Education Kenya Project #13015

Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

by Kenya Connect (KC)

Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

Project Report | Oct 24, 2017
New Initiative Keeping Girls in School!

By James Musyoka | Co-Founder and Director of Operations

Creating the Wings Poa Kit

Did you know that 3 out of 10 girls in rural communities miss 3-4 days of school per month since they do not have products to use during their montly menstrual cycle? In Wamunyu, the Head Teachers shared that many girls were missing school and requested assistance. As a result, Kenya Connect developed, Wings Poa, a reusable sanitary pad kit to help keep girls in school. As a result of several grants and donations from folks like you, Kenya Connect began to work with the Kithito kya Kyeengai women’s group and the students and staff at the Wamunyu Special School to produce Wings Poa locally. The two groups were adequately trained on how to make the product using local cotton and flannel fabric. Each Wings Poa kit is comprised of two shields made from waterproof PUL material, 8 liners, a drawstring bag and two zip lock bags for washing. The PUL material is not locally available and therefore Kenya Connect donates the PUL to the groups who in turn donate 15% of all Wingspoa kits made. The donated kits are given to school girls free of charge with the groups selling the rest of the product to the community at $5 per kit. This model is helping to create some income to the women groups. 0ver 170 girls in 5 primary schools have benefited from Wings Poa and our production continues.

Before issuing Wings Poa Kits, Kenya Connect conducts a pre-survey to determine what sanitary materials the girls are using and to determine if the girls are unable to attend school due to lack of sanitary materials. It was established that 85% of girls from two sample schools missed school 3-4 days a month because of lack of sanitary pads. Kenya Connect staff trains school girls and their mothers on the benefits of using Wings Poa. Our program has been embraced over the synthetic sanitary pads because girls and women find it to be cost effective, environment friendly and confortable to use. Due to lack of incinerators in most rural areas, the synthetic pads are disposed of by throwing into pit latrines, which results in quickly filling up the latrines. Unlike synthetic pads provided by the government, Wings Poa is a personal product that cannot be shared.

Three months after Kenya Connect rolled out the first set of Wings Poa kits, a post survey was administered to determine if the beneficiary girls were using the product and to determine the rate of absenteeism from school. It was found out that 90% of the girls had used the product and the rate of absenteeism had dropped from 85% to 5%: a very drastic shift! This greatly confirmed that Wings Poa is working to break down the barrier for girls’ menstrual hygiene.

"Wings poa is very comfortable to use than the sythentic pads. It is easy to clean and to keep hyginic after use. Since I recieved a wings poa kit, my parents have saved the money to buy synthic pads"

Ruth student beneficiary at Nunga Primary school.

We continue to listen to the local community to develop our programs and with the support of committed donors like you. we are making these programs a reality. We will continue to expand the Wings Poa program so that more girls will have the opportunity to an education.

Of course our technology, literacy, and deworming programs are still in full swing and we will be sharing more information on these programs in the next month. We trust you enjoyed reading how this special initiative is making a difference.

Students Creating Kits

Distributing Wings Poa Kits

Students Receive Kits!

Links:

Wings Poa Video

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Aug 10, 2017
New Technology at the Kenya Connect LRC!

By Sharon Runge and James Musyoka | Executive Director and Field Director

Engaged learning with the KioKit

Our BRCK KioKit has arrived at the Learning Resource Center! This indestructable black-box kit includes a content rich server and 40 tablets with headphones. The Kenya Connect team is determined that this would provide an additional rich experience for our students that would enhance their classroom learning and provide them with resources and materials not available at our 44 primary and 11 secondary schools. This past week we had The School Fund secondary students test it out while on their school break. As James Musyoka wrote, "We were marveled by how the class was so quiet with each student wearing their headphones and super engaged. The students did not seem to want to leave the LRC and we had to tell them to go." These secondary schools students will be studying at the Learning Resource Center during the next two weeks of August for tutoring in math, chemistry, and biology and will also have the opportunity to borrow books and to spend additional time using the educational resources on the BRCK Kio Kit.

