It is an ordinary day at Love For All Foundation School in the populous slums of Kwa Rhonda, Nakuru. The smell of cooking wafts through the air. It is mid-day.
Outside, children play hide-and-seek as they wait for lunch to be served. They are enjoying their break. The older ones are in class, interacting with their books, while others are racing against time to complete their take-away assignments.
The mentor of the Power Boys group and chairlady of the Power Girls briefing the school’s proprietor of their chargees’ progress completes the perfect picture.
Pamela Ngesa, the school director, has a striking story that birthed a school, bringing together vulnerable children from slum areas and providing them with a platform to exploit their potential.
“The common thing that brought us together was the vulnerability and the thirst for an education. All these children here come to read, to get an opportunity to change their lives for the better. It has since been a success story, though riddled with challenges,” says Ms Ngesa, an accountant.
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Erick Juma, 18, is among those with a happy script after losing parents.
“It has been a journey of hope and determination. The sacrifice by the management is what motivates us to work hard and I am glad to have qualified to join university,” he says.
The boys have mentors - some of whom are products of the facility - including Wycliffe Madiga, 23, who is also an orphan. He is among the first batch to be taken in.
“I was from the streets. I had just sat for KCPE exams and scored 365 marks; my mother died and my sponsor withdrew so I had to go back to the streets. One day, Ms Ngesa approached me and asked if I was willing to go to school. I accepted,” he says.
The school, Ngesa says, was registered in 2015 and currently has 88 children, the bulk being in primary school; some have homes while 27 of them live within the premises.
Over 10 are in high school, one in Kababii University and two waiting to join university this year. One is also in college.
“It has been a struggle. What keeps us going is the success stories these children bring back. We have four teachers for four classes. Others are enrolled at a nearby primary school while others are in different secondary schools across the country,” says Jared Moriasi, the facility’s manager.
He says starting a school to bring the children under one facility has helped solve the challenges of supporting children in different schools, as well as buying different uniforms and books.
“We rely on donations and some publishers and companies have stepped in to bridge the gap by donating books,” says Mr Moriasi.
Bigger house
And while supporting them through school, others did not have homes and Ngesa got a bigger house. Years later, the number of street children seeking shelter at her home grew.
“I started off with two children whom I offered to support when their mother died in 2012.
The numbers soon increased to 11 when I chose to support others through primary school,” Ngesa said. “Over time, I got teachers and registered a kindergarten to train the young ones before enrolling them in primary school,” she says.
Ngesa says the biggest huddle is not owning land to build a complete boarding and learning facility to accommodate all learners.
“We move from rentals to rentals in slum areas. Sometimes when we have renovated a building and set up facilities, the owner issues a notice for us to vacate because the houses are in better shape to fetch better rent,” says Ngesa.
Integrating children from the street to public schools, she says, is challenging as most drop out after a while although others beat the odds to emerge the best.
“If we had a complete facility, it would be easier to rehabilitate and integrate with the rest,” she says.
