Sponsor a child in Kenya, Africa through primary education. We only support those children who would not go to school without your help.
Comments from sponsors who support a child in Kenya:
“Thanks for the letter from Gabriel. It’s all so very humbling.”
“My children (aged 16 and 13) really are learning so much about the Maasai culture through our association with the charity. It has encouraged them to seek out more information on Kenya and to really think about the issues of social inequality. In a way, you are helping to educate them and all the other families who sponsor children to attend the school, which is really quite something.”
Selecting children?
In this Maasai area of Kenya, everyone is poor, so we have to be careful that we chose the very poor over the poor. Children are selected on a needs basis. Orphans or children from a single mother are automatically considered and next, children from parents where neither have a job. These children would not go to school without this sponsorship. All of the sponsored children attend the Osiligi Obaya school (the Primary School built by the Charity). Currently, 28 of our sponsors have continued to support their allocated child at secondary schools.
Cost?
It cost the charity around £20 per child per month to support the school. This covers:
- the normal teachers’ salaries and other school running costs
- books, computers, teaching materials
- a morning milky tea or porridge and a mid day school lunch for each child and school worker.
- Free primary health care at the school clinic.
You are welcome to support 1 child (£20) or more children.
The child’s family pays all other expenses such as uniform, although the charity will cover these in cases of extreme hardship. We also ask the child’s family to pay £2 per month to the school and 60p per month to the clinic as their contribution to the school’s running cost. Again, this is omitted in the case of extreme hardship.
Contact
We allocate 1 or more children to each supporter. The children make regular contact by writing or drawing pictures. In Kenya, all school teaching is in English so the letters are in English from about age 8 and they give an interesting insight into the Maasai culture and lifestyle. The younger children keep in contact through drawing and school work. The school has email, so the older children may use this for contact. We take photos or videos each time we visit (every 4 months or so), meet the headteacher and inform sponsors on attendance and progress.
How is the money used?
100% is used to support the children by paying the running costs of the school. As the charity only has volunteers, nothing is deducted for any UK expenses as we are a 100% charity. At school, the children receive a mid morning snack and lunch. For many of the poorer children, this is the only solid food they will receive during the day. During the school holidays and at weekends, many will only have milk from their family’s cattle. Some sponsors are eligible for gift aid and any surplus received from this is used for providing uniform for the poorest children and improving the school to provide a better education for all.
New sponsors required
Each January, 25 new children start at the school. Please note that due to Covid-19, the new school intake for 2022 starts in May. These children would not attend school without sponsorship. If you would like to becoming a sponsor, please contact Tracey Moore (tracey.osiligi at yahoo.com) who will provide further details. Sponsoring a Kenyan child really does make a difference to their lives. See the facebook page for the latest pictures of the new school and comments from other sponsors.
Many of our new sponsors are friends and relatives of existing sponsors, so I guess we are doing something right!
Have a question? Perhaps our frequently asked questions page about sponsorship can help.