The TSF aslo recieved solar lights to help them study while at home. In addition to meeting with the TSF students, the Kenya Connect staff met with their parents to discuss the students' progress and share the ways the students can benefit from Kenya Connect resources. The parents were so excited that they suggested a Parent Council be created to help further support the work.

Our community based approach would not be possible without donors like you. Your generous gifts allows our staff to develop programs and new approaches to support students in rural Kenya who face so many obstacles and challenges to education.

In addition to the KioKit, Kenya Connect is piloting the use of the Rachel Plus device, a content rich server that can connect to any electronic device--- a laptop, tablet, or smart phone. The Rachel Plus server provides world class curriculum with interactive lessons and modules to practice concepts, wikipedia, TED talks, animated books and print stories and a plethora of additional materials. In July, our staff met with the Wamunyu Curiculum Development Officer and headmasters to share the Rachel Plus. The Headmasters were excited to see the many possibilities and are looking forward to borrowing if for their schools.

The Kenya Connect staff is also developing ways to best support teachers in the primary schools who have received government issued tablets for standrard one (grade 1) students. Sadly, many teachers do not know how to use the technology so the tablets are sitting unused in locked closets. Our team is working to provide training and support to ensure that students in Wamunyu are not being left behind.

We are deeply grateful to you for being a donor to Kenya Connect. Every dollar helps continue our work that is changing lives by breaking barriers to education and providing resources that would not be available to the 17,000 students we serve in rural Kenya.

As we say in Kenya, Asante Sana marafiki!

Our Black Box filled with wonders!

Grateful to committed TSF parents

Headmasters learn about Rachel Plus

Trying Rachel Plus content on their devices

My solar light will help me shine in school!

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Jul 6, 2017
"Kenya Connect is Helping Me Be a Better Teacher!"

By Sharon Runge | Executive Director

Learning about Wings Poa

“Kenya Connect programs have been invaluable to my teaching! I am using teaching strategies I learned at workshops held at the Learning Resource Center and I am grateful that I can borrow books each week. I think I’ve borrowed over 100 for my students to read!” Daniel at Iianyi Primary School

I just returned from Kenya after a 2 ½ week trip to meet with partners, to talk with our teachers, headmasters and students and to guide a team of 20 who taught classes at our schools and held programs at the Learning Resource Center. Daniel was one of the 30 teachers I spoke with about our programs. Another teacher, Catherine, also at Iianyi said, “I am able to use the government issued computer tablets for my first grade class since Kenya Connect gave me training in using computers.”

Thanks to donors like you, Kenya Connect is able to continue our programs in Wamunyu to strengthen education for the 17,000 students we serve. It was exciting to see students from Makuula Primary Schools learning Scratch Program and creating video letters for their partner school in the U.S. while our Fulbright Teacher, Evan, tested out the Rachel Plus content-rich server, with his secondary school students.

Students from distant schools are now riding our very own “Magic School Bus” to the LRC and are reading books along the way. Stocked with a variety of books for all age levels, students now have additional opportunities to read while rolling through Wamunyu.

Meanwhile, our pilot of the Wings Poa Reusable Sanitary Pad Program continues, with our summer intern garnering feedback from the students. “I like using Wings Poa, but I wish we had more liners” Mwende from Nunga Primary School. This program is helping to keep girls in school who either can’t afford or don’t have synthetic products available.

We are deeply appreciative of donors like you who allow this extraordinary work continue. And on JULY 12 Global Giving HAS A SPECIAL MATCHING OPPORTUNITY. BEGINNING AT 9;00 AM EDT, GIFTS WILL BE MATCHED BY 50% (meaning if you donate $100, it is worth $150 until fund run out.)

We would be grateful if you would consider donating on this special day. It’s a chance to make your donation grow while having an important impact for the students in Wamunyu.

I continue to be deeply moved by our work in Wamunyu. Will you consider helping us?

Teacher Daniel

Teacher Catherine with tablets

Evan Testing Rachel Plus with Secondary School

Students at the LRC with teacher Patrick

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