Karunga Primary School
Date started: December 2009
Date completed: Due February 2011
Cost of project: £125,000
Size of school: Triple stream school to be built for c800 pupils
One liner: Set on the edge of a shanty town some 15km north of Gilgil this school suffered from minimum maintenance over very many years. There is now much to do!
Current Status: Under the new headteacher morale has risen markedly and the brand new school buildings have provided him with the facilities he needs to raise the standard of education of all children in Karunga.
Pictures:
Karunga schoolchildren thrive in their much improved new school.
The Countess enters into the spirit of a great occasion!
This is the only available water tank on site for a school of over 700 children! A new 125,000 litre tank is planned to be built to collect water from the roofs of the new administration block and two nearly completed classrooms. A further smaller tank will be built later if funds become available.
Mud everywhere!
A general view of Karunga in 2008.
The depressing state of the school buildings can be clearly seen. This classroom block will be totally restored internally and externally. A much needed verandah and water harvesting arrangements will be included.
More info: Years ago when the population was less and, presumably, money for schools was more plentiful, this school was probably doing well. The walls are in stone and there are corrugated roofs (now rusted and leaking), window frames (most with broken or missing panes), a few classrooms with concrete floors and some with verandahs.
There are no rainwater gutters or downpipes so the black-cotton soil turns to sticky mud in minutes by rain from the roofs. There is no water tank other than shown in the photograph.
A full engineering appraisal was prepared and work is now progressing very well. Over the 2009 Christmas holidays a big drive to replace the leaking roof and to provide concrete floors to all classrooms in the top block of six classrooms took place. The verandah was greatly improved. The success achieved is a great tribute to the leadership and planning skills of our Project Manager, Mr Mathenge.
At the time of updating the website (May 2010) the new administration block is about 40% complete and the two new classrooms being built by Madventurer are about 90% complete.
Madventurer is a UK based adventure holiday company that has been working in partnership with us for many years. The partnership is of immense value to young, mainly white, adventurers and to the communities in Kenya who are fortunate enough to have their help. Visit www.madventurer.com for details.
In February 2010 the Patron of our sister charity, the Langalanga Scholarship Fund (see www.langalanga.org.uk) the Earl of Carnarvon and his wife were given a rousing welcome by the Headmaster, Mr Sammy Mbogua. The Earl’s ‘Impressions’ are included elsewhere on this website.