a sunny day. Fig. 2 Lunch time

2. What is Shakinah today?

Well Shakinah has grown a lot from then. By early 2014 we realized our home was not large enough to hold the growing population, so we moved to Kibunja and rented a larger property which had a several buildings. We initially rented for 6 months and soon we felt it was wise to start buying the school in phases, which is what we are doing right now.

Today we have grown to a population of 210 pupils from ages 2 to 14.  We are providing education at all levels, from early childhood development to primary level, which goes up to class 8.

We have:

• 10 Teachers
• 2 Cooks
• 1 Watchman
• 2 School Principals

We provide education, food, clothing and medical care. 

• For food we provide maize and beans, githeri, rice, ugari, porridge and cabbages. To us the feeding program is very important and crucial because we have many children who come from very poor backgrounds and they can´t afford to get anything else apart from what they eat   at school.
• For clothing we provide uniforms since they are compulsory in kenyan schools. It gives them morale when they see they have a normal school life like the other privileged children, so we try our level best to provide this.
• Medical care is essential to keep these children in good health. It is one of their rights to have adequate health care. Some are HIV / AIDS victims and we make sure they are closely monitored by clinics so they can lead the best possible life.

Of course dealing with all this is costly, we have to face payments which are difficult to make because incomes are very low. Sometimes it is hard but giving up is not an option for us, for these children really need this help a lot.

Fortunately since last year we receive support from AGUA -ONG a Spanish NGO that is helping us and has renewed our strength to go on. Thanks to this new support, since last summer, we have electric lighting, we have opened a small library and we are working on new projects such as an orphanage, and a chicken farm that will hopefully help us have a new source of income.

3. What is the number of children that finish their studies at the school?

The number of children that finish their studies at the school is 25 pupils every year and starting next year, our students will, for the first time, be sitting the national exam for class 8.

In Shakinah, children learn to be responsible from a very young age. When they don’t have class, they collaborate in different tasks at school
Fig. 1 Children selecting potatoes. Fig. 2 Children putting up goal posts

4. How many of them drop out of school and what are the main reasons for doing so?

The number of school dropouts is minimal, four to five yearly because we keenly do a lot of follow-ups to keep them in school.

The main reasons for dropouts are difficult situations at home, such as severe sickness or death of their parents. This makes it very hard for us because we cannot provide support and follow-up for their health and education once they leave our school.

5. Do they have official exams when they finish primary school? How many children pass these exams?

Yes we have official exams. We will gauge from 2018 when we will have the first class 8 taking the official exams.

• Discipline, due to the background of poverty and deprivation some of the children come from.
• Absenteeism, due to the poverty and needs in the homes, which sometimes require the children to help out.
• Lack of teachers, caused by the low income teachers receive.

7. What does it mean for a child without resources in Kenya to have the opportunity of going to school?

It is a very meaningful opportunity, because it provides the child with an education that is very valuable to the child, to his or her community and to the country. It gives the child the resources that will help them to build a better future.

8. What happens with a child that can’t go to school?

The future for this child becomes doomed and dull. The child doesn’t have an opportunity to build a future. As a result, they will most likely be driven into child labour, and some end up living on the street or fall into crime.

Education is a gateway to access culture. Education exposes one´s mind to growth and interactions and this helps the community to create bonds, consensus and unity despite the sometimes limiting claims of the tribe.

Education also allows children to share a common language, Swahili and English, and this decreases the probabilities of ethnic disputes, because it provides more avenues for dialogue and mutual understanding.

9. We know the school needs a lot of help but in your opinion, what are the main needs of the school?

• Teachers’ salaries in order to be able to provide quality education.
• Food/Farming, both of these are important because children need to be fed daily.
• Providing Water Storage. We need tanks to be able to store enough water, it is essential for health and hygiene.
• Help in starting school projects that can help us generate money to sustain the school E.g.:
  • Chicken farm project
  • Dairy farm project
  • Pig farm project
  • Farming project
  • Bakery project
  • The Orphanage project – We have about 30 orphans or vulnerable children in the school. The conditions in their places of origin are terrible.  The only way to really help these children is to create a safe environment for them which will give then new hope.
    

Fig. 1 Children's notebooks. Fig. 2 Library

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

10. How many tribes are there in Kenya? Do people of different tribes also speak different languages in Kenya?

We have 42 tribes and they all have different languages.

To name a few we have: Kikuyu, Luyhia, Luo, Karenjins,Maasai, Kamba, Kisii, Meru,Embu, Kuria, Taita , Swahili,Mijikenda, Nandi, Moran, Kipsigis, Tugen, Marakwet, Teso, Somalis, Giriama,Taventa …, they are so many.

Each tribe speaks their own tribal language.

11. What ethnic groups do the school children belong to? 

Some of the ethnic groups we have at our school are Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Kisii, Luo, Maasai, Kamba and Luhya.

12. What language do the children usually speak at home?

Swahili and their ethnic language.

13.How do you cope with this in the classrooms with the little ones?  In what language do the teachers teach at this level?

Mostly Swahili, they all understand.

14. When do you introduce English in classroom teaching?

We try to introduce English as early as nursery school i.e. around five years old, but sometimes we explain things in Swahili to make it easier for them to understand.

15. How many languages do the children speak and what level of language competence do the children have when they finish school? I mean, are they able to read, write and speak fluently in Swahili, English and their ethnic language?

Yes, they are very fluent in English and Swahili when they complete Primary school. They also speak their ethnic language.

We Kenyan people usually manage three languages. Depending on the person we are addressing, the situation and the place, we switch between Kiswahili, English and our Ethnic languages.

16. Finally, as we are approaching Christmas, what do you wish for the school for the next year?

• Projects. We aim to start projects to generate income and to consolidate them to make sure we secure this income for the future. 
• Mobilizing resources. Calling upon local international well-wishers to support these children.
• Orphanage. We look forward to soon having a place these children can call home.
• Classes. We look forward to having proper toilets and latrines for a better learning environment & hygiene.
• Sponsorship. We welcome new sponsors to help these children to change their lives through education
• Volunteers. We welcome many volunteers to visit our school in the future so we can share with them the project and the joy of seeing Shakinah grow.

If you would like to collaborate to keep this project growing, we welcome you to do so.

Crowdfunding campaign: "Acoge en Kibunja"

Sponsorship program

Volunteer program

AGUA-ONG. Bebe vida. Website

AGUA-ONG. Facebook page

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