2010

Verslag over de kinderen in 2010

The 2010 activities of the school kids’ project were accomplished without any challenges in the area of resources; thanks to the development partners. A total of twenty five pupils benefitted from the project in 2010. Most of the pupils were continuing students while five were new comers of 2010. The new comers were Felix Oseyo, Mitchelle Akumu, Cripine Owino, Rosemary Wambui and Robert Oscar. Consolata Nganga completed her college education while two dropped out. Among those who dropped out was Daniel Munyua who persistently became irregular with college attendance. Efforts to counsel him to continue with education did not bear fruits. The other was Wycliff Oyamo who wanted to change to another course and drop the accounting course he had partly done. This was not acceptable since he had been earlier advised before making career choices. Waithera Njuru dropped out of form two to get married while Brian Chege declined to continue after completing Primary education.

Below are those who joined the Project in 2010 and their respective classes:

Felix June- class two, Mitchelle Akumu – class three,Cripine Owino- class eight,Robert Oscar – class eight and Rosemary Wangui- Medical training college.

A total of four children sat for the certificate of primary education and all of them qualified to join form one in 2011. These were Nelly Akinyi, Robert Oscar, Victoria Juma and Cripine Owino. The four have all joined form one in 2011. Their respective grades are attached in this report.

The list of students supported in the project in 2010 is as follows:

1. Felix Oseyo Joined class two in 2010

2. Mitchelle Akumu Joined class three in 2010.

3. Kate Akinyi Joined class four in 2010

4. Kelly Otieno Joined class five in 2010

5. Quintor Obwango Joined class seven in 2010

6. Mary Njeri Joined class seven 2010

7. Mary Wambui Joined class seven in 2010

8. Nelly Akinyi Joined class eight in 2010

9. Crispine Owino Joined class eight in 2010

10. Victoria Juma Joined class eight in 2010

11. Robert Oscar Joined class eight in 2010

12. George Ochieng Joined form one in 2010

13. Ann Wambui Joined form one in 2010

14. Michael Magambo Joined form two in 2010

15. Brian Juma Joined form two in 2010

16. Hannah Wanjiru Joined form two in 2010

17. Brenda Osoo Joined form three in 2010

18. Hellen Wambui Joined form four in 2010

19. Monica Odongo Continued with college in 2010

20. Patrick Nganga Continues with college in 2010

21. David Mwangi Was in college in 2010

22. Rosemary Wambui Joined college in 2010

23. Felix Ouma Was in college in 2010

24. George Ogolla Was in college in 2010

25. Paul Opano Joins college in 2011.

Those replaced within the year were Wycliff Oyamo, Daniel Munyua, Consolata Wanjiru, Brian Chege and Waithera Njuru. As for Edwin Ochieng only house rent was paid since he was not in school in Kenya. The total number of students supported to completion was twenty five.

PRIMARY LEVEL:

1. June Felix Oseyo (Our Lady of Nazareth Primary School)

June joined the project in 2010 in class two. Born in 2002 from a family of four June is a second born. They live in one of the slums in the eastern part of Nairobi called Mukuru. June and the other siblings go to a catholic aided school within their locality. June is an average child in class and it is for this reason that he was considered for support by the project. His mother runs small businesses within the estate while the father is a mechanic within the informal sector in Nairobi. June’s parents both struggle to fend for the children in whichever way they can. His mother diversifies the micro enterprises which she operates while the husband goes out of his way to look for motorists who require mechanical services beyond his regular working place. Their average family income is kshs.10, 000 per month.

2. Mitchell Akumu(Kabare Primary school)

Mitchelle is another child taken into the project in 2010. She was in class three in 2010 and moved to class four in 2011. She comes from a family of three with parents who are HIV positive. The two are on ARVs and need to eat well all the time. Both parents are not employed and often carry out petty trade to make ends meet. Like many other micro entrepreneurs the businesses change depending on what is in demand. Their average income from business activities is kshs.7, 000 per month. This together with the monthly allowance of kshs.2000 forms the entire family income. The unsold stock of foodstuff is not wasted but used to supplement food for the family.

3. Kate Akinyi (St. Teresa’s Girls Primary School):

Kate was in class four in the same school in 2010. Her performance is still above average as she joins class five in 2011. She is among the promising children in the project as well as the family. Kate’s mother still operates small businesses among them vegetables and fruits, charcoal, paraffin, dry fish, second hand cloths and sometimes she supplies cooked food in construction sites. These are businesses she operates at different intervals depending on the opportunity available at a given time. Kate’s mother has been consistent with business activities over the years since she has not had any form of formal employment. Her average income is kshs.8,000 per month. This she adds to the monthly allowance which often form part of the business capital before it is put to the intended use. The unsold stock of foodstuff which would otherwise go to waste is used by the family to reduce family expenses.

4. Kelly Francis Otieno (Unity Primary School):

Kelly was in class five at Unity Primary School in 2010. A second born in a family of three, Kelly’s performance at school has always been above average as can be seen in his school report forms. His mother still operates a range of businesses based on what is viable at different times. These businesses include vegetables second hand cloths and general accessories. The father is not in any regular employment and does small jobs which come his way like many other Kenyan job seekers do.

Kelly’s mother is a very aggressive entrepreneur who is always on the lookout for business opportunities to undertake. Her monthly average income is kshs.10, 000 from all the business activities. This together with the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 000 constitutes the family income. From this income they pay house rent of kshs.2, 000. They supplement household food with the remains of unsold foodstuff which would otherwise go to waste is used to subsidize family meals.

5. Victoria Juma (Mbaga Girls Primary School):

Victoria joined class eight in the same school in 2010 and sat for the Kenya certificate of Primary education (KCPE). She scored 375 marks out of a possible 500 which earned her a place in form one in a Provincial school in 2011. Her performance record over the years had been satisfactory and such success was foreseeable. She continues to inspire many other children around her through her outstanding performance. Her mother is equally very hard working in her small business and has managed to keep the other brothers and sisters in school. She makes an average income of kshs.10,000 per month. This together with the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 000 from the project plus the husband’s occasional income from casual labor constitutes the family income. The support for her daughter and the fact that she is doing well in school has boosted the family’s morale and work harder everyday in meeting the basic needs of the family.

6. Nelly Akinyi ( Ngiya Girls primary School)

Nelly is a first born in a family of four. She was in class eight in the above school in 2010 and equally sat for the Kenya certificate of Primary education. She scored 354 marks out of a possible 500 and joined form one in 2011. These were good grades which earned her a place in Provincial school as well. Nelly’s mother runs a grains selling business for a living. The father is not on regular employment and occasionally gets casual jobs within Nairobi. Nelly’s mother makes an average of kshs.7, 000 per month from the business while her husband brings on average ksh.5, 000 from the small jobs. The two incomes together form total family income. It is not possible to accurately determine how much the fathers earn as it is with the women. The figures stated here are basically those that are visible within the family. Nelly’s mother came to SEED Trust offices when Nelly was almost dropping out of school due to financial constraints. The project came to her aid and gave her hope and renewed strength to fend for the rest of the family.

7. Cripine Owino (Nyalula Primary School)

Born in 1996, Cripine is another one of the new students who joined the project in 2010. He was in class eight and got 316 out a possible 500 marks and has also joined form one in 2011. Cripine is a first born in a family of four. They live in one of the slums in Nairobi called Kyambio. He has one sister and two brothers who are also in school. His mother sells grains while the father does all kinds of businesses for survival if he is not helping in the family business. This is what supports her family and provides school fees for the other children in school. Average income for the family is kshs.8, 000.

8. Robert Oscar (Karapul Primary School)

Born in1996, Robert joined the project in 2010 in standard eight and sat for the Kenya certificate of Primary education. He scored 339 marks out of a possible 500 and joined form one in 2011. He is a last born in a family of four. The other older siblings did not pursue education to higher levels due to financial constraints. His mother runs a business in second hand cloths and also does hair dressing. The father is a panel beater in the informal sector and together they join hands to bring up the family. Family average income is kshs.10, 000 from the business.

