WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP?
HERE ARE SOME WAYS:
Be a Scholarship Student Sponsor
The General Scholarship Program
School Improvements
STEM Projects
Reforestation Project
Keep Girls in School Project
Give a Gift of Charity in Honor or in Memory of a Loved One
Currently 99.2% of funds donated go directly into our projects, programs and scholarship students. All our board positions are strictly voluntary and any travel to Iruri is paid for personally, with all our expenses going toward communicating what is happening at the school via the web, social media and some written material. We plan to keep that percentage at 99% to ensure that we are able to fulfill our goals for Iruri and the students and community. We are a 501(3)(c) organization and you will receive an official tax deductible letter from our non profit for any contributions.
(If you are a Scholarship Student Sponsor desiring to donate your yearly funds, please use the "Annual Scholarship Donation" button in the section below. Thank you.)
Be a Scholarship Student Sponsor
Being a sponsor for one of our scholarships is a 4 year commitment to the recipient’s secondary school education, which starts in 9th grade and ends at graduation in 12th grade. The students take a National exam near the end of 8th grade and we use this as our criteria for awarding the scholarships. For this next year the cost to support a student for one year is $800 which provides for the entire year of education including their books, supplies and room and board. We will periodically send the sponsor the student’s term reports and will encourage letter writing. A small number of our current secondary students have internet access and they have been in contact with
their sponsors by email. That number may increase, but for now we do letter writing. Sponsoring a student throughout the four years becomes a very personal journey for both the sponsor and the student.
Each summer we begin collecting scholarship funds for the next school year. The exams are administered in November and the new term will begin in January. The scores are announced in late December or early January.
These scholarships are such an incentive to our younger students, along with their parents and one of the reasons the academic achievement has improved in all grades at the primary school level. They now can hope that they also will earn one of the scholarships that will give them a chance for a higher education. The students are working towards that goal as is evidenced in the academic achievement improvement throughout the grades.
The General Scholarship Program
In June of 2015 we organized and funded our first annual Wildlife Day along with Serena Hotels. Wildlife Day is a safari to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 1.5 hour bus ride from Iruri. The students on the safari are the top three students from each class, grades 1 to 8. Also invited are the top three teachers in the school based on class achievement, along with Geoffrey the Head Teacher . For many of the students, it was their first time on a bus away from their village, a first time to see many of the animals of Africa, and a first time to eat in a fancy restaurant complements of
School Improvements
There is great need to help improve the physical school environment. The Government provides the initial building for the school but the local community is expected to maintain it. In a small rural farming community the resources are just not there to do an adequate job of maintaining these classrooms. High on the list of things to do was to cement all the floors in the school. In 2014, this work was funded and completed. Along with making the school safer, these improvements bring much-needed income to local workers, many proud graduates of Iruri Primary School.
Another important project was the replacement of all the windows and doors in the school. The doors were completed in the Spring of 2015 and the windows were completed this August just in time for the students to come back to school August 31. Next improvement: complete cement walkways between classrooms in 2016 and install a verandah over this area as well. This will help tremendously to keep the mud out of the classrooms as it rains frequently on the slopes of Mt. Kenya.
STEM Projects
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
When board members and others visit the school for multiple days, we try to bring along an education project to give the students some hands on experience with science and technology. The school has a very rigorous curriculum, but very little in the way of supplies, especially for science experiments, etc. In 2014 we brought solar ovens for the students to assemble and use. It also gave the teachers ideas about how to use the concept in math and science lessons. In 2015 we brought 50 Brushbot kits for the 7th grade class to apply their knowledge of electricity and mechanics to a fun project. This also included lectures from two electrical engineers for both the 7th
and 8th grade classes on the theory behind the science and engineering demonstrated by the Brushbots and other topics on energy, such as lightning.
Future STEM projects: As Kenya and it’s people strive to modernize, their goal is to provide laptop computers or iPads to students throughout the nation beginning in Grade 1. This initiative has been slow to take shape. In the interim, we plan to send some donated iPads preloaded with educational information and lessons, starting with two this November, and more to follow in the future. You can help us with donations of those older, gently used iPads that are just sitting in a drawer (time to upgrade that iPad?) or help with incidental costs such as charging devices, cases, etc. We also accept unlocked iPhones to donate.
Reforestation Project
We co-sponsor a project with Serena Hotels to plant saplings at school to reforest the area. This project was started in 2014 and is an annual, ongoing event. With no electricity in most of the homes, firewood is needed for cooking so trees do get cut down. This is one way we can help replenish the environment.
Keep Girls in School Project
In 2014, the organization began the “Keep Girls in School” project by providing sanitary napkins to the older girls. In many developing countries, if a girl does not have any protection she will miss that week of school which adds up to 25% of her education. Thankfully, we are able to address this problem at Iruri Primary School and for our secondary scholarship girls as well.
Give a Gift of Charity in Honor or in Memory of a Loved One
You may give a gift, such as a specific improvement or a sponsored student, in someone’s honor or in memory of a loved one. The school is so appreciative that they make a sign to be posted on the school grounds or in the specific classroom where the improvement took place.
Sponsor A Scholarship Student
Being a sponsor for one of our scholarships is a 4 year commitment to the recipient’s secondary school education, which starts in 9th grade and ends at graduation in 12th grade.The students take a National exam near the end of 8th grade and we use this as our criteria for awarding the scholarships. For this next year the cost to support a student for one year is $800 which provides for the entire year of education including their books, supplies and room and board. We will periodically send the sponsor the student’s term reports and will encourage letter writing. A small number of our current secondary students have internet access and they
have been in contact with their sponsors by email. That number may increase, but for now we do letter writing. Sponsoring a student throughout the four years becomes a very personal journey for both the sponsor and the student.
Each summer we begin collecting scholarship funds for the next school year. The exams are administered in November and the new term will begin in January. The scores are announced in late December or early January.
These scholarships are such an incentive to our younger students, along with their parents and one of the reasons the academic achievement has improved in all grades at the primary school level. They now can hope that they also will earn one of the scholarships that will give them a chance for a higher education. The students are working towards that goal as is evidenced in the academic achievement improvement throughout the grades.
Other Ways to Give
As you do your online shopping, please remember that AmazonSmile gives back! You can identify Iruri Primary School as your charity of choice as you order items on their Amazon Smile website which offers the same merchandise at the same prices. And it works also with Amazon Prime. We are a small non profit doing grand projects and student support and every little bit helps. 100% of what we raise goes directly to our projects, scholarships, and support of our students. Just select the "Get Started" button to the left and it will send you to AmazonSmile and help you set it up.
