The Mukuru Outreach Project
The project was conceived in 2008 in the Mukuru area of Nairobi as a means of addressing the pressing needs of the most vulnerable, i.e. youth, women and children.
After consultations and discussions with the local community and its appointed leaders, Martina Lordan and her co-founder Naomi Kerongo were able to identify a suitable plot of land after which Martina purchased the site with monies raised in her home village in Ireland, as well as through her network of family and friends and formal funding applications.
The project began with a hairdressing and beauty college which was donated to the community to be administered by an elected committee of local elders and leaders. In response to further requests by the community, a Computer Studies course was established in 2010 followed by a childcare centre in 2011. The main aim of the centre was to protect and nurture local children while their mothers were out working during the day. Lack of adult supervision meant that children were often susceptible to going missing or being involved in accidents.
In 2013 a dress-making course was started, together with primary school classes 1 and 2, and in Jan 2017 the daycare centre was expanded to become an early childhood development centre offering quality education for children up to 7 years of age.
However, as the community became saturated with the cottage industries of numerous hairdressers and dressmakers, it was decided in 2018 it to expand the vision of Mukuru Outreach Kenya in order to establish a full-time independent educational academy with a board of directors made up of elders, parents and teachers and a financial overseer.
Mukuru Outreach Kenya has been registered since 2012 with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, as well as with the National NGO Council in Kenya.
The project was conceived in 2008 in the Mukuru area of Nairobi as a means of addressing the pressing needs of the most vulnerable, i.e. youth, women and children.
After consultations and discussions with the local community and its appointed leaders, Martina Lordan and her co-founder Naomi Kerongo were able to identify a suitable plot of land after which Martina purchased the site with monies raised in her home village in Ireland, as well as through her network of family and friends and formal funding applications.
The project began with a hairdressing and beauty college which was donated to the community to be administered by an elected committee of local elders and leaders. In response to further requests by the community, a Computer Studies course was established in 2010 followed by a childcare centre in 2011. The main aim of the centre was to protect and nurture local children while their mothers were out working during the day. Lack of adult supervision meant that children were often susceptible to going missing or being involved in accidents.
In 2013 a dress-making course was started, together with primary school classes 1 and 2, and in Jan 2017 the daycare centre was expanded to become an early childhood development centre offering quality education for children up to 7 years of age.
However, as the community became saturated with the cottage industries of numerous hairdressers and dressmakers, it was decided in 2018 it to expand the vision of Mukuru Outreach Kenya in order to establish a full-time independent educational academy with a board of directors made up of elders, parents and teachers and a financial overseer.
Mukuru Outreach Kenya has been registered since 2012 with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, as well as with the National NGO Council in Kenya.
The Mukuru Outreach Academy
"Mukuru Outreach Kenya opened its doors in 2017 as an Early Childhood Education Centre and, in the same year, became a community primary school.
In 2018 the school was able to celebrate its success by becoming an Academy, a full-time independent primary school providing an accessible and positive learning environment for the children of Mukuru. Starting with 60 pupils, it has seen a steady growth through the intervening years so that, together with the Early Childhood Education Centre, it now serves 437 children between the ages of 4 and 14 years.
With the closest public primary school being approximately 5 miles away, making it impossible for the younger children to trek to and from school each day, a strong team of 13 highly devoted teachers and 2 other non-teaching staff are giving their all to ensure that the children from the poor local neighbourhood get high quality basic education. As a result, the Academy is achieving very good grades with a significant proportion of the students getting scholarships into secondary education.
The Mukuru Academy is looked upon favourably by the Department of Education in Kenya as a ‘model school’ in the informal settlements (slums) of Nairobi. Although working within the limited space and facilities of these settlements, the Academy has always tried its best to remain focused on providing good quality education within a safe environment.
Since 2018, the Mukuru Academy has gone from strength to strength. Our pupils have sat for the national exams thrice and recorded impressive results, thus promoting a real sense of optimism within the community.
The Mukuru Outreach Academy Kenya is an independent school run by the community for the community. We have a board of directors which are made up of elders, parents and teachers and a financial overseer. Our reputation, both within the community and the Department of Education, now encourages us to develop a school that will fulfil our pupils’ secondary education needs and aspirations.
Our on-going vision is to continue to grow as an institution that transforms and restores hope in the hearts of our children so that they may face the future with a renewed sense of confidence.”
Enock Obunga Nyananga - Headteacher
”The community are requesting that Mukuru Outreach Kenya provide a junior secondary school offering education and examination certificates up to Class 8.”
Ombongi - Community Elder
"Mukuru Outreach Kenya opened its doors in 2017 as an Early Childhood Education Centre and, in the same year, became a community primary school.
