Micheal Wamalwa Special School for H.I
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2015
The main aim for this year was to complete a habitable, yet unfinished structure for the boys dormitory. This aim was reached and we managed to achieve even more. Before the visit I had fundraised with the support of Gillamoor C.E Primary School (where I teach) and my local churches and succeeded in surpassing my original £4000 target to raise to total of £6000. On top of this Sylvester in Kenya had raised an amazing £800 through donations of money and materials. Even better Sylvester kept a very close eye on the build, quantities and where they were bought from and managed to save a further £200.
What this meant was that the boys dormitory measuring 10m x 10m was completed, plastered and painted inside and out. NB: the girls side (exactly the same) was completed last year mainly paid for by the Kenyan Central Development Fund. We had already ordered 10 new bunk beds meaning every one of our 48 children would have their own bed. It was great to see the school now officially registered and "supported" by the Kenyan Government, continue to expand and thrive.
With all the additional funds we were able to install electricity throughout including sockets, room lights and exterior security lighting around the school compound. The biggest achievement and step forward for the benefit of the children was to install 2 "indian" style toilets, 2 washrooms, 2 sinks and a tap inside the boys and the girls bathrooms. This meant a lot to the children, some of whom are reluctant to go outside tot he toilet at night. Now they can stay safely inside the dormitory. To achieve this we built a water tower and added a 3000L water tank to be filled twice weekly and supply the washrooms.
Even after all of this there was still some money remaining so it was agreed to keep £200 in the bank and the balance would be used to pay the wages of the house mothers looking after the pupils meals and out of school activities.
As part of the trip we had hoped to go and find other deaf and H.I children in the surrounding area. We knew of a couple at a school about an hour away so we went to meet them and their parents. This original meeting led to us continuing on to another school and hopefully between the two schools we have 6 children joining us soon or in January. Our second recruitment trip was less certain it was in an area called Pokot about 2 and a half hours away from school where one of our existing pupils comes from. It was highly successful and word quickly spread about the school. I am hopeful that we may have located 10 children who have never had an specialised schooling and tutoring of sign language. I know that this potential 10 is just the tip of the ice berg from within Pokot. It is great to potentially have many more new children but it does mean we need extra beds, which I ordered and paid for before I left. Enjoy the photos below or click though to the photo timeline to see more. Please contact me if you would like to know more.
2014
This year we plastered and painted the exterior of all the buildings in school colours to give us a clear identity and a welcoming look. I was reluctant to do this to begin with but when it was complete it made the school look amazing and many of the locals stopped and commented on the improvement. As well as this I spent some of the donation money on some wood working tools in the UK and more in Kenya. This led us to clear out the store and turn it into a wood working workshop which will be used not only by the vocational children but other wishing to learn. We also bought two sewing machines and lots of material to start making uniform on site and help the children again learn new skills. Kenyan beads were bought and turned into bracelets by the children some were sold in Kenya other brought back to the UK to be sold here, these inspired the children at Gillamoor School to make and sell their own bracelets to sell in aid of Birunda. In the main school guttering and a large water tank were installed, swinging bins (easy to empty) were added across the school, a donkey and cart were bought and a lot of other little things besides.
This year we plastered and painted the exterior of all the buildings in school colours to give us a clear identity and a welcoming look. I was reluctant to do this to begin with but when it was complete it made the school look amazing and many of the locals stopped and commented on the improvement. As well as this I spent some of the donation money on some wood working tools in the UK and more in Kenya. This led us to clear out the store and turn it into a wood working workshop which will be used not only by the vocational children but other wishing to learn. We also bought two sewing machines and lots of material to start making uniform on site and help the children again learn new skills. Kenyan beads were bought and turned into bracelets by the children some were sold in Kenya other brought back to the UK to be sold here, these inspired the children at Gillamoor School to make and sell their own bracelets to sell in aid of Birunda. In the main school guttering and a large water tank were installed, swinging bins (easy to empty) were added across the school, a donkey and cart were bought and a lot of other little things besides.
2013
2013 was a big year for me as I became a father to Charlie Andrew on 8th March. As a result my free time to spend managing the website and fundraise for the project was reduced, but that didn't stop me raising £700 through selling curios. This money went to cover general costs of running the unit and supplement the feeding of the children.
2013 was a big year for me as I became a father to Charlie Andrew on 8th March. As a result my free time to spend managing the website and fundraise for the project was reduced, but that didn't stop me raising £700 through selling curios. This money went to cover general costs of running the unit and supplement the feeding of the children.