9. Mary Njeri (By Grace Academy):

Mary repeated class seven in a different school in 2010 following unsatisfactory performance in the previous years. Her performance has been unsatisfactory for some time and this called for the need to transfer her to a different school to repeat class seven so that she can be more prepared to sit for the Kenya Certificate of primary education. In 2010 she was transferred to a boarding school to rewind class seven. There has been very slight improvement though. She has gone to class eight in 2011. Her family still lives in Mathare valley where they operate different businesses.

10. Mary Wambui (Kathangeri Mt. Kenya Plainsview academy):

Mary accepted to go back to class seven in 2010 in order to improve her grades after scoring 216 marks in standard eight in 2009. Her grades have since improved as can be seen in progress report. Her mother still operates the knitting business which is located in a city council market within Nairobi. Her poultry business is also doing well and this has boosted her income. For the poultry business she is slowly diversifying her market to different customers within Nairobi.This is what supports her family and provides school fees for the other children in school. Average income for the family is kshs.10, 000 from the business kshs.2, 000 from the monthly allowance and the father’s occasional income from casual jobs which are on and off. She is looking forward to taking additional loans from SEED Trust to further expand her business.

11. Quintor Obwango :

Quintor was in class seven in 2010 and joins class eight in 2011. She has been putting up a strong fight against the odds of life surrounding her. She lives with her step mother following a divorce between her parents many years ago. Life is hard for Quintor’s family in Mathare slums but like every under privileged Kenyan, they have to move on. The casual jobs don’t come along so frequently for her father and this leaves them with the petty trading businesses to rely on. Her current mother lost one of her twin babies but has since recovered from the blow and embarked on her business. Average monthly income from the business is kshs. 6,000 which they add to the monthly allowance of 2000/ to meet family upkeep. Her performance record is shown in the report forms accompanying this report.

SECONDARY SCHOOL CASES:

1. George Ochieng (Hono Secondary School):

George is another child who has been brought up without a mother following her demise several years ago. He joined form one in the above school in 2010 but will be repeating the same class in 2011. His performance in 2010 was not very impressive and letting him go to the next class was not the best decision. Children brought up under very difficult circumstances and without a mother sometimes take a longer time to catch up in school. George’s step mother runs small businesses as a source of livelihood. His father often looks for small jobs within the industrial area to support the family. The family income is derived from the small businesses run by the step mother and casual jobs occasionally carried out by the father. Average family income is therefore about kshs.9, 000 per month and additional monthly allowance of kshs.2, 000. This is what they use to feed and educate other children.

2. Ann Wambui (Gitungi Girls High School)

Ann joined form one in the above school in 2010 after successfully completing primary education and scoring 301 marks out of a possible 500 in 2009. She picked up well in the new school with a fluctuating trend as the year went by. Consultations regarding her performance are ongoing between all parties and SEED office. Her performance records in 2010 can be seen in the attached report forms. Her mother still runs different businesses including bag making in Nairobi. The father is unemployed but occasionally gets casual jobs to do. Anne’s brothers are also in school and fee is mainly paid from the proceeds of the business activities. Now that Ann is supported by the project, the parents have a slightly lesser burden to carry with regard to their children’s education. On average the family earns kshs.10,000 per month and also get the monthly allowance of kshs.2,000.

3. Michael Magambo: (Sawagongo High School):

Michael joined the project in 2008 in standard eight at the age of 14yrs. He joined form one in 2009 in the above school after passing Kenya certificate of primary education with 346 marks out of a possible 500. His performance can be seen in the attached progress reports. He is a last born in a family of four, two boys and two girls. His mother operates small businesses while the father is a casual laborer in Nairobi. The family earns an average of kshs. 7,000 per month from the business. The father occasionally earns another kshs7.000 per month from the small odd jobs. The total average income from both business and casual jobs is therefore kshs.14,000.We constantly hold discussions with children and their parents regarding performances to encourage them and reiterate the fact that this is an exceptional chance which should not be left to go to waste. This was done a lot for Michael in 2010.