In 2018 the school was able to celebrate its success by becoming an Academy, a full-time independent primary school providing an accessible and positive learning environment for the children of Mukuru. Starting with 60 pupils, it has seen a steady growth through the intervening years so that, together with the Early Childhood Education Centre, it now serves 437 children between the ages of 4 and 14 years.
With the closest public primary school being approximately 5 miles away, making it impossible for the younger children to trek to and from school each day, a strong team of 13 highly devoted teachers and 2 other non-teaching staff are giving their all to ensure that the children from the poor local neighbourhood get high quality basic education. As a result, the Academy is achieving very good grades with a significant proportion of the students getting scholarships into secondary education.
The Mukuru Academy is looked upon favourably by the Department of Education in Kenya as a ‘model school’ in the informal settlements (slums) of Nairobi. Although working within the limited space and facilities of these settlements, the Academy has always tried its best to remain focused on providing good quality education within a safe environment.
Since 2018, the Mukuru Academy has gone from strength to strength. Our pupils have sat for the national exams thrice and recorded impressive results, thus promoting a real sense of optimism within the community.
The Mukuru Outreach Academy Kenya is an independent school run by the community for the community. We have a board of directors which are made up of elders, parents and teachers and a financial overseer. Our reputation, both within the community and the Department of Education, now encourages us to develop a school that will fulfil our pupils’ secondary education needs and aspirations.
Our on-going vision is to continue to grow as an institution that transforms and restores hope in the hearts of our children so that they may face the future with a renewed sense of confidence.”
Enock Obunga Nyananga - Headteacher
”The community are requesting that Mukuru Outreach Kenya provide a junior secondary school offering education and examination certificates up to Class 8.”
Ombongi - Community Elder
“I am Enock Obunga Nyananga. I am one of 9 children born and raised in a remote village of Kisii County, in the Western part of Kenya 33 years ago to peasant parents.
We walked barefoot to the school 2 kilometres away, frequently went without lunch and missed school due to lack of funds. Such challenges I can relate to at the Mukuru School. In 2007, after high school, I relocated to Nairobi to seek employment in education and enrolled for a Diploma in Law to enable me to champion for the rights of the downtrodden in society, unfortunately only to drop out twice for lack of school fees. I trained as a teacher which granted me the platform to serve children in the locality whereby I've been able to experience the most difficult and de-humanizing life-situations that children undergo at a tender age despite their innocence; having to do without even a single meal a day and not having the best education to afford them a new lease of life in future. The restoration of their dreams was, has been and is still my great concern. When an opportunity arose to serve at the helm of Mukuru, I took it with gusto. I believe that nothing is impossible for a determined heart. My vision for the school is to experience stable support to enable us to expand and develop the current infrastructure. I equally anticipate the teacher's professional progress to be effective to empower the students to deliver more. At this time I am considering to go for a political seat to represent my ward and community in the Nairobi County Assembly to secure a platform through which I can have a say in the government and champion the rights of young people more so in education and empower women. I believe that I can build partnerships and make a great contribution in government in aid of my disadvantaged community.” Enock Obunga Nyananga - Headteacher |
“I am Edith Kagendo, born in 1976 into a big family in the village of Kukuriri Embu, in Kenya.
Life in the village was not easy. From an early age l worked hard to help my parents. I walked 3km to my primary school. At lunch time we had to run between school and home, in the heat of the sun, bare foot, for our meal. I was determined that when I grew up I would be a person who can depend on herself, not on others. At school I liked mathematics. My vision was one day to become an accountant. I joined a girls secondary school in Thagaya. If I did not have the school fee I could be sent home - walking for 6km. Although my family lacked basic needs I did not lose hope of my vision. After finishing my 4th Form I worked hard on the farm before attending Kirinyaga Technical Institute where l trained in clothing and textiles. In addition I trained in management, business and finance. My dream was to go to university and became a lecturer, but because we were many in the family and others needed fees to go to school, l took a pause, and came to Nairobi in 2002 to look for a job, hoping one day l would return to my education. I did casual work, including fetching water for people, when there was no other work to do. In 2007, I got married and life became even more difficult. I didn't expect this! One day in 2008, in desperation, l went out to look for a job and met Madam Naomi in the building where Mukuru Outreach Academy is now. She gave me the job of cleaning classrooms and fetching water for the workers. We became good friends. Later, she introduced me to Martina Lordan, who is the founder of Mukuru Outreach Kenya. And it is Martina who introduced Dean to Mukuru.” Edith Kagendo - Finance Manager |
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The Shirikiana Vision
Shirikiana is a UK based non-profit organization dedicated to bringing educational opportunity and outreach to communities in the developing world that lack access or resources to schools, higher education qualifications and knowledge opportunities. |
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