2012
The school now equipped with the facilities it needed we decided to start developing and repairing what we had. The number of children in the unit stayed about the same with 23 enrolled, although the number changed depending on who turned up. My visit was only for a couple of weeks but it was good to see the progress made with the shambas (farms) setup last year. There is a good routine and out of school programme for the boarding children and they are all happy to be able to stay at school. Money raised in 2012 was £500.
Last September saw me start my own training as a Primary School teacher, an aim I've had for a while and now I am finally beginning to achieve it. September 2014 will see me hopefully graduate and begin teaching. My years of experience in Kenya will provide a lot of inspiration during the course and I hope I can inspire my own class with stories of Kenya.
The school now equipped with the facilities it needed we decided to start developing and repairing what we had. The number of children in the unit stayed about the same with 23 enrolled, although the number changed depending on who turned up. My visit was only for a couple of weeks but it was good to see the progress made with the shambas (farms) setup last year. There is a good routine and out of school programme for the boarding children and they are all happy to be able to stay at school. Money raised in 2012 was £500.
Last September saw me start my own training as a Primary School teacher, an aim I've had for a while and now I am finally beginning to achieve it. September 2014 will see me hopefully graduate and begin teaching. My years of experience in Kenya will provide a lot of inspiration during the course and I hope I can inspire my own class with stories of Kenya.
2011
Only six days at the school and £3000 to spend and organise. Definitely a challenge, definitely a very busy week full of 12hours or more days, but it was definitely worth it.
What could be achieved in such a short space of time? Well in my opinion a huge amount, and most of it will have impact on many children's lives throughout the school.
Here's what we did:
Divided and fenced off six plots of land on the school site:
Plot 1- Special Unit – ½ passion fruits ½ chicken run
Plot 2- Middle School, Std 4+5 - Crops
Plot 3 – Whole School – Planted 60 trees and Napier grass for livestock
Plot 4 – Special Unit – Planted 30 tree and around ¼ acre for crops
Plot 5 – Lower School, Std 1-3 – Crops/educational area
Plot 6 – Upper School, Std 6-7 – Crops
Started a little farm including livestock which we bought and build housing for. Now the school has: 1 dairy cow, 2 pigs, 2 sheep, 10 chickens, 1 cockerel, 2 turkeys and at least 8 rabbits.
We planted over 100 traditional trees around the compound
Napier and Kikuiu grass was planted top provide food for the animals
A whole area devoted to passion fruit
New tools, seeds and fertilisers was bought
Hundreds of hedging plants are now bordering the special units, new and improved fence
Brand new gates into main school and the unit are in place
Safety bars on the boys bunk beds
Wages for house mother and father (well you could hardly call the wages for the amount of work they do)
A small wages for a farmer to come and teach the children about farming
An epileptic boy who has been fitting all his school life and never received treatment finally has and I left enough money to cover all his needs for the next year
Repaired all the beds at the small home
Delivered 600 pencil cases to the children of Birunda
Gave out 400 pencils to the lower school
Divided a further 80kg of donations around to needy people
And many, many more small things
It's amazing what you can achieve in a week when you put your mind to it!
What could be achieved in such a short space of time? Well in my opinion a huge amount, and most of it will have impact on many children's lives throughout the school.
Here's what we did:
Divided and fenced off six plots of land on the school site:
Plot 1- Special Unit – ½ passion fruits ½ chicken run
Plot 2- Middle School, Std 4+5 - Crops
Plot 3 – Whole School – Planted 60 trees and Napier grass for livestock
Plot 4 – Special Unit – Planted 30 tree and around ¼ acre for crops
Plot 5 – Lower School, Std 1-3 – Crops/educational area
Plot 6 – Upper School, Std 6-7 – Crops
Started a little farm including livestock which we bought and build housing for. Now the school has: 1 dairy cow, 2 pigs, 2 sheep, 10 chickens, 1 cockerel, 2 turkeys and at least 8 rabbits.
We planted over 100 traditional trees around the compound
Napier and Kikuiu grass was planted top provide food for the animals
A whole area devoted to passion fruit
New tools, seeds and fertilisers was bought
Hundreds of hedging plants are now bordering the special units, new and improved fence
Brand new gates into main school and the unit are in place
Safety bars on the boys bunk beds
Wages for house mother and father (well you could hardly call the wages for the amount of work they do)
A small wages for a farmer to come and teach the children about farming
An epileptic boy who has been fitting all his school life and never received treatment finally has and I left enough money to cover all his needs for the next year
Repaired all the beds at the small home
Delivered 600 pencil cases to the children of Birunda
Gave out 400 pencils to the lower school
Divided a further 80kg of donations around to needy people
And many, many more small things
It's amazing what you can achieve in a week when you put your mind to it!
