Olesere Primary School has 120 students enrolled with three teachers and one head teacher. It covers pre-unit through Year Three (about 4 to 12 years old).
The school itself is very basic and our foremost goal is to improve the learning conditions as they are very spartan. Three years ago a free primary education scheme was started in Kenya. The budget for each student per year is 400 Kenyan Shillings- just over 3 pounds/$5USD. This is to cover teacher salaries, materials and texts. The government does not give money for building schools
so often you will find classes taking place under the not-so proverbial acacia tree! Olesere, fortunately, has three classrooms, a staff room, outhouses and two water tanks- as well as a dedicated team of teachers. Teachers are paid very little and irregularly but this team is dedicated and energetic- very willing to make do with the little they have and raising the school's standards.
We are working with the teachers, students and parents to make Olesere a great school. One of our main goals is to give the community and the school ownership of this project- we aim to work WITH the school instead of FOR them. They are keen and willing to do what they can towards this goal. An NGO called World Concern has done need assessments for the community and concur that education is the area in which they need the most help. They have built teachers' houses for the school and found the community to be of great help. Listed below what the school's priority needs are. They have agreed to provide the labour- although we will budget for one 'fundi' (craftsman) to guide them in maximising materials, craftsmanship and efficiency. Listed below are the school's greatest needs:
Kitchen- In order for the school to benefit from the Government Free Primary Education Programme and receive lunches for the students, they need to have a kitchen. This will attract the students who have not been attending as well as improve conditions for those who have. The kitchen will be a basic structure with cement floors, ventilation and a store (as food deliveries come once every three months).
Desks- Currently there are four or five students sitting at desks made for three. The school has had wood donated, we would like to provide labour training and tools to complete the construction of the desks.
Softboard- As the classrooms are constructed of rough wood, there are large gaps in the walls and it can be quite windy. Additionally, it is hard to put anything on these walls as they are very uneven. Teachers have asked for some softboards to create classroom displays and show the students' work.
Playstructure- The students don't have anything to play on and the teachers expressed interest in a climbing structure, slide and/or swings. This would cost about 500 pounds.
School Materials and books, display items maps, charts, etc. We have received a generous donation from the Dormouse School in London for the younger students which they greatly appreciated.
Trees- Ol Seki has donated a euphorbia candelabra to create shade and hope to donate more.
For more information regarding how you can help Olesere Primary School, please contact Erin Allan at beasleb@hotmail.com