Projects
Project Junior High School
Reason for starting the project
In 2020, the Kenyan government announced that the school system would be changed. They switched from the British to the Finnish system. This means that all children must attend six years of primary school – from about age six to twelve – and then three years of compulsory Junior High School. The children who were in grade 6 in 2023 will be the first to go to secondary school at the age of twelve. For these children, there will be another three years of ‘compulsory’ secondary school, which is actually a year longer than there used to be. The ‘good’ students can then opt for another three years of ‘Senior High School’.
The obligation is a myth for the children in Kibera, because there are hardly any Junior High Schools in Kibera. According to the staff of Oloo's school, this actually means the end of their educational career. They are too young to go to school outside of Kibera, not to mention the investment that this requires from their parents.
Planned execution
The school team has decided to expand with a Junior High School department. The children can then stay in their familiar environment for another three years and live in their own home. They can then experience the security, coziness and support of Oloo's Children Centre for a number of years. So much more certainty that they will receive a few more years of education.
Judy Oloo has applied for permission to set up a Junior High School. Permission is required to be able to hold exams, which the children need to attend senior high school. The education inspectorate thinks this is a good plan, but it does set requirements, which costs extra money. Other and more subjects are taught at a higher level, for which subject teachers are needed, who are not there now. The start can still take place in the same space, because there is no more group 7 and 8 primary education, but in a year's time extra space will be needed. In addition, requirements have been set for the design:
A science room (costs in euros € 1,400)
A computer room with equipment (€600)
Forty chairs, tables and lockers (€1,800)
Forty uniforms (€750)
New books (€600)
Not yet on this list are the extra classrooms and the subject teachers that are needed. We have received a generous gift from the Jan Amos Comenius Foundation with which we were able to transfer the above furnishing costs in the spring of 2025. Our aim now is extra money for extra classrooms and the funding of the subject teachers.
The End Result
The intended result is that Oloo's Education Center, in addition to the primary school, has a Junior High School department where the recognized exams are also taken.
Tuition fee sponsorship project (2024)
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Reason for Starting the Project
In December 2023, a group of eighth-grade students from Oloo Education Center took the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam for the final time. This exam is necessary for admission into secondary education. No fewer than 29 children from Oloo’s school passed the exam with good grades. In principle, this means they qualify for admission to the four-year secondary education program.
However, only three of those 29 students were awarded a government scholarship through a lottery system. For the remaining 26 students, this would mean the end of their educational journey—and essentially little or no chance of ever securing a job outside of Kibera. For these highly motivated and eager-to-learn children, it means they would have to make ends meet in the future, like so many Kibera residents, by hustling from one small gig to another. Their children would, in turn, once again become dependent on the goodwill of community members like Judy Oloo and her colleagues.
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Implementation
Children who pass with good grades are always offered a place at a boarding school for secondary education, always located outside Nairobi. For children from Kibera, such education is virtually unaffordable without a scholarship. Boarding school costs include not just tuition but also travel expenses, clothing, uniforms, a mattress, a bucket, and school supplies. Secondary education is not free.
In December 2023, we learned that school fees amount to approximately 300 euros per year per student. As board members of the Stichting Vrienden van Kibera (Friends of Kibera Foundation), we began seeking donors in the Netherlands—people willing to contribute 300 euros per year for four years so that a child in Kenya could attend secondary school.
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We reached out to family members, friends, and colleagues with this story and asked if they would be willing to sponsor a child in this way. Many people responded positively. At the start of the 2024 school year, we were able to pay the school fees for 23 students, enabling them to start their secondary education!
For three children, the first year was paid through loans taken by their parents. But borrowing for an additional year was too much for them. In January 2025, we found additional donors. Many donors signed a five-year contract with the Foundation. Others made one-time or multi-year donations without a contract. In January 2025, the Foundation decided to guarantee the full four years of school fees for 26 children.
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The Final Result
We are paying school fees for 26 children from a dedicated fund set up within the Foundation. Currency fluctuations (the euro has declined in value against the Kenyan shilling) and slightly higher-than-expected school fees have meant that we don’t yet have enough for all 26 children.
Since many donors have committed to five-year donations (with tax benefits), we can bridge the shortfall with internal loans within the Foundation. Ideally, we would like to be able to pay without needing those informal loans. We have requested a foundation in Groningen to cover the shortfall, but this request has not yet been granted. We are still actively looking for additional donors for this project.
Food supply project (2022-2023)
Reason for Starting the Project
We started this project in November 2022 to reduce the costs of food provided to the children at school each day (lunches and extra snacks). One way to achieve this was by entering into a contract with a local food supplier who could guarantee the delivery of the required food—and supply everything at once for a reasonable price.
Implementation
To gain a clear understanding of the total food expenses and what was actually needed, Billy Wasonga (a school staff member) and Lieke Aarninkhof (from the board) spent three months mapping out what was being purchased and how much was being spent. The costs turned out to be about 200,000 KES (approximately 1,479 euros) per month.
With a monthly list of required food items, Wasonga began searching in the Kibera area in early 2023 for a supplier who could deliver everything needed at a reasonable price—and he found one. In order to buy in bulk, additional storage space was also needed at the school. A room was cleared for this purpose.
The Final Result
In March 2023, the wholesale deliveries began, at a monthly cost of 129,350 KES (approximately 955 euros). This means a savings of about 524 euros per month on daily lunch costs.
As a result, the Foundation also decided to reduce its monthly contribution. In 2021, the Foundation received a very generous donation from Incentro Netherlands, which allowed us to transfer larger monthly amounts in 2022. As of June 2023, we transitioned to a lower monthly contribution.