Challenges to get to school
This picture shows some of the difficulties many of our school children face almost daily just to get into the classroom
Author: Swami Padmapadananda
Stories from our school
STORIES FROM OUR SCHOOL
1. ‘Mary’ (not her real name) is a grandmother of two adorable children, a girl (7) and a boy (5). She is blind from birth and never got married. Her son (the father of the two children) turned out to be an armed robber and threatened to harm his wife. The wife, realizing that her life was in danger ran away from home and disappeared into thin air. Nobody knows her whereabouts. At the time of her disappearance, the boy was just three months. The grandmother had to contend with the reality of raising the children on her own even with her disability. The little girl slowly became her guide. As time went by, the children were of school-going age but could not be enrolled into any school due to immense poverty, but also due to the fact that the nearest school was far away and they needed to be at home to take care of the grandmother.
Hand to Hand Education Centre came as a relief to these children. In her own words, Mary said, “this school is the light that I never saw”. This statement warmed our hearts. The children are now able to come to school every day. They can have two hot meals each school day. They have a bright future ahead of them. We have offered them a full scholarship.
2. ‘Jackson’ and ‘Ann’ (not their real names) are parents to four adorable children, one of whom died at age one due to hot porridge burns while crawling ….. Two of these children, a boy (6) and a girl (5), are fully sponsored pupils at our school. Jackson is disabled due to injuries he sustained in 2022 due to a brutal attack, rendering him incapacitated, while Ann is a jobless housewife responsible for the welfare of the family. Due to malnutrition the childrens’ growth was stunted. Weirdly, on many occasions, the children were tied to a rope to prevent them from wandering around while the mother searched for menial jobs. This exposed the children to serious trauma at a tender age. In addition to this, there was little food at home and the children relied on well-wishers to bring something home.
Now with our school around, there is hope for the two adorable angels to shape their future while being assured of at least two hot meals a day. In their own words, the parents said, “thanks to Hand to Hand Education Centre, our children can see the inside of a classroom. We never imagined this, even in our wildest dreams. Thank you Hand to Hand Education Centre”. We have fully sponsored the education of the two children and we always admire the smiles on their little faces each morning they report to school.
3. ‘Alfred’ (not his real name), is a child who was born with a disability. His legs are deformed and a result he has gone through a lot of stigma. He was never enrolled to any school even at the age of 8. We have enrolled him in our school and in the process we have realized he is one of the happiest children in the area. He is optimistic that his situation will change now that he can get an education. ‘Alfred’ is still hoping that his disabled condition can be corrected. In this regard we are exploring options for his treatment and are awaiting a doctor’s recommendation on possible surgery. The school is helping to foot the bills through well-wishers. In the words of a local opinion leader, “this school has brought hope to this community. We didn’t imagine any future for this child. Thank you for reaching out.”
4. ‘Margret’ (not her real name), a widow and jobless, is grandmother of four of our school children. Her two daughters are both deaf and dumb. Her priority is to look for food for the family, implying that the grandchildrens’ education is not really her main focus. With the school in the area, the children can access fully sponsored education and their future is bright. With our feeding program in the school, the children are assured of at least two hot meals each day. This has brought a lot of joy to this family. In the words of one of the mothers, “we can feel that the world has not abandoned us after all. Thank you very much Hand to Hand Education Centre.”
These stories are just but a few testimonies from the community. They represent the feeling of the people on the ground. They make us see the impact the school has had on their lives. We are happy to put a smile on the faces of these innocent children. With your support, we can achieve more.
1. ‘Mary’ (not her real name) is a grandmother of two adorable children, a girl (7) and a boy (5). She is blind from birth and never got married. Her son (the father of the two children) turned out to be an armed robber and threatened to harm his wife. The wife, realizing that her life was in danger ran away from home and disappeared into thin air. Nobody knows her whereabouts. At the time of her disappearance, the boy was just three months. The grandmother had to contend with the reality of raising the children on her own even with her disability. The little girl slowly became her guide. As time went by, the children were of school-going age but could not be enrolled into any school due to immense poverty, but also due to the fact that the nearest school was far away and they needed to be at home to take care of the grandmother.
Hand to Hand Education Centre came as a relief to these children. In her own words, Mary said, “this school is the light that I never saw”. This statement warmed our hearts. The children are now able to come to school every day. They can have two hot meals each school day. They have a bright future ahead of them. We have offered them a full scholarship.
2. ‘Jackson’ and ‘Ann’ (not their real names) are parents to four adorable children, one of whom died at age one due to hot porridge burns while crawling ….. Two of these children, a boy (6) and a girl (5), are fully sponsored pupils at our school. Jackson is disabled due to injuries he sustained in 2022 due to a brutal attack, rendering him incapacitated, while Ann is a jobless housewife responsible for the welfare of the family. Due to malnutrition the childrens’ growth was stunted. Weirdly, on many occasions, the children were tied to a rope to prevent them from wandering around while the mother searched for menial jobs. This exposed the children to serious trauma at a tender age. In addition to this, there was little food at home and the children relied on well-wishers to bring something home.
