Thika School awash in new facelift after donors learn of kids who lack basic Facilities.
Kiboko Primary School’s dream to provide a conducive
environment for their elementary learners got a big boost on Friday when The
Rotary Club of Thika West spruced up their ECDE class through the facility
facelift and donation of mattresses all to a tune of KES 100,000.
In addition to the donation, Rotary Club also presented
reading materials from Oxford University Press that will go a long way in
boosting education standards in the school which predominantly serves pupils
from very humble background.
“This is so exciting. It will make a huge difference,” exclaimed
Jacinta Wanjiru, the teacher in-charge of the ECDE class.
She explained that previously, the condition of the classroom
was very pathetic a situation that had caused so many pupils to leave school.
“The classroom used to be so dusty and I had to deal with so
many respiratory infections amongst my pupils. But ever since the facelift, my
enrolment has shot up from 7 pupils to 27 now. The pupils now take advantage of
the new-look classroom to learn on their own. These mattresses too will boost
their development as after class naps are critical for memory consolidation and
early learning,” said Teacher Jacinta.
The school Headteacher Mr. Joseph Ndichu Muiruri reckons
that the school has had so many challenges since its inception something that
has been affecting proper teaching and learning. He said that even though the government has
been chipping in through the Free Primary Education (FPE) funds, the amount
received was too little to cater for all the needs.
“The money we receive as FPE is merely meant to cater for
repairs and maintenance and cannot be enough to administer any tangible
development of our facilities. Majority of our pupils hail from the
neighbouring slums and efforts to have their parents raise money towards
improving their learning environment has proven to be a tall order,” said Mr.
Muiruri.
He added that it was through the input of well-wishers such
as the Rotary Club, Macheo, Jungle Foundation and Thika Town Constituency CDF
that the school had managed to improve some of its facilities.
“I do not know how we would be surviving without friends
like you. In fact it is our humble request to you to adopt this school and
nurture it as your baby so that we can provide these poor kids with the best
learning conditions,” he added.
He appealed to donors to come on board to assist in provision
of furniture for both teachers and pupils which was currently their most hard
pressing challenge.
The Rotary Club of Thika West president, Benjamin Githae,
said his organisation came to learn of the plight of this school when they had
earlier visited to donate sanitary towels to the girl-pupils.
He said that they got inspired to act after the teachers
detailed how their contribution then helped to improve self-esteem and lower
absentee rates among these girls, who would previously miss classes in those ‘red’ days.
“Education is one of the focus areas for funding since we
acknowledged it is the cornerstone of a child’s development. For learning to
thrive, the right environment is needed. The mind functions better in a clean
and calm environment and I hope the support from The Rotary Club of Thika West
will contribute to effective teaching and learning at Kiboko Primary School,” said
the president.
Githae said that they would sit down with the members and
discuss their next priority project for the school and if need be, they would
solicit for funding to embark on a comprehensive support to the school.
Thika Branch Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT)
Chairman John Kuria appealed for more Public-Private partnerships in
development of infrastructure in schools especially those that served the
less-fortunate members of the society.
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