Background Information
Waitua Primary School started in 1972 as an Early Childhood Centre and was later expanded to a public primary school in 1985. It is located near Kaha-ini Shopping Centre in Kandara Sub-County, Murangá County of Kenya. Currently, the school has an enrollment of 550 pupils mostly from the neighboring villages. The school does not have a boarding facility and all the pupils are day scholars.
Majority of parents are casual laborers in the neighboring coffee plantations and therefore lack resources to adequately provide the basic needs for their children.
Projects undertaken in Waitua Primary School
Kimap has undertaken several projects at Waitua Primary School. These include:-
- Waitua School Feeding Programme.
- Construction of a Kitchen and Installation of A Modern Energy Saving Cooking System in Waitua Primary School.
- Purchase of 100 desks for Waitua Primary School.
Waitua School Feeding Programme
The feeding programme in Waitua Primary School began in 2019. The programme benefits 100 pupils from poor families who struggle to provide a decent lunch for their children. Each school day, the needy school children are provided with porridge and a boiled egg at 10 am.
During lunch, the children are provided with a full meal. The programme has made positive impacts to the school. Waitua Primary School has recorded improvement in their Mean Standard Score in the 2019 and 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examinations (KCPE).
Funds to support the feeding programme are provided by the Every Child Counts (USA), ECC USA is committed to support the program in the long term.
Construction of a Kitchen and Installation of A Modern Energy Saving Cooking System in Waitua Primary School
In February 2020, Every Child Counts USA provided funds to construct a kitchen in Waitua Primary School. Previously, Waitua Primary School did not have a kitchen to support the feeding programme.
The kitchen building has a room to store food and cooking equipment. Three modern energy saving cooking jikos were also installed in the Kitchen. The cooking jikos saves over 70% fuelwood compared to the conventional three stones cooking method.
Purchase of 100 desks for Waitua Primary School
In 2020, Waitua received 100 high quality desks fabricated with metal and treated timber. Previously, the desks used in the school were poor quality and were uncomfortable for the children. The new desks have greatly improved the learning environment in the school and boosted the image of the school.
