2024 Project Rafiki
OttAwa hills high school & SLIK
Karibu Project Rafiki! (Welcome Project Friend!)
Project Rafiki 2024 is underway, and I look forward to continuing the tradition of supporting young Kenyans with the potential to make a better life for themselves and their communities through improvements to the schools where the Service Learning In Kenya (SLIK) students volunteer each summer. With your support last year, a total of $20,000.00 was raised for the purchase of 200 new desks and the construction of a new classroom at Gitinga Primary School. According to the teachers, the new desks were a game changer. With each student having their own desk they had better focus, showed more pride in their work, and kept their school supplies well organized. The new classroom at Gitinga replaced one with dirt floors and rough-cut lumber walls, so you don’t need to imagine the impact a classroom with cement floors and stone walls had on the students’ ability to focus and learn in a more comfortable environment.
Having witnessed the positive impact of these two projects I want to expand the effort of Project Rafiki 2024 with three goals.
Goal #1 – Double the number of desks to 400 that will be divided by the eight schools where the SLIK students volunteer. Fundraising target - $12,000.00
Goal #2 – Construct a new science lab equipped with running water and electricity. This need comes from a change in the education structure with primary/junior high school now being grades 1 - 9 grades, and high school being grades 10 - 12. In the past, the primary schools were grades 1-8 and high schools were grades 9-12. The problem, however, is that no new classrooms are being built, so the current primary schools must now accommodate 9th graders as well. Another challenge is the 9th grade curriculum requires students to conduct experiments in a lab, but primary schools do not have labs! Given the proximity of the primary schools in the Naro Moru area, if one lab is built then other nearby schools can use the facility as well.
Fundraising target - $15,000.00
Goal #3 – To surpass our fundraising target of $27,000.00 with any additional funds sponsoring local primary school groups for teambuilding and leadership programs at Batian’s View Experiential Education Center.
I hope you will be a part of this year’s Project Rafiki campaign so we can continue to create a more positive learning environment for many students and educators in rural Kenya.
With gratitude,
Fred Roberts
SLIK Founder and Director
HFE Building Project Director
