Mm kenya barkatado school proposal

Long-Term Sustainable Development in Kenya, Nepal and Borneo

Moving Mountains Trust

Barkatado Primary SchoolSiaya – Western Kenya

Location and School Site: Barkatado is located on top of ahill/ridge about 5km south-east of Ulamba Children's Home inSiaya, Western Kenya. The school site is quite large with afootball field at the front and many mature trees, includingmango around the edge and rear of the site. Rows of newtrees (approx 20-40cm high at present) have been planted tofront right of site. Casava and maize are grown on site. Theland on which the school is built was donated by the localcommunity but the school do not have a title deed to it.

Students: There are currently approximately 240 pupils in thePrimary School and a further 70 in the Early Childhood

Development centre. Class sizes vary with an average of around 35 children plus per class: the classroomsare small for this number of students and there is generally a lack of desks and space (described below) .Last year twenty children were eligible to graduate to secondary school but only fifteen were accepted.

PO Box 14, Portstewart, Northern Ireland, BT55 7WS W: www.movingmountainstrust.com

T: 028 708 31258 Recognised as a charity by HMRC under reference XR62512 E: [email protected]



Teachers and School Management: The school currently employs ten members of staff; six governmentemployed, four funded through parent donations. The Management Committe is made up of the followingmembers of staff: Head Teacher - James Owatie, Deputy Head Teacher - Edward Puda, Chairperson - AlfredOdhimbeo Ayier.

Support from the Authorities: The Deputy County Comissioner and the District Education Officer have beenconsulted and fully support the work of Moving Mountains at Barkatado. Moving Mountains Kenya has overtwo decades of experience working in partnership with rural schools in the region, we have a proven track-record of transforming educational facilities and infrastructure in the area and are a highly valued andrespected development partner. We have also begun working with the school management committee totry to capture additional support and funding for the school from the authorities.

School Facilities: Barkatado School was originally built in 1972 with classrooms added over time as theschool has developed. There are currently eight classrooms at the school in varying states of disrepair. Thereis also one small staff building, one brick ECD building, two sets of toilets for children (male/female), one





staff/visitor toilet block, one ECD toilet block and a galv-corrugated iron kitchen building to the rear.

The state of the facilities (as of October 2013) is as follows:

• Original ECD: Lath + Adobe walls, Round-poletrusses, corrugated iron roof, doorways/windowscollapsing, mud floor.

• Class 8: Individual block. Approx 5x10m. Fairly newroof, Concrete floor, Glass in windows, Fairly newdesks. Large sheltered overhang/veranda. Adjacentto building are the foundations for the walls ofanother adjoining building of same size again.Masonry shell of shelving unit built but not shelvedor fitted out. Believed to be funded by government.

• Class 3: Part of 4-room block. Each room approx 5x8m. Roof starting to rust, Brand new concretefloor (installed by Moving Mountains), Glass in windows (installed by Moving Mountains), Steeldoor, Old desks, only around 4-6. No outside plinth/path. Inside and out painted by MovingMountains in July 2013.

• Class 2: Part of 4-room block. Each room approx 5x8m. Roof starting to rust- approx 6 panelsreplaced, brand new concrete floor (installed by Moving Mountains), Glass in windows (installed byMoving Mountains), Steel door, Old desks, only around 4-6. No outside plinth/path. Inside and outpainted by Moving Mountains in July 2013.

• Class 4: Part of 4-room block. Each room approx 5x8m. Roof starting to rust, Broken concrete floor-lots of holes, No glass in windows, No doors, Old desks, only around 4-6. No outside plinth/path.Outside painted by Moving Mountains in July 2013.

• Class 5: Part of 4-room block. Each room approx 5x8m. Roof starting to rust, Broken concrete floor-lots of holes, No glass in windows, No doors, Old desks, only around 4-6. Concrete outsideplinth/path. Outside painted by Moving Mountains in July 2013.

• Class 6: Part of 2-room block. Each room approx 5x8m. Roof OK, Concrete floor, Glass in windows,Steel doors, Old desks, only around 4-6. Lots of firewood inside classroom, taking up approx ¼ offloor area. Believed to be funded by CDF.

• Class 7: Part of 2-room block. Each room approx 5x8m. Roof OK, Concrete floor, Glass in windows,Steel doors, Old desks, only around 4-6. Believed to be funded by CDF.

• Class 1: Individual block. Approx 5x8m. Finished early 2013 funded by theConstituencyDevelopment Fund. Concrete floor, No glass in windows, Steel doors, Rendered but





not painted, needs paining inside and out. Timber trussed roof – timber cut from trees on site.

