Where the money goes
Cycle for Africa and The Maasai Heritage Preservation Foundation are raising money to construct, furnish, equip
and maintain a school where English and Swahili will be taught, as well as courses on the Maasai heritage.
A school that has been supported through Cycle for Africa and the Maasai Heritage Preservation Foundation for
the past year has been identified as the location for the first school project. This school is named Memusi
and is located in the Magadi region of Kenya. With the help of family and friends of Cycle for Africa support
has been provided to Memusi School through sending school equipment and supplies such as pencils, colouring
equipment, chalk and pencil removing this cost for the school. In addition, 3 months ago we also managed to
raise enough money to buy a water-tank for the school so that they were able to both have access to clean drinking
water and learn the importance of hygiene.
Although Memusi School has certainly prospered in the last year, it hasn’t been easy and the school have faced drought as well as the difficulty of the school collapsing during a storm. However, through it all, in the past year the school has grown and has now taken on a second teacher with the class size increasing. Each term more students turn up and the school is now at the point that the building cannot take any more pupils.
Although the school is growing from a student number perspective, it has reached its capