Children from the minority Ogiek community in Kiptunga, on the border of Narok and Nakuru counties, are set to benefit from improved access to education following the construction of three new classrooms and an administration block by a charitable organisation.
The project has been undertaken by Homecare International in collaboration with Team Up volunteers from the United States of America.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Homecare International Founder James Karanja said the school had been neglected for nearly 30 years, with pupils learning in dilapidated classrooms.
The project seeks to address decades of neglect at the school, which serves learners from Marioshoni and Kiptunga villages.
Kariuki noted that they are planning to build four more classrooms adding that there are over 12 million children in Africa who cannot access education.
He appealed to the government to post teachers to the school which receives children from as far as over 15 kilometers risking their lives.
In her remarks, Dima Kasachi, co-founder of the Team Up that focuses on education and environment sustainability and community development said they have been in Kenya for the last four years.
She stressed that every child deserve to access an education noting that her organisation has been working globally to ensure that no child fails to access an education.
“With education communities will be able to tackle poverty and better their livelihoods,” she noted.
Some of the locals could not hide their joy following the construction of the new structures at the school.
Joseph Rotich a resident said as Ogiek community said they had suffered from access to education since 1988 when they were ejected from the forest adding that most children dropped out of school due to distance of the school from their settlements.
Rotich lauded the donors for coming to their rescue saying parents have been struggling to improve the school using their meager resources.
Another resident, Frederick Lesinko, expressed gratitude to the donors for their support, saying the new classrooms had renewed hope for the community.
He said that since 2005, many children had been out of school after parents were unable to raise enough money to pay teachers’ salaries, making the new investment a major step toward restoring education for the Ogiek community.
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