Valentina Moscheni gave up sh850,000 ring to improve poor school

By MERCY CASSANDRA

Not many women would give up a Tiffany’s diamond engagement ring worth Sh850,000 for charitable reasons.

Valentina Moscheni however did. She convinced her fiancé to spend the money on a special project that had captured her heart.

Deep inside the Mida Creek Reserve was a ‘school’ desperate for resources. The term ‘school’ is used loosely as it looked nowhere close to the schools we are used to.

Mida Creek is a fascinating place. It is a group of extensive mangrove forests, warm shallow waters and large areas of mud flats at low tide. A bird-lover’s paradise, it is also the perfect spot from which to watch the spectacular Watamu sunsets. It is home to a number of islands, one of which is of particular interest; Sudi Island.

The story dates back to 1999 when a kindly man, Mario Roffi, an Italian came on vacation to the Watamu coast. He spotted what would be Marafiki School. It was a squalid school with a temporary structure; a thatch roof and four posts to hold it up. All the children would huddle together to escape the rain and the intense heat associated with the coast. The children had neither teachers nor infrastructure. Roffi, having seen the hardship the children were going through, organised with Moscheni and other friends back in Italy to improve the school and the first batch of gifts arrived two years later.

 Within three months after improvement, the number of children increased to 150. On the island however, there were no proper shelters, no teachers and no medical help at all.

The sponsors organised for a doctor who attended to them twice a week. They facilitated the doctor’s fee and transport and bought medication. When authorities visited the school, they declared the buildings unsafe. It was back to the drawing board. Four years later, the school had three stone classes and 300 children. They also developed a water pipe under the ocean to the island. Since then, Marafiki has acquired three motor boats to transport the children to and from school. They also put up staff quarters to minimise teachers’ transport and inconvenience. It was at this point that Moscheni sold her Tiffany ring and the money went into the construction  of two dormitories for boys and girls. However due to school regulations on proximity of female and male dormitories, the boys had to board a room away from the girls. Elisabetha, a lawyer from Italy, formally registered Marafiki as a Trust Foundation in Venice.

Over the years, the sponsors have been sending donations that have enabled the school build and stock a library with brand new books, erect a dining hall and improve the lives of not just the children but the surrounding community too.