2010
A total of three months was spent in Kenya during 2010. Although it wasn’t anywhere near as much as 2009 the work and progress completed was still a great achievement.
A new kitchen was built and fully fitted (Kenyan style) to give a better equipped and purpose built place for preparing school meals and food for boarding pupils. The new cooker was much more fuel efficient that the old open “three stone” approach and as such the amount of timber needed has been reduced.
The neighbouring mud classroom to the kitchen was repaired and changed into a dining room for Standard Eight pupils and evening meals for the children in the unit.
A veranda connected the dining room and kitchen also providing a covered area to work and play.
Four new long drop toilets and four washrooms were built near to the unit, this was a great development and a huge improvement to what was previously used.
Vegetables are now being grown by the boarding pupils with help from some main school pupils.
The second main group of Kitale Rafiki Volunteers came and spent four weeks in Kenya. It was a different programme to the previous group. Less time was spent at Birunda School, due to the end of term and the additional time was spent teaching in a rescue centre for street children just up the road from the school. The group funded the construction of the new washrooms for the children; they brought numerous resources for the school and provided some invaluable input into lower school, where they were focussing their time teaching.
The number of registered pupils in the unit is now 22, but the number attending daily does vary. This is sadly due to costs of sending the pupil to school (which we try and limit or don’t bother with) and the fact that annoying and upsetting as it is these children are a valuable free work source for their families. During planting and harvest time many pupils form main school and the unit can take a lot of time off.
Please click here to see a photo timeline of the development.
A new kitchen was built and fully fitted (Kenyan style) to give a better equipped and purpose built place for preparing school meals and food for boarding pupils. The new cooker was much more fuel efficient that the old open “three stone” approach and as such the amount of timber needed has been reduced.
The neighbouring mud classroom to the kitchen was repaired and changed into a dining room for Standard Eight pupils and evening meals for the children in the unit.
A veranda connected the dining room and kitchen also providing a covered area to work and play.
Four new long drop toilets and four washrooms were built near to the unit, this was a great development and a huge improvement to what was previously used.
Vegetables are now being grown by the boarding pupils with help from some main school pupils.
The second main group of Kitale Rafiki Volunteers came and spent four weeks in Kenya. It was a different programme to the previous group. Less time was spent at Birunda School, due to the end of term and the additional time was spent teaching in a rescue centre for street children just up the road from the school. The group funded the construction of the new washrooms for the children; they brought numerous resources for the school and provided some invaluable input into lower school, where they were focussing their time teaching.
The number of registered pupils in the unit is now 22, but the number attending daily does vary. This is sadly due to costs of sending the pupil to school (which we try and limit or don’t bother with) and the fact that annoying and upsetting as it is these children are a valuable free work source for their families. During planting and harvest time many pupils form main school and the unit can take a lot of time off.
Please click here to see a photo timeline of the development.
2009
During 2009 I was fortunate to be able to spend eight months in Kenya, most of which was spent at the school, designing, building and teaching. It was such a great year and proved to be very productive and successful. When I returned in January my mind was swimming with new ideas of how the unit could be improved further. The end scheme would be to create a self contained and self sufficient unit from the main school, whilst still having the children mixing and integrating. The land was sufficient in size but the issues arose in the form of budget and whether or not the government would begin to assist the unit financially and with trained teachers.
The year saw some great developments and goals of building two new classrooms, a boys dormitory and providing more resources for the children were all met. Additionally to this and thanks to meeting some amazing people and having the first Kitale Rafiki volunteers, the unit was transformed further.
One of the newest classrooms was adapted into a girls dormitory, initially set up for seven girls and a house mother.
Both dormitories with a capacity of twenty beds for students were improved and new everyday equipment was purchased.
Additional water tanks and a new 66ft well with improved water wheel were added to improve the water situation in school.
Volunteer Kenyan teaching staff and dormitory staff were found and began doing some amazing work in transforming the children’s level of education.
Teachers from main school began special education training courses.
Electricity was finally connected to the main school and unit.
The second new classroom was used by main school due to overcrowding in the classrooms available to them. (The room wasn’t in use by the unit)
Two large metal storage unit for the head teachers office provided 100% rat proof storage.
June and July was filled with visitors and volunteers. The Kitale Rafiki volunteer group painted a wonderful world map on the gable end of the main school classrooms, which is a fantastic resource used by all. The volunteers also brought a wealth of donations and resources which all greatly improved the level of teaching at the school. It was a new experience having so many new people visiting the school but a great time was had by all.
