
The majority of our efforts are currently focused on Mukuya School in the district of Ruiru. The bulk of the money raised by you is spent supporting the feeding programme at the school - and we are delighted to report that this project has been a real success. When we started in 2010, our donations supported the provision of lunch every day for kids aged 5-13. Today, we are doing more; not only is lunch now supplemented by a porridge breakfast for all kids but the programme is now feeding more kids than we originally anticipated. Whereas when we started the school roll was just over 400, as of November 2012 it now stands at 603. The headteacher (Peter Mwaura) believes that increase is due to the attractiveness of the feeding programme. We are delighted by this news. While the delivery of regular nutritious meals to these children is a good thing in its own right, Kipawa was always interested in its impact on school attendance and retention. It’s too early to assess its impact on performance, but Peter attributes some of the increase in the KCPE (Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education) scores from an average of 221 in 2010 to 242 in 2012 to our efforts. Certainly, kids who are no longer hungry are more able to concentrate

In 2011 we commissioned and paid for the construction of new toilet blocks for the boys at the school. You’ll see from the picture below that this has now been completed. No longer are the boys at the school expected to use facilities infested with rats, and there has been a marked decrease in incidents of diarrhoea and other water-borne illnesses at the school. Through this investment, your donations have made a real difference to the health and well-being of the children in Mukuya.

We were present to witness the opening of the new nursery classroom - again, funded by Kipawa donations. This is currently the most modern classroom facility at the school, and the only one with glass-paned windows. We took over with us some toys and gifts which our supporters had kindly donated. The children and teachers were delighted by this new addition and sang a lovely thank you song for us on the day