JAMBO AND HELLO!
My name is Katherine Wilkins and I am a US Citizen from New York City currently living in a rural town of Homabay, Kenya. I am staying with an impoverished family in order to fundraise for the local schools and their community. My host mother, Hellen Aketch, is the founder of two non-profit private schools in Homabay- Brilliant Kids Academy and Brilliant Kids School & Talent Academy.
www.BrilliantKidsKenya.wixsite.com/home
THEIR GREATEST NEED
Despite the fact that students must pay a (small) tuition to attend Brilliant Kids Academies (~$110/year), due to poverty, only 30% of tuition gets paid. This has left the school buildings in total disrepair and far too small for their needs.
Brilliant Kids School & Talent Academy, located in Wiga Village, is on property owned by the founder, Hellen Aketch. The current building consists of 3 small rooms for their 5 classes which has forced each room to be shared by 2 classes each. This has led to a cramped environment which is not conducive to concentrating on studies. Additionally, they have no space to prepare food, to eat, for administration, or for any extracurricular activities- all of which are desperately needed.
The building itself is run down, filled with mold and bugs; not a safe environment for children to be in daily. It is furnished with limited raw wooden desks which means pupils are injured by their schools’ furniture and each child must share their space with 2 others. This has proven difficult during pandemics (Ebola, Covid-19, etc) when social distancing is paramount.
Their other school, Brilliant Kids Academy (their main location, pictured here), is located on rented land. It too is falling apart and far too small for their needs. However, because it is not their building, nothing can be done to improve its condition. When a new school is built in the Wiga Village location, students from the rented property will be moved to the new building in order to ensure a proper education for all.
CURRENT BUILDING:
EXAMPLE OF PROPOSED NEW BUILDING:
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every penny donated will go towards building children a school for optimal learning. It will be spacious, clean, and organized in a way that gives each pupil an educational environment they deserve. Additionally, your contributions will translate to creating more jobs in an underserved community to even further give back to this impoverish village.
NOTE: Paypal subtracts 2.9% + $.30 from each donation. Please keep this in mind when donating.
*Please visit the school's website at www.BrilliantKidsKenya.wixsite.com/home or email us at BrilliantKidsKenya@gmail.com for more information.*
THE SPACE
Should Brilliant Kids build the school of their dreams, they can educate up to 150 students, which they currently do not have the space for. The new building will consist of 12 spacious and clean rooms and 4 toilets. Breakdown as follows…
Rooms 1-6: 6 Large Classrooms (1 for each grade)
Room 7: Kitchen (for Feeding Program - see below)
Room 8: Cafeteria (for Feeding Program - see below)
Room 9: Administration’s Office
Room 10: Teachers’ Office
Room 11-12: Talent Academy (see below)
+2 Bathrooms: 2 toilets each, multi-gender
THE PLAN
After consulting with a local contractor, he has estimated the project will cost ~10,000,00sh1 (~$90,000). This includes all materials needed, as well as permit costs and labor. They are currently in the design process to create a blueprint for this 2 story, 12 room school building.
CURRENT CLASSROOM:
EXAMPLE OF PROPOSED NEW CLASSROOM:
ABOUT THE SCHOOLS
Brilliant Kids Academies together serve over 200 children in total. The schools educate kids ages 1 year - 10 years, most of whom come from extremely impoverished homes. Brilliant Kids is a registered Community Based Organization (CBO) and is in the application process to be registered by the Ministry of Education.
Despite the fact that many families in Kenya have a difficult time providing food for the family, people place great importance on education. Brilliant Kids Academy and Brilliant School & Talent Academy run as private institutions, therefore parents must pay for their child’s tuition. In return, they receive a much higher level of instruction for their kids and a stronger pupil to teacher ratio (Brilliant Kids- average 20:1, Standard Public- average 45:1).
Both academies teach Language (Swahili + English), Mathematics, Science, Creative Arts, Home Science, and Physical Education. They have recently added classes in “Life Skills” such a cleaning and taking care of your body (washing, brushing) and Sexual Education (preventing unwanted pregnancy and HIV/AIDS). Should funding allow, they hope to add a Talent department to foster Performing Arts, Sports, and Swimming.
*Please visit the school's website at www.BrilliantKidsKenya.wixsite.com/home or email us at BrilliantKidsKenya@gmail.com for more information.*
ABOUT THE TALENT ACADEMY
Should the school be built, Brilliant Kids will be able to expand their curriculum to embrace the children’s budding creative talents- including dance, drama, and music. These skills are important to create well rounded pupils and also to encourage children to come to school each day.
ABOUT THE FEEDING PROGRAM
The new building will also have space for staff to cook breakfast and lunch for the students- meals many children go without daily. Currently, the teachers/pupils must cook and eat meals in their cramped and dirty classrooms which is unsanitary and not sustainable for learning. Their current "kitchen" area has no electricity or gas, so they must cook using a single charcoal pit. Please visit our website if you’d like to donate directly to the Feeding Program.
THANK YOU ahead of time for your generous donation to give these students a better education!
