...and the Problems Students Face: The Kenyan Education system is known as 8-4-4 meaning 8 years of primary (Standard 1-8), 4 years secondary (Form 1-4), and 4 years university. The first 12 years are comparable to grades 1-12 in the USA. However, unlike the USA, all school children must where uniforms. With the new administration, primary education has now become tuition free but just the simple cost of a uniform can be prohibitive to a poor rural parent. There are also specialized boarding primary schools for disabled children and orphans which are not free. Secondary education is not free and most secondary schools are boarding schools. Many children never make it to this phase of their education because of poverty. And one cannot break the grip of poverty without education. Therefore, it is the goal of One Heart to give the gifted children the opportunity to become successfully employed university or trade school graduates. As such, they will be a great asset to their poor rural families and communities by helping to feed and educate others. Why cant Kenyan parents meet the cost of their childrens education? One reason is they are jobless. Secondly, many are subsistence farmers and when there is draught and famine, the classrooms become as empty as their stomachs. Therefore, One Heart endeavors to assist in 3 project areas: 1. Education, 2. Water and Health and 3. Cultural Exchange. The latter two can lead to improvements in family income generation and thus their ability to meet education costs. Before the incorporation of One Heart with Africa, the president and founder, a former Peace Corps Volunteer science teacher, had assisted more than a dozen children to complete their education in Kenya, assisted local community self help groups to construct 17 dams along a seasonal river, and constructed one water tank for a hospital. Now One Heart is helping to continue these efforts.
a) Student Sponsorships:
Uniforms will be provided for primary school pupils; Tuition and accommodation will
be provided for disabled children and orphans in special boarding primary schools, students in secondary school,
university students and vocational trainees. Applications for support here include academic performance and
poverty indicators.
b) Provision of Teaching Aids and School Facilities: Academic success is greatly impaired by the lack of
textbooks and laboratory facilities and most rural primary schools have no windows, doors or floors. Projects
in these areas will be funded upon submission and review of the institutions proposal.
c) Donation of Computers and Software: Computer training is just starting to be introduced in secondary
schools and is a must for Kenyans to compete with the rest of the world in all endeavors. We will try to
assist secondary schools meet their computer needs.
Water is life and a major
cause of hardship in our current area of operation. One Heart will support the
construction of dams and water tanks and initiation of income generating irrigation projects by community
based organizations. The latter will help families meet education costs.
The sponsorship of
students and cultural group activities outside their home communities (e.g. craft sales
exhibitions, music and drama festivals) is a way for us to become one heart. One Heart endeavors to market
the work of our African artisans at fund raisers and craft shows in the US. By doing thus, we will enable
artisans to earn an income and feed profits generated in to our education project.