Kisumu: Joy as pupils get a roof over their heads after 6 months of suffering

Pupils and teachers of Miwani Section Three Primary School in Muhoroni, Kisumu County receive iron sheets donated by Mabati Rolling Mills. The donation will help reconstruct four classrooms whose roofs were blown away by strong winds in April this year. (PHOTO: DENISH OCHIENG/ STANDARD)

Pupils at Miwani Section Three Primary school in Muhoroni who have been learning in roofless classrooms are a happy lot after Mabati Rolling Mills (MRM) donated 250 roofing sheets.

The donation will help reconstruct four classrooms whose roofs were blown away by strong winds in April this year. The Standard highlighted the plight of the pupils. in June in a picture which showed teaching going on in a roofless class after the unfortunate storm incident, drawing sympathy from the iron sheets company that decided to step in and help the pupils and the teachers.

When The Standard visited the school on Tuesday, there was excitement in the air for a better part of the morning and afternoon as teachers, parents and pupils waited with bated breath for iron sheets. The school, which was run by Miwani Sugar Company which has been under receivership for over a decade now, seems to have been a forgotten institution, with nobody coming in to help even after the situation was highlighted in The Standard.

The school's head teacher John Ongany who has been in the school for nine years now, said attempts to get help from either the County Government of Kisumu or the area MP were futile. Mabati Rolling Mills Service Centre Manager Ramadhan Juma who was also present during the handing over of the iron sheets to the school administration said the situation at the Miwani Primary was a dire one, ad that is the reason MRM decided to come in and help.

"It became the company's top priority, and it is good that after all the logistics have been done, we have now been able to deliver these iron sheets so that the pupils can learn comfortably," said Juma.

While one problem is already solved, there seems to be a myriad other problems the school is facing which probably will need to be looked into.