Primary School Support
The Issue:
While literacy rates in the Mara have improved in recent years, lack of basic facilities remains a signifiant challenge. It’s hard to learn to read when you don’t have books!
Without your generous support to AKTF these children would not have a school to attend. The schools are basic, just simple rooms, proper desks, textbooks, pencils, sanitary latrines, clean water and lunch, but these improvements can make all the difference—something we take for granted in the U.S.
How We Help:
We constructed the Oloolmong’i primary school as well as a school lunch kitchen, toilets for students, an administration building, and a leveled field on which students can play.
We donate textbooks, uniforms, desks, water collection, and sports equipment.
We fund extracurricular activities, including sending the choir to music festivals and sports teams to their tournaments. We also take the children on field trips into the Mara Triangle.
In 2017, the students of our first graduating class at Oloolmong’i all earned high enough marks to go onto Secondary School.
With generous funding from the Patricks, we completed the construction of the Nailepu Junior Academy, including teacher housing, latrines, water collection, and cooking facilities. We also provided text books and desks along with sporting equipment.
We upgraded the Oliashire primary school which included new floors, windows, doors, gutters, desks, water tanks, latrines and field kitchen. We have also provided text books, pencils, exercise books and sports equipment.
Several of the teachers have been recognized by the County Government for their exceptional work.
School Nutrition Program
As funding allows, this project seeks to improve the health of pupils in the community by providing a “porridge” lunch which contains 100% of the nutrients children need in a day. This nutrition is essential to healthy growth and academic performance.
•In addition to the porridge, we are encouraging parents to provide easily accessible vegetables and grains to supplement the lunches.
• Without this nutrition the children will go all day without food, which is not only uncomfortable but makes it extremely difficult to concentrate. Not to mention, some students walk 7-10 miles to and from school each day.
Sanitary Napkins
Due to lack of feminine hygiene products, young Maasai girls stay home from school for one week each month to avoid embarrassment—consequently putting them at a tremendous academic disadvantage.
The Esidai group sewing pads
How We Help:
We are proud to have founded and support the Esidai Women’s Group, who have come together to sew reusable (washable) sanitary napkins.
AKTF also leads workshops on health and hygiene in the local schools, and small business training with the Esidai group. Many of the wives of our Team members participated in these workshops and are inspired to take their health and their futures into their own hands.
