About Colonel Harry Vialou Clark MBE

The Kariandusi School Trust is the brainchild of Col. Harry Vialou Clark. Harry is a retired army officer who was born in Kenya and whose ambition, inspiration and drive coupled with a love of the country of his birth led him to dedicate his energies for the betterment of the Kenyan child through education and development.

Harry's wife, Alison Vialou Clark, works tirelessly alongside him. In 2000, when they first visited the Kariandusi Primary School that gave its name to the charity it was a mud and wattle school building educating just 135 pupils. After the roof blew off this pitiful building, Harry turned his formidable vision and determination to its rebuilding. His civil engineering skills and impassioned fundraising enabled construction to begin in November 2003 and it was completed in January 2005. The opening ceremony took place on Valentines Day 2005, six months ahead of schedule. The full project cost £55,000. At that time it was a smart single stream school of eight classrooms for 320 pupils – over double the number of young people once receiving a basic education there. The school gathered great popularity and it soon become full to capacity. In 2008, following the post election tragedy that befell Kenya a large number of 'Internally Displaced' children, all needing education, required us to build a further four classrooms and then another four two years later. There are now 540 children in the school, a 400% increase from the days when KST first became involved.

Supported by a dedicated team, Harry has continued to improve the lives of the rural Kenyan child by his commitment to building more schools and projects in the region. Langalanga Primary School was completed and opened in September 2006, Simba and Murindati Primary Schools in 2008. Ngeteti was attended to in 2009 and St Peter’s Huruma and Karunga Primary Schools were handed over in 2011. The most remote and smallest school is Ndogo which was handed over in September 2008. One other school improvement project (Mwega) has started as well as the most ambitious project ever undertaken. It is the Woodard Langalanga Secondary School. More on this appears elsewhere. Details of these can be found by going to the Schools pages.

Harry and Alison continue to dedicate themselves not only to the Kariandusi School Trust but also to the Langalanga Scholarship Fund (www.langalanga.org.uk). Harry's efforts have, to date, already transformed the lives and hopes of thousands of Kenyan children. The inspiration of one man has lifted them out of poverty and towards a better future.

KST is very proud to add that, in the January 2012 honours list, it was announced that Harry had been awarded the MBE in recognition of his considerable services to education in Kenya.