• Staff Block : Individual block, Brick un-rendered, Roof starting to rust, Steel doors, Glass in windows.

• ECD : Individual block. Approx 5x8m. Roof Ok, Brick – unrendered on outside, rendered and paintedinside, No glass in windows, Concrete floor.

• Kitchen : Individual block, behind main teaching buildings. Formed in timber and corrugated ironsheets as walls and roof. Approx 2x4m and 2m high. Mud floor. Two ‘3-stone’ fire hearths inside onfloor. No ventilation – full of acrid smoke even with just two small fires burning. Fuel for fires comesfrom cutting mature trees on site.

• Playground: Two sets of steel swings at far end of football pitch. Painted and appear to be ready foruse but chains wrapped up around frame so not able to be used.

• Water: No water source on site. Large masonry/concrete water tank (5m diameter x 2m high) fed byrun-off from roofs of classes 6 & 7. Black cylindrical plastic rainwater tank next to admin block fedfrom roof runoff but not connected. Approx 1 km to nearest water. Kids asked to all bring water toschool.

Other Issues reported by Deputy Head, Chairman and other staff:

• Many orphans attend the school.• Negative attitude to school by many parents. • Lack of reinforcement and promotion of the need to study.• Poor attendance levels.• High degree of poverty locally.• No water on site.• No electricity on site.• Need for increased security – they have had some break-ins and theft in the past.• No fence to compound. Local livestock destroy crops planted. • Would like secure library building to store books etc.• Additional funding for teachers would be welcome (four teacher's salaries currently funded by

parent contributions).• Would like to grow more crops to feed students.• Road to school is unsealed and in poor condition. Can be impassable to vehicles after rain.• Access track into school from main road is not easy to pass. Re-grading and/or orientation may help.• No feeding programme at the moment. Was running for a while with parents contributing but it

tapered off around a year ago. Kitchen currently just cooks for teachers. Aim to restart feedingprogramme.

• Government only funds text books. Exams are paid for by parents.





Work by Moving Mountains at Barkatadoto date: (July 2013) Re-laying of floors inclasses 3 & 2, Painting of inside and out ofclasses 3 & 2. Installation of glass inwindows of classes 3 & 2. Painting ofoutside of classes 4 & 5.

Future Project Work to be Undertaken(Identified by Moving Mountains Kenyaand Barkatado):

• Further renovation work onclassrooms and other schoolbuildings where necessary (to becompleted in stages): ◦ installation of glass for

windows ◦ replacement of rooves ◦ re-laying of floors◦ replacement of doors and window frames ◦ painting of inside and outside of classrooms ◦ rendering of brick work ◦ construction of plinths/paths◦ installation of desks and chairs ◦ destruction of existing partition walls to create more adequate space for teaching

• Construction of new classrooms where necessary once renovation work is completed• Construction of a new school kitchen with eco-friendly energy saving jiko (cooking stove)• Investigation of water resources in the area, improvement of water and sanitation facilities,

possibility of fixing and sharing water pump at nearby church. • Installation of perimeter fencing and improvement of security at the school

Aim of Our Work at Barkatado:

• Renovation and construction work → improved infrastructure → better teaching facilities and learning environment for children → improved concentration and engagement in school and improved teaching → better attendence and less children drop out of school → greater academic attainment → children can compete with other schools, more likely to pursue secondary education → better equipped to find employment → long-term positive impacts on socio-economic development of the region

• Hosting of volunteers and camps at the school → provides different cultural perspectives → enablesthe sharing of cultures and ideas (knowledge transfer) both within and between groups (volunteers





assist where there are staff shortages) AND Volunteers pay to visit → financial contribution is paid to the school → School can invest and improve resources further

• Creation of school committee → parents have a better knowledge of what is happening in theschool → parents feel involved and engaged with the school → parents have an improvedunderstanding of the value of education and are better able to influence the development andmanagement of the school → parents more supportive of children's education and of the school.

Your Support: A huge ASANTE SANA for helping to fundraise for this project at Barkatado! Any and allfundraising work you are able to do to support our work at the school is greatly appreciated. You'll help usto make a real difference to the lives of the children and young people in the area as well as to thecommunity and to the school which will continue to serve future generations of children from the area.

There are loads of ways of fundraising for Moving Mountains, drop us an email if you'd like some help orideas! [email protected].

We also work with volunteers and groups from all over the UK, Ireland and beyond, facilitating volunteeringplacements which allow you to travel out to Kenya and get involved with our work improving schoolfacilities. Please email us for further info! Thank you for your support for Barkatado!



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Mm kenya barkatado school proposal