A great deal has happened at the School since the Spring newsletter, following the Kenyan Education Department’s requirements to make the school a Junior High and continuing to take Year 9 students. Work on the new building, which eventually will encompass an Administration office, staff room, IT facilities, Library, Workshop and Science Laboratory has been going on apace. Thanks to your continued support the structure, plastering, tiling and flooring (phase one) has now been completed.

Our first visit to the school was the day we had arrived at Nairobi airport just after midnight. Our arrival heralded the welcome end of a drought; rain from the UK. It is in a sparsely populated area known as Kinangop, which is about 40 minutes’ drive East and uphill from Naivasha to an altitude around 8,000 feet; the air is quite thin! The last ten minutes are along very rough tracks. The local population is subsistence farmers, many living in timber or mud huts, growing crops for themselves and the market, and keeping a few animals. For most it is grinding poverty.

In November 2022, Chrissie and her husband Jonathan spent two weeks in Kenya and made 5 visits to the school to see Wangari, her staff and children. This newsletter will be the first of two reflecting on their visit and will focus on how we have reached our current position and the life and experience of the students.

Thanks to the extensive work (pro bono) and not inconsiderable skill of our good friend Tom, we now have a new website where you can find all the latest news together with the history of the Project. Check it out on karurischoolproject.org and tell any of your friends who may be interested.

Since the last newsletter, the school has been focused on the National exams. These are very important to the children as their results determine the next steps in life. Wangari reported that some of the young people chose to start their studies at 4.00 am in the run up to the exams! The achievements of some of the children are documented in this issue and make everything our little charity does worthwhile. One girl received the eighth highest result in the whole of Kenya and appeared on TV and the newspapers.

Merry Christmas, the children are sat around me with smiling faces full of Joy. Our Christmas dinner is about to be ready.

We had a session like the Israelites: we reflected about our yesterday and today, the road marks, the stepping stones that have got us to where we are today, and we look to our future with great hope. It was a moment of Joy, some in tears, as they narrated the anguish and torment they have gone through before they joined us. It was the first Christmas for those who joined us this year. We thank God Almighty for getting us where we are today through each one of you, our dear Friends.

May the Grace of our Lord and His love fill your hearts. We pray for you every day by name.
I have a special bond with each one of you. My life in England fills me with good memories and I cherish each moment I spent with you- fundraising, selling bags, dining with you. We bonded together with one common goal- to give the poor a chance to fight poverty through education.

Wrapped up as we have been for the past year in our own Coronavirus issues, it has been difficult to get a feel for the impact of the pandemic across the world. This Easter’s message from Wangari gives a flavour of life in Kenya, which has recently been added to the list of countries where travel is prohibited.

On January 10th, 2021, we celebrate 10 years since the school opened, only weeks after Wangari left Northampton to return to Kenya. A huge thank you to everyone who sponsor the children, to the many bag sales, quiz nights, concerts and so many fundraisers. Through everyone’s efforts, we have managed not only to keep going but to grow and develop.

Every year, usually around Christmas time, Wangari buys the maize and beans which forms the basis of the food for the forthcoming year. She buys at this time when the price is the lowest. For the last few years we have been able to do this as a result of a grant from the David Young’s Charity and a big thank you to them from all the children for this continued vital support.