Former Butere house girl changing lives through education

Save Children of Hope Director Susan Nandwa fits Ebutayi primary school pupils with new uniforms during when her organization donated uniforms to over 200 pupils of Eshitoyi and Ebutayi primary schools in a function held at Ebutayi Salvation Army primary school in Butere Sub- County on December 26, 2015. PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA /STANDARD

NAIROBI: Susan Nandwa’s hopes of continuing with her secondary school studies nearly came to a halt while she was in form three, opting out of school to seek employment but her hopes to see children get quality education remains.

Today, the former house girl is using her organisation, Save Children of Hope (SCOH) to touch children’s lives by sponsoring them to access quality education across all levels - primary, secondary and college.

“My parents were unable to see me through school and I faced a lot of challenges that caused me to drop out of school. These same challenges have now become my cornerstone and what drives me to help needy students,” she says.

Her salary of Sh350 per month could not see her return to school but undeterred, Susan decided to enroll for KCSE as a private candidate.

Today the mother of three is studying for a bachelors degree in Business Administration at KCA university while using SCOH to transform the lives of children who like her would not have had access to education.

“We are supporting at least 200 children in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. We pay their school fees regardless of the school they join. We also buy them school uniform to ensure they are not sent home,” she says

Susan founded the organisation in 2008 and it was officially launched in Belgium, where she and her husband live, in December of that year.

Immediately after, a well attended luncheon was held in Kenya and it was from here that SCOH begun raising money to support needy children. The objective was to offer more than just scholarships but also put up infrastructure for schools to enable learners have a conducive environment for learning.

Her organisation has so far constructed a dining hall, a library and initiated a lunch programme for children in two schools within Butere constituency.

Save Children of Hope has also bought 25 acres of land for construction of a technical institute in the area to help those who are unable to join university get skills.

To further improve learning in the region, SCOH set up a water borehole at Eshitoyi Primary School. Using a manual pump, the borehole serves some 600 schoolchildren and about 50 families, which improved villager’s health status.

Harrison Ongoma, head teacher - Ebutayi Primary School says since Susan started her programme in the school, there has been improvement of the institution’s performance. Further, the children’s health has also improved which has helped them attend school regularly.

“Children under this programme perform well in class since they are able to concentrate better while the initiative has helped improve discipline in school,” he says.

Ongoma says his school has also benefited from an administration complex, dining hall and a kitchen. Butere MP Andrew Toboso lauded Susan for serving as a role model in the society by helping children access quality education.