|
Positive Progress
After a slow start this year, the school
seems to be in top gear. Mike Kironde, from the PEAS office
in Uganda, recently made a week-long visit and reported very
positively on progress and the happiness of the staff and
pupils.
The school is about to begin the second
term of its second year on May 5th – but neither the
teachers nor the children have enjoyed their normal holiday.
On the Monday, following the end of the first term, they
assembled to start 3 weeks of classes to compensate for the
loss of time when the school opened late because of the
general turmoil in Kenya following the December election.
AIDS
Because of the devastating impact of AIDS
on the community, many young girls who are qualified to
enter secondary school stay at home to look after orphaned
siblings – or simply because their families or guardians
cannot afford the costs of keeping them in school. The
Community Bursary Committee has visited all the villages
served by Got Matar Secondary School, and identified 48 such
girls for the award of bursaries. Pending the identification
of donors, we have advanced the funds needed to cover the
costs of their bursaries so that they can start school on
5th May. Their presence will bring total student numbers up
to 318 so the school will be full to the brim!
 Bursaries
At the beginning of this year, the Kenyan
government introduced a policy of “free” secondary
education, but children going to school still face quite
substantial costs. Only two of the teachers at Got Matar are
provided by the government and the costs of all the others
still have to be met from fees. The Community has reviewed
the implications for bursaries and concluded that they are
still needed to ensure that places at the school are open to
well qualified children, especially orphans, who would
otherwise not be able to attend because of the remaining
costs. They have reduced the value of bursaries from Euro
100 to Euro 80 (about £65) per year, which will cover the
remaining fees, school lunches, uniforms and shoes.
 Building
Funds permitting, the aim is to complete
and equip the third block of three classrooms plus an
interim science laboratory this year, and construct
additional latrines, so as to be ready for the entry of a
further 150 children next January. Total costs will be about
Euro 60,000 (£48,000). If more money is available, the
priorities include a girls’ hostel, teachers’ housing, and a
practical skills training workshop – as well as more solar
power generation panels and low-voltage computers.
|
