Building a school in Kenya

I thought I'd share this article from the U of T magazine, as it might help us understand the impact of the effort Clairlea students have made over recent years to raise enough money to build a school in Kenya through Free The Children. The author, Alison Kelford, describes her experience volunteering on a school-building effort with Free The Children.

These two paragraphs helped me to understand how important this effort is, to girls and women in particular.

It soon became obvious that the school offered much more than education; it also provided a source of food and clean water. Since girls have traditionally spent their days collecting water, the provision of water allowed them to attend school. In addition to the Kenyan curriculum, the children learn about sanitation, handwashing, health education and gardening.

Although constructing the school was physically demanding at times, more challenging was the “water walk” we took with one of the “mamas.” After learning about home life, we walked 1.5 kilometres to the river and each carried 10 to 20 litres of water on our backs, uphill! (The mamas make this journey four or five times each day.) This woman inspired us as she spoke of her life and community issues. She talked about the changes that were occurring from Free the Children being in the community, such as the creation of new sources of income, improved sanitation practices within the home and the establishment of collectives.

Heartfelt congratulations, again, to the students and families who made this possible.