Returning back home in August was meant to be my final visit for 2009, however Kenya has a strange pull on me and so I travelled back once again in October/November. This shorter visit was completely unplanned and I had no idea what would happen during my time there, I knew something would turn up. This something or should I say someone was a Scottish lady called Jacqui whom I met in Kibera slum. The next few weeks with her at Birunda were very exciting; she brought fresh insight and ideas to the development and funded herself the conversion of one of the large classrooms into a dormitory for girls. It was a great end to a very busy and fulfilling year in Kenya.
Please click here to see a photo timeline of the development.
The year saw some great developments and goals of building two new classrooms, a boys dormitory and providing more resources for the children were all met. Additionally to this and thanks to meeting some amazing people and having the first Kitale Rafiki volunteers, the unit was transformed further.
One of the newest classrooms was adapted into a girls dormitory, initially set up for seven girls and a house mother.
Both dormitories with a capacity of twenty beds for students were improved and new everyday equipment was purchased.
Additional water tanks and a new 66ft well with improved water wheel were added to improve the water situation in school.
Volunteer Kenyan teaching staff and dormitory staff were found and began doing some amazing work in transforming the children’s level of education.
Teachers from main school began special education training courses.
Electricity was finally connected to the main school and unit.
The second new classroom was used by main school due to overcrowding in the classrooms available to them. (The room wasn’t in use by the unit)
Two large metal storage unit for the head teachers office provided 100% rat proof storage.
June and July was filled with visitors and volunteers. The Kitale Rafiki volunteer group painted a wonderful world map on the gable end of the main school classrooms, which is a fantastic resource used by all. The volunteers also brought a wealth of donations and resources which all greatly improved the level of teaching at the school. It was a new experience having so many new people visiting the school but a great time was had by all.
Returning back home in August was meant to be my final visit for 2009, however Kenya has a strange pull on me and so I travelled back once again in October/November. This shorter visit was completely unplanned and I had no idea what would happen during my time there, I knew something would turn up. This something or should I say someone was a Scottish lady called Jacqui whom I met in Kibera slum. The next few weeks with her at Birunda were very exciting; she brought fresh insight and ideas to the development and funded herself the conversion of one of the large classrooms into a dormitory for girls. It was a great end to a very busy and fulfilling year in Kenya.
Please click here to see a photo timeline of the development.
2008
Katey and I had little idea about what would be in store for us regarding the project and even whether we’d raise enough to build the first classroom. Regardless of this once the first £500 was raised it was sent straight to Jonathan Mayer so he could begin the foundations. Two weeks later Jonathan sent an email with some photos of the new structure; from these I could see that there were three rooms, rather than one. Two classrooms and an office, this would mean being able to cater for up to 30 pupils.
Once in Kitale we met with Sylvester and went to the school to see the classrooms. The workmen were just putting the trusses up for the roof and walking inside for the first time was great. The workmen said to me that they would be finished before we left. We really wished that we would be able to move into the new classroom with the children.
Over the next two weeks we watched the classrooms develop day by day and eventually as promised on the Friday before we were leaving we taught the first lesson in one of the new rooms.
The new classrooms were officially opened on 20th June 2008 by the District Education Officer. With this unit became recognised as an actual unit for the deaf. The furniture was later added to finish off the classroom and was the final piece t providing a safe, clean and secure working environment for the pupils. As well as the furniture for the classrooms it was decided to furnish the office, this included a large steel framed storage cupboard for all the new resources.
Such a great first visit and although it was initially planned on being a one off the need to add further structures and improve the unit was obvious and so the following year work continued.
Please click here to see a photo timeline of the development.
Once in Kitale we met with Sylvester and went to the school to see the classrooms. The workmen were just putting the trusses up for the roof and walking inside for the first time was great. The workmen said to me that they would be finished before we left. We really wished that we would be able to move into the new classroom with the children.
Over the next two weeks we watched the classrooms develop day by day and eventually as promised on the Friday before we were leaving we taught the first lesson in one of the new rooms.
The new classrooms were officially opened on 20th June 2008 by the District Education Officer. With this unit became recognised as an actual unit for the deaf. The furniture was later added to finish off the classroom and was the final piece t providing a safe, clean and secure working environment for the pupils. As well as the furniture for the classrooms it was decided to furnish the office, this included a large steel framed storage cupboard for all the new resources.
Such a great first visit and although it was initially planned on being a one off the need to add further structures and improve the unit was obvious and so the following year work continued.
Please click here to see a photo timeline of the development.
