Submitted by the Kenyan School Project

Harambee is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, like fundraising or development activities. This is what the donors to the Kenyan School Project have done: pulled together their resources and energies. Now the children at the Burguret Primary School in Kenya will have a new kitchen and eating space.

The project has received a generous matching donation from a community member to enable it to take the next step: provide the school with four new rainwater storage tanks.

As a result of many supporters’ efforts, the project is completed and the children are eating in a covered area and the cooks have a designated space to prepare a meal for the 440 students in the school.

And because the project came in under budget, the KSP board approved the school’s purchase of two large and efficient cooking stoves (jikos) for the preparation of the food.

The Kenyan School Project hosted a Harambee silent auction last year to raise money for the Burguret Primary School kitchen.

The teachers, parents, board members and especially the children are so grateful to all who made monetary and auction item donations and offered support to make the kitchen a reality.

Now each student receives a hot lunch.  The $7,500 building and cooking facility has provided a much needed space and will furnish a much needed nutritional benefit for the school. Basic learning thrives on a full stomach.

Next step : Water

The kitchen has been built and now the next step of growth is needed: help to provide adequate ingredients for those hot lunches. High costs and sporadic availability of grains is a great problem along with insufficient water supplies.

The leaders of the school would like the lunch program to be self-sustainable by growing their own produce, but Burguret Primary lacks enough rainfall storage capacity.  Students who walk an average of three miles each day currently carry water to school for drinking and washing.  The school would like to plant a large garden, but there is just not enough water to sustain a garden this size.

Four water storage tanks are needed to collect and store rainfall to supply enough water for the school kitchen, gardens, and basic school necessities. The cost of the tanks along with the piping and gutters would be $8,500.  So The Kenyan School Project can help the school by providing a huge impact on the many aspect’s of the children’s lives: a dependable supply of water will improve sanitation and health, provide fresh produce for school meals, and ease the burden on the students.

A generous donor has agreed to match any donation dollar for dollar!  If KSP can raise only $4,250, they will reach their goal of contributing four water tanks for the school.

Imagine the Burguret students coming to school knowing there is water for drinking, washing, and growing food, just as our children do here. The planting season in Kenya is approaching and the goal is to make this the year that the school can grow.

For more info, www.kenyanschoolproject.org.