4. Brian Juma (Sawagongo High school)

Brian joined form one in the above school in 2009 after scoring 369 marks out of a possible 500 in the Kenya certificate of primary education. These were good grades which enabled him to join a good Provincial school. However, he seems to have relaxed a bit after going to form one; an issue we are seriously addressing. His mother still sells vegetables, fruits and sometimes second hand cloths for their daily livelihood. Her average income from these businesses is kshs.8,000 per month. The father is a casual laborer who occasionally finds small jobs in the city’s industrial area and earns about Kshs.7, 000 per month. The job is not regular and this means he has to go without employment sometimes. The other children are in school too and they all live together in one of the informal settlement areas called Kyambio in the eastern part of Nairobi. It is very clear that Brian and his brothers and sisters would not have gone this far with their education were it not for the Project’s intervention. Taking Brian into the project created the opportunity for the parents to concentrate on the other children who are equally pursuing their education. His progress reports are attached to the report.

5. Hannah Wanjiru Waithera (Karinga Girls High School)

Hannah is a first born in a family of two born from a single mother. Born on 1^st/Jan/1996, She was in form two in 2010 in the above school. Hannah’s mother, Regina Waithera is a casual laborer who does all kinds of odd jobs including cleaning services for families within the surrounding area particularly the Somali families. Born in 1975, she is a single mother of two and has to undertake the family responsibilities single handedly. Regina lives with her two children in a single room within Mathare valley. She makes an average of kshs.100 per day from her daily activities which are hardly enough to feed her family, let alone paying school fees. Residents of this area are mainly petty traders and casual workers whose average incomes are between kshs.3, 000 – 4,000 per month. Their children rarely go beyond primary level of education. Hannah was faced with the same predicament when the project came to her aid after sitting for the Kenya Certificate of primary education in 2008 and scoring 333 points out of a possible 500.

6. Brenda Osoo (St. Ann’s Kisoko Girls’ Secondary School)

Brenda was in form three in 2010 in the above school. She is progressing well but also gets similar advice regarding performance. Her academic performance records can be seen in the progress report attached to this report. Brenda’s mother still operates small businesses. This left her with only the regular petty trading businesses to operate. These include vegetable selling, dry grains second hand cloths and sometimes dry fish. Her average income from the business is kshs.7, 000 which is supplemented with the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 000. Most of the time she puts the monthly allowance into working capital to boost her business before putting it to the intended use. She also got a loan from SEED to improve her business.

7. Helen Wambui (Horeb Secondary School):

Helen was in form four in 2010 and sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary education. She is currently waiting for results which should be out any time now. She comes from a family of three and her mother is a widow. Her performance had not improved much at the time of she was sitting for final exams. We however hope she will get grades which can be useful to her in future. Her mother often gets small jobs especially in children’s homes as well as other businesses which she does for a leaving. The businesses include selling of second hand cloths, hair dressing and at times selling fruits and vegetables.

COLLEGE CASES:

1. Paul Opano (Kisumu Technical Institute):

Paul sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in 2009 and scored grade C+. With those grades, he got a place at Kisumu Technical Training College where he is taking a course in electrical engineering – Power option. Paul’s performance has been impressive all through the years and this has enabled him to get a course with skills of higher demand compared to many other courses. Paul’s mother still operates small businesses for their upkeep. Average monthly income from the small businesses is kshs.9, 000 which she adds to the monthly allowance. She is single from a failed marriage but is determined to give her son the best in life. She is one client who has been consistent in her business despite the many challenges facing micro enterprises and is likely to succeed in business given the relevant support and resources to develop her business. She currently sells vegetables and a small retail shop.

2. George Ogolla (Siaya Institute of Technology):

George completed his internship and went back to college for his final year. A fourth born in a family of seven, George’s performance has been impressive. This has earned him key roles of student’s leadership in the college. His performance can be seen in the progress report attached. George’s mother is economically single since her husband is crippled and cannot carry out any economic activity. She runs a fish selling business and gets average income of kshs.7,000 per month. Support to George has made significant impact on the family with renewed hope and motivation to fend for others. The supplement of kshs. 2,000 per month have further boosted family income.

3. David Mwangi (Nairobi Technical College):

David is progressing well with his course in mechanical engineering. He sat for the craft certificate of KNEC (Kenya National Examinations Council) last year and qualified to pursue the diploma level. Born in a family of four, both parents are alive but do not have regular income and therefore run small businesses for survival. They change businesses depending on which business is doing well at any given time just like many other micro entrepreneurs. Sometimes it is vegetables, other times cloths and at times second hand shoes. Average income from the businesses per month is kshs.9, 000. David’s other siblings are also in school as their parents struggle to provide for them. We keep empowering the parents in their respective economic activities so that all the children can get a chance in life.

4. Rosemary Wambui (MTC) – Embu Medical Training college:

Rosemary also joined the project in 2010. She joined Embu Medical Training College where she is doing a nursing course. She is a first born in a family of four. Rosemary sat for the Kenya certificate of secondary education in 2008 but lost hope of continuing with her education due to economic constraints. She was already set to stay at home and hopefully get married one day.

Wambui’s mother runs a vegetable selling business and sometimes gets second hand clothes and re-sells. The father is a casual laborer who does any manual work that comes his way to supplement family income. Occasionally he gets jobs in the construction sites. The average income earned in this family from all the activities is Kshs.10, 000.This is what is used to provide basic needs and education for other siblings.

5. Felix Oduor (Kenya Institute of Highways and building technology):

Felix is continuing with his studies in highway engineering in Nairobi after going for a four months attachment between September to December 2010. Felix’s performance has been satisfactory and this was also displayed during the attachment where he got positive recommendations. Felix and his younger sister still live with their grandmother in the slums of Nairobi. They are two children from a single mother who died in 2003. His grandmother is a vegetable vendor and also sells dry fish for a living. From these small businesses, she earns an average of kshs.8, 000 per month. The household has a total of eight people all depending on the small businesses. Felix is one of the children who may soon break the poverty circle in the his family.

6. Monica Odongo (MTC)- Kakamega

Monica is continuing well with her studies in nursing. A fourth born in a family of eight, she was born in1990 and sat for the Kenya certificate of secondary education in 2007 but could not continue with her education due financial constraints. The family is quite large and that was the furthest her family could assist her with the help of other individuals and institutions. In fact she had been assisted through the CDF (Constituency development fund) since she had performed well in the KCPE and had a relative to follow things up. Monica’s father Daniel

Still does casual jobs which are on and off in the industries within Nairobi whiles her mother; Syprine is a vegetable vendor. Her average monthly income from the sale of vegetables is kshs.8,000. This, together with her husband’s income of kshs. 8,000 are what they pool together in trying to meet family obligations. Due to the apparent financial constraints, Monica could not join college to further her education until the project came to her aid.

7. Patrick Nganga (MTC)- Kenya Medical Training college:

A third born in a family of three Patrick sat for his Kenya Certificate of secondary education in 2006 and scored a B-. He did not join college until 2009 when the project came to his aid. Born from a peasant single mother, Patrick could not continue with his college education due to financial constraints. His eldest brother did not complete secondary education as well as the second born sister. Patrick however completed through the support of the chief through constituency funds. This facility was introduced by the Government much later when the first two siblings had already dropped out of school. The first brother later became an alcoholic after getting married. The wife has four children who are all taken care of by their grandmother (i.e Patrick’s mother). The second born sister is a single mother with three children also living with her mother. In total Patrick’s mother has ten people to take care of in her family and this is why she cannot provide any of her children with reasonable education. Patrick’s mother; Justine Wanjiku runs small businesses to fend for the family. Her daughter and daughter in law normally assist her in the businesses since they are not engaged in any form of employment. Four of the grandchildren are already in lower primary classes. Her average monthly income from the business activities is kshs.10, 000