Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

Since August Kenya Connect has distributed 900 Pico SunKing Lights to students in eleven different schools in Wamunyu in our "rent-to-own" program.  As the students eagerly receive their light, Field Director James Musyoka explains how to flip the light over so the solar panel can charge during the day and how to use the three different light settings.  Sometimes under a broad tree in the dusty school yard or in a dark cement classroom, James then explains the importance of reading and doing homework and how this small lamp can help accomplish these goals.  It's an opportunity to encourage a community with a very high illiteracy rate to read.  James then distributes a log sheet to each student so that they can record how many minutes are spent on reading and how many minutes are spent on homework. 

Kenya Connect analyzed the log sheets for three schools: Iiana, Kyamatula, and Kisinzini and the results are exciting.  Prior to receiving the light, students reported that the combined time spent reading and doing homework was 32 minutes per day.  After receiving their Pico light, students are reporting that they are spending 59 minutes on homework and 56 minutes reading for a combined total of 115 minutes per day versus  the 32 minutes they averaged before receiving the lights.  We are thrilled!  

As we introduce new programs, Kenya Connect finds it essential to work closely with our community to garner feedback and ideas.   At the end of November James met with 25 teachers from Wamunyu Zone schools about our NEW Reusable Sanitary Pad Program.  In addition to giving us ideas on how to properly clean the pads and how to make them so the girls can easily bring them to school, we received the following comments from the teachers:

That is good.  It will help our girls very much.  Please issue them as soon as possible!

I so much support the benefit of empowering the girl child.

Wow! What an invention!  One of our own!  (Board Member Faith Doucette who introduced the project was born and raised in Wamunyu)

Your donation to Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya is helping to provide more lights and reusable sanitary pads to the community in 2017.  Our GivingTuesday Campaign garned 36 gifts for a combined total of over $5,000 and we now have 16 recurring gifts! If you haven't made a gift yet, it's not too late!  Our campaign will continue through December 31 and gifts will help support our Light Program, the Reusable Sanitary Pad Project AND our on-going classes at the Learning Resource Center to empower students with technology and literacy.  And recurring gifts will be matched 200% by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through December 31 (see terms and details).

As we come to the final weeks of 2016, the entire Kenya Connect team and the 17,000 students and 500 teachers are grateful for the support you have provided to help lift our students and their families out of poverty through the power of education.