Field Report, Summer 2009
Five Primary Schools completed, another primary school is under construction & the first all-girl secondary school will be open in January 2011.
Report from founder, Cynthia Kersey:
I went to Kenya in July 2009 to meet with the FTC staff, visit all of the schools funded by our foundation and personally get an update on the progress of the schools and was I ever impressed!
When we arrived at the modest airport in Kenya, we were greeted by the unbelievable Free the Children Staff—including Robin Wiszowaty, Kenya program director (who lived for a year with a Maasai Family!) and we went immediately to see the communities that we were partnering with.
EMORI JOI
The first community we visited was Emori Joi, a beautiful rolling countryside community with a population of 2000—240 families. The children greeted us with smiling faces and enthusiasm. Yet they were living in abject poverty. The predominant sources of income in this area are selling livestock, farm products, and charcoal which nets the average family about $17 US.
When choosing which area to build schools, Free the Children chose the community of Emori Joi because of the Elders commitment to education. They had the vision to build the first ever school in this region back in 1969. The elders of the community knew that education was the answer to how their families could have a future.
The community built the first school in the region through the concept of Harambi: a common goal that everyone in the community strives to work on together. Everyone joined in. The mamas came together to smear mud on the outside of the school house and the fathers joined forces to raise the tin roof. They invested all they had. One person would give 1000 shillings, another would give 400, and another would give 200. Together they constructed pillars to make this structure stronger than their own homes. They dedicated their time, their resources and their hearts.
 While we were in Emori Joi, we were able to visit that very first school. While the community’s commitment was great, the school structure wasn’t an optimal learning environment. Robin shared with us a glimpse of what it was like for the children to go to school in this dark and overcrowded mud structure.
When it rained, it became muddy. When the kids would accidentally knock their books or papers in the mud puddle, it rendered their supplies unusable, zapping the motivation of the teachers and the children. The classrooms were side by side with 60 kids in each room, had no electricity and were very dark inside making it difficult for the children to see. With no sound barriers, when the children would speak loudly or get excited singing, the noise would make it difficult for children in the other classrooms to learn.
Despite the challenges, the school stands as a huge testament to the dedication and motivation of the parents in this community. But FTC believed this community deserved better. And we agree! |
The Unstoppable Foundation along with Friends of Unstoppable is funding 4 schools in Emori Joi, three primary schools and one secondary boarding school for girls.
These schools are the result of the support of our amazing donors—the donations from the Unstoppable community, Ryan Lee’s Continuity Summit and the members of LifePath Unlimited. It was so exciting to visit the sites of the three primary schools that were under construction during our visit and meet with the children who were eager for them to be completed.
The secondary school broke ground June 2009 and will open its doors January 2011!
What began as a dark, overcrowded mud structure prone to cave-ins is now a growing vibrant campus with nine school houses, a library, and kitchen. Our four schools in Emori Joi are part of this growing campus where some of the children walk miles to get to school.
At the schools, students and adults in the community alike have access to a mobile health clinic that, on top of providing healthcare, also provides health care related work-shops to educate the whole community on how to prevent disease. Virtually every day a child passes out at school, either from hunger, heat, malaria, dehydration, or TB. Having a mobile health clinic on hand ensures that students remain healthy.
Our donated funds are also supporting Free the Children’s program called the 7 Components of a Healthy Home:
1. use dish rack |
2. clothes line |
3. bathroom latrine |
4. garbage pit |
5. boiled water |
6. washing hands |
7. have a garden |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This program is being taught to the entire community and is already making a huge difference.
At the current school site there are also two rainwater catchment systems which funnels rain water into a seven-feet-deep storage tank accessible in the dry season. Thanks to the support of our foundation, FTC has also broken ground on a new well that will provide clean water to the entire community. By providing access to clean water and sanitation systems, these schools alleviate hygiene and cleanliness concerns in the community.
One reason children don’t come to school is that they’re malnourished. Every day, children are fainting from not enough food and nourishment. Emori Joi now as a kitchen at school so students are given a hot meal, and for most of them, it’s the only meal they receive all day.
 The school also has a Tree Nursery and a Community Garden with 62,000 tree seedlings where they grow mangos, avocados, passion fruit, guava, papaya, kale, spinach, onions and carrots. The school created an environmental club where students and their families learn organic gardening and how to keep their environment safe and beautiful. They take great pride in their school so they plant flowers on the side of the school and the kids compete to see who can grow the prettiest flower. They are very vested in their education.
Beyond teaching the children, our funds support FTC in training the adults in financial literacy, business skills and micro-financing. They are mobilizing the adults of Emori Joi into alternative income groups and provide the necessary resources to start or expand small businesses. Today there are already 5 active women’s groups working together to help their communities become economically self-sufficient. They have bee hives and they’re making amazing honey.
PIMBINIET
After an extraordinary time in Emori Joi, we went to Pimbiniet to visit the 2 schools we funded and the site of one additional school that broke ground on construction after we left. These schools are the result of the support of our amazing donors that included the Unstoppable Danny Lyon, Bill Harris and the Centerpointe community and my dear friend Debbie Ford and The Collective Heart.
Pimbiniet is a rural community located in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Like Emori Joi, the people of Pimbiniet, who consists mainly of the Kipsis tribe, live in extreme poverty. The community is 90% illiterate and 90% also live without water in their homes. Due to the lack of health care and prevalence of diseases such as Typhoid and HIV, the average life expectancy for the Kipsis tribe is just 47-years-old.
We’ve already built 2 sturdy classrooms, broke ground on a 3rd and are funding FTC’s programs to provide healthcare, sustainable farming, and economic development that the people in Emori Joi already enjoy.
When we arrived in Pimbiniet the whole community was waiting for us. Over 500 people including community leaders, elders, the chief, the teachers, the parents and the kids had all gathered to express their thanks to the Unstoppable Foundation for our investment in their future. Unbeknownst to us, the people of Pimbiniet had created a celebration in our honor. It was quite touching as we sang, danced and connected with the mamas, children and community leaders.
They gave us gifts—I got a beautiful traditional bridal necklace made by the women of the community.
I learned that the people had been sitting in the hot sun all day, excited for our arrival, to thank us for the schools we had supported. They were even excited about the new working latrine—the first proper plumbing some people of the village had experienced, because it will keep their community cleaner and healthier.
The celebration was completely unexpected and we were all deeply humbled by their presence. They asked me to speak to the group and I shared with them that the fulfillment of these schools was not only the fulfillment of their dream, but it was also the fulfillment of our dream. A year ago, when I first conceived of this project, it was just a dream, an idea. But on that day in the hot sun, I was experiencing the fulfillment of my dream, surrounded by beautiful children, committed community leaders, teachers and parents. In that moment, I experienced the true partnership between us and the wonderful people of Pimbiniet.
 When we cut the ribbon on the first classroom, made possible by Danny Lyon and his friends, the entire community raced inside, singing, and clapping because they knew inside those classroom walls, a better future for their families will be born. Read more about our donor’s success!
We also visited the school funded by Bill Harris and the Centerpointe Community. Bill was a huge supporter of my foundation and it was exciting to see the children that will benefit from the generous support of him and his community.
At each school site, we met with Dennis, the local community organizer responsible for education in community. He was a great guide in explaining the enormous progress of this community and also the continued need.
There’s a waiting list of children who desperately want to attend school in Emori Joi and Pinbiniet. While we’re making a great start, there’s more work to do. That’s why we’re committing to building 25 schools by the end of the year and we can’t do it without your support. Join us today!
|
