At last the UK Government lifted the ban on travel to the coastal area of Mombasa so Yvonne and John were able to visit Mikoroshoni in September 2015. John went out again in November for two weeks and Evelyn & John went out for three weeks in November/December.
Headteacher Joshua
Joshua our Headteacher was sponsored to do a degree in Early Years Education. He has worked so hard during the past 3 years to study part time at weekends & holiday times as well as keeping everything running smoothly at Mikoroshoni. He finally gained his Degree in September & travelled with his family to Eldoret, a town, 200 miles North West of Nairobi. There were over 1,000 students being presented with their degrees. The family found it quite an adventure to travel so far on the bus & also found it to be quite cold in this part of Kenya. They had to have a hot shower to warm themselves up!
Edward our caretaker
Unfortunately Edward is losing his eyesight and is finding it very difficult to continue looking after the school. He has visited an American Charity in Mombasa called ‘Light for Christ Eye Centre’ & is receiving treatment. We are hoping that his vision will improve.
Flour
We continue to give each child a bag of flour to take home for the holidays. At the Easter & Summer holidays this is maize flour to make Ugali, and at Christmas time wheat flour is given. This is to make chapatis and a special bread called mahamri. This has become very important at holiday times and is very much appreciated by the families. Thank you to our sponsors who have donated extra money for the flour.
Repairs & Maintenance
Some urgent repairs are being undertaken during the holiday period when the school is empty. The support beams holding up a water tank in the boys toilets are being replaced. Also a moveable partition wall is being removed between two classrooms. This was originally installed to enable assemblies to be held in one large room but this structure is difficult to maintain so a more permanent wall needs to be constructed. When a large room is needed the classroom in the playground area can be used or Joshua’s church building is very close by and can be used for whole school events.
Teachers Courses
In September Madam Kulthum & Mr Oscar attended a 6 day course at Utange Baptist Church Action Centre. The trainers were from UK & covered Child Therapy topics including Bereavement, Trauma, Mental Health & Understanding Disability. The two teachers found the course extremely interesting & were able to give information to the rest of the teachers.
Headteacher’s Reports
Each month Joshua sends us a report of events at Mikoroshoni.
In July prizes were presented to the best performers in each class and the pupils were reminded about the importance of hard work and good discipline.
Many parents visited school to ask for their child to be considered for a place in KG1 to start in January 2016.
In August Standard 8 pupils were encouraged to work in school during the evenings, to take advantage of the electric lighting & the quiet atmosphere in which to study.
Justus Ndegwa has been employed for 2 days a week to help Caretaker Edward with some of the work he cannot see.
In the area round the school some of the parents & pupils have joined a voluntary programme to keep the environment clean & tidy.
Teacher trainees from Government Colleges have been sent to Mikoroshoni to do their teaching practices. A true sign that Mikoroshoni is recognised as a good school.
In September the school was used by the local community, when the village chief and elders needed to give out information. The villagers appreciate the use of one of the school rooms for their discussions.
Mikoroshoni was used as a distribution point for mosquito nets provided by the Kenyan Government.
Feeding Programme
The support we have had from the Saga Charitable Trust has now come to an end as there are many charities asking for their help. The feeding plays an important part in the daily life at Mikoroshoni as this meal is often the only meal some children receive. We need to raise an extra £6,000 each year for the food-
To feed 1 child at Mikoroshoni for the school year costs £20.
One of our supporters in UK has designed & funded the printing of some very smart MPS leaflets. The leaflet is to promote the school and ask if people would like to support us. If anyone would like copies for friends, relatives or groups please let us know – we will be happy to send them to you.
We are all hoping that the situation in Kenya remains calm and that visitors will return.
But in the meantime we think you can tell from our newsletter Mikoroshoni’s daily school life continues thanks to all the support you give.
You are helping to provide an education and food every day in a happy & safe place for 300 children in Shanzu village.
So a very big ASANTE SANA and from The Trustees, Parents, Teachers and Children at Mikoroshoni Primary School.