During a visit to Kenya in July 2014 we visited a few projects set up by the Dutch Private Initative Buru Nyakwere in partnership with their local counterpart also named Buru Nykware (SBNN) a registered CBO ( Community Based Organisation) . The goal of these two organisations is to improve the school facilities and level of education in West Nyakach county, in Western Kenya. The MvRF has contributed 4 times to the projects of SBNN. I left Kisumu in the morning together with Dirk van Bunder, co-founder of the organization. We travelled by local bus “matatu” to West-Nyakach county. The schools are not next to the main road and not easy to reach by car so the last part we travelled by motor bike. The schools we visited looked excellent and we had good chats with several teachers at the schools. SBNN has been active in this area for almost 10 years and has specialised in pre-school education next to the construction of classrooms. They made this deliberate choice because they realised that many students started school with such a big back log that it is very difficult for many children to catch up during their school years. As a result they often score bad at the final exam which is considered very important in Kenya and determines for a large part to which secondary school you will go and if you will get the chance at all. Besides this, for many children primary school is the only education they will have making it even more important that the level is optimal. The organisations are trying to overcome this challenge by setting up early childhood development centres. These centres are set up at every school they work and the organizations even have set up a -certified coursed for the teachers. These trainings are financed by SBNN and the teachers themselves contribute as well. To make the organization and projects more financially sustainable the organizations decided to set up a centre with different income generating activities. At this centre school books are sold and computer courses given as well as the Early Childhood development courses. Part of the running cost and activities of the local partners are being covered by the centre. During the visit there were also sports events, the football competition being the highlight of the day. The organisations organize this event every year and is taken very seriously by the players as well as the supporters. Overall, a great and inspiring visit
Tags: BuruNyakwere