When we started our initiative in 2011 we discussed in great length about how to best provide and improve education opportunities for children in Kenya. We chose, as our mission statement states, to take a holistic approach to education, focusing not only on the curriculum and school supplies, but on the health, nutrition, and safe living-environments for both the teachers and their students.
| Over the past few months our team has spent a lot of time getting to know one of the teachers, Alice, while working at the Living Positive Kenya Daycare Center. Alice is a single mother raising four children, her youngest is six months old and her oldest is 15 years. The family of five live in a small house made of wood and iron sheets in the slum of Mathare. Knowing how hard Alice works to provide for her family with the very little she has, we decided to relieve some of her burden by paying for the school fees of her two oldest children, Paul and Mary (Paul is still in need of a sponsor!). |  Alice and her family. |
On a recent home visit we came to realize that their home was, to say the very least, not very sturdy nor safe, and the roof did very little to keep the house dry. Homework and studying is tough enough for any student, but to do so while trying to avoid the rain in your own home must be, well, awful.
So, we decided to do something about it!
We organized a few friends and volunteers to do a not-so-extreme-home-makeover, but one that would at least keep their house sturdy and free of rain. By reinforcing the frame of their home and purchasing a few new pieces of iron sheets, we were able to successfully rain-proof their house, and just in time for the rainy season. Not only that, but one of the volunteers who helped with the construction donated a set of bunk beds for the kids - check out the gallery below!
So, we decided to do something about it!
We organized a few friends and volunteers to do a not-so-extreme-home-makeover, but one that would at least keep their house sturdy and free of rain. By reinforcing the frame of their home and purchasing a few new pieces of iron sheets, we were able to successfully rain-proof their house, and just in time for the rainy season. Not only that, but one of the volunteers who helped with the construction donated a set of bunk beds for the kids - check out the gallery below!
All in all it took just one day, a few swollen thumbs from missed hammer swings, and about $100 to drastically improve the lives of a very deserving family. We hope you can see that when you donate to our organization, your donation truly makes a difference in the lives of the children, teachers, and families we support. If you would like to help Alice's family further, you can do so by contacting us at longonoteducationinitiative@gmail.com or by donating here, just leave a note that says 'Alice'!