Now with our school around, there is hope for the two adorable angels to shape their future while being assured of at least two hot meals a day. In their own words, the parents said, “thanks to Hand to Hand Education Centre, our children can see the inside of a classroom. We never imagined this, even in our wildest dreams. Thank you Hand to Hand Education Centre”. We have fully sponsored the education of the two children and we always admire the smiles on their little faces each morning they report to school.
3. ‘Alfred’ (not his real name), is a child who was born with a disability. His legs are deformed and a result he has gone through a lot of stigma. He was never enrolled to any school even at the age of 8. We have enrolled him in our school and in the process we have realized he is one of the happiest children in the area. He is optimistic that his situation will change now that he can get an education. ‘Alfred’ is still hoping that his disabled condition can be corrected. In this regard we are exploring options for his treatment and are awaiting a doctor’s recommendation on possible surgery. The school is helping to foot the bills through well-wishers. In the words of a local opinion leader, “this school has brought hope to this community. We didn’t imagine any future for this child. Thank you for reaching out.”
4. ‘Margret’ (not her real name), a widow and jobless, is grandmother of four of our school children. Her two daughters are both deaf and dumb. Her priority is to look for food for the family, implying that the grandchildrens’ education is not really her main focus. With the school in the area, the children can access fully sponsored education and their future is bright. With our feeding program in the school, the children are assured of at least two hot meals each day. This has brought a lot of joy to this family. In the words of one of the mothers, “we can feel that the world has not abandoned us after all. Thank you very much Hand to Hand Education Centre.”
These stories are just but a few testimonies from the community. They represent the feeling of the people on the ground. They make us see the impact the school has had on their lives. We are happy to put a smile on the faces of these innocent children. With your support, we can achieve more.
Hand to Hand Education Centre
Hand to Hand Education Centre
We are excited to announce that Hand to Hand Community Kenya has opened a school for the children of Transmara West Sub County in Narok county of Kenya, at our farm. We have a Board of Directors that oversees the management of the school.
The children of Transmara West are utterly marginalized due to poor economic and education conditions in this area. The community, on the other hand, is watching helplessly and due to poverty and illiteracy, it is gradually accepting this as a reality in the lives of their children. HHCK envisions supporting 350 children of ages 3 to 9 years to acquire quality education. We further intend to improve the infrastructure, build more classrooms, employ more trained teachers and expose the community to an environment of quality learning.
The catchment area has approximately 4,600 children of ages 3 to 9 years. This is within a radius of about 5 kilometers from our school and is served by only 4 public schools spread through the hills of the sub county.
The rural area is very hilly, becomes muddy during rainy seasons and dusty during dry seasons. As a result many small children do not attend school. The situation is made worse by the cultural traditions of the local Maasai community, who do not value education highly. This has seen many children diverted to different trades such as livestock rearing, with young girls getting married off at a very tender age. These issues make it a burden for the young children.
We registered 87 children within the first 3 weeks of opening despite a minimum of advertising. We feel the community has
confidence and trust in us. The school has provided a sense of convenience.
We are excited to announce that Hand to Hand Community Kenya has opened a school for the children of Transmara West Sub County in Narok county of Kenya, at our farm. We have a Board of Directors that oversees the management of the school.
The children of Transmara West are utterly marginalized due to poor economic and education conditions in this area. The community, on the other hand, is watching helplessly and due to poverty and illiteracy, it is gradually accepting this as a reality in the lives of their children. HHCK envisions supporting 350 children of ages 3 to 9 years to acquire quality education. We further intend to improve the infrastructure, build more classrooms, employ more trained teachers and expose the community to an environment of quality learning.
The catchment area has approximately 4,600 children of ages 3 to 9 years. This is within a radius of about 5 kilometers from our school and is served by only 4 public schools spread through the hills of the sub county.
The rural area is very hilly, becomes muddy during rainy seasons and dusty during dry seasons. As a result many small children do not attend school. The situation is made worse by the cultural traditions of the local Maasai community, who do not value education highly. This has seen many children diverted to different trades such as livestock rearing, with young girls getting married off at a very tender age. These issues make it a burden for the young children.
We registered 87 children within the first 3 weeks of opening despite a minimum of advertising. We feel the community has
confidence and trust in us. The school has provided a sense of convenience.
Our first post
Kenya is a fascinating place to visit. Lying right on the equator it has no seasons as we know in other parts of the world. This means the grass is always green and fallen leaves are few. Our farm is nestled among the surrounding hills and is, as one visitor put it as he entered the compound, a paradise. Come and join us if you wish to have a different kind of holiday.