Tough but successful assessment of potential beneficiary students around Arabuko-Sokoke

The assessment exercise for the new ASSETS beneficiary students has taken the assets team four good days to complete. It was a tough time for the team riding through the sand dunes into several homes bordering Mida-creek at the sea shore and far and beyond the Arabuko-sokoke Forest. Here are pictures showing Festus and Bimbo in the villages interviewing the parents of the beneficiaries.  

Some parents have found it hard and expensive sending their children through the secondary education due to lack of funds.  However, the ASSETS team has taken an extra mile of guiding, counseling and giving hope to them that God will give way and the students will pursue secondary education. The ASSETS program is there for them and its purpose is to glorify God. This is one way of helping the less fortune and letting them know that God loves them and they still have the potential to attain a better life.

Below is a photo showing Festus guiding and counseling a parent and his son

Apart from the above activities, the team has managed to see one of the parents who has been a beneficiary in the ASSETS program for several years and have grasped the knowledge of conservation. It was really interesting to see his wood lot and nursery seedlings doing well. This year, he has posted another child into secondary school and is being interviewed so that his child can get support from ASSETS program.

Assets team is hopping all will be well even to the families that has lost hope.

Environmental Education visit to Girimache Primary School

Due to the many staff changes in the last six months, the Environmental Education programme at A Rocha Kenya had stagnated for some time. We are glad it has been possible to revive it with a new program of school visits! The 7th of June marked our first visit to a primary school near the Arabuko Sokoke forest. The journey took us almost one and a half hours to Girimache Primary School where we found the students preparing to get in to the hall where we were meeting. On board was Nathaniel, one of the volunteers from France, Naomi, a student attached in the Environmental Education programme from Kenyatta University, and Stanley the Environmental Education officer at A Rocha Kenya.

The students were eager to hear what we had to teach them and surprisingly they loved it. They enjoyed answering questions and asked for clarification where they did not understand. It was really satisfying to see how the pupils were passionate about the environment. The students seemed to have had some environmental education as a component of their schooling already. We had a discussion on how each one of us contributes to the degradation of the environment, including the Arabuko Sokoke forest that neighbours the school. The days’ success was marked by the promise that the students will do their best in taking care of the environment, and they will be involved in educating other students and their parents on the importance of conserving the environment.

The first nine schools that will be visited for Environmental Education, including Girimache, are schools with ASSETS students enrolled. For students from this area, understanding why conservation of the environment is important is crucial to the preservation of the unique ecosystems of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, and only by educating the young will there be a change in the way the forest is used be achieved in the future.

Naomi Wanjiru Gichungu- Environmental Education intern

Letter from an ASSETS student

We recently received this letter from a grateful ASSETS student which was a real encouragement to us and was great to hear how the eco-bursary scheme has really made a difference in his life. Dear Sir/Madam,

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ hoping that you are going on well. With me I thank the lord for the protection which he had given me so far.

The main aim of writing this letter is to thank you for giving me assistance during my schooling time by paying my school fees at Dr. Krapf Secondary School. I highly appreciate your efforts of ensuring the needy students get the chance of continuing with their education by giving school fees assistance.

I completed my four years well and managed to get a mean grade of C plain KCSE in which I have attached the results slip.

I say thanks for the whole support you gave me in my education and I pray that God would shower you with blessings and giving more resources in your bid of helping the other students who are beneficiaries.

Once again I salute you for your good work and may the Lord be with you all the time. Bye.

Yours Faithfully,

Benson Safari

We continue to be really grateful to God for his goodness in helping us assist these incredibly needy children to get to Secondary school. There are still many out there that need help. By sending a child to school with an ASSETS bursary we not only give the child their school fees, but do a lot of follow up with them and their families to make sure their studies are going well and that they have understood the importance of caring for the forest and creek.

All of this - the fees, the follow up costs including transport and salaries of staff critical to the whole process - only costs a mere $24 per month. If you would be interested to help and sponsor a child or simply give regularly to what I believe is an awesome project, please do so!

A group of ASSETS beneficiaries at one of the follow up events for students during the holidays.

If you would like to know how to donate then please do so through the A Rocha donations page - until we have the 'Donate' button functioning again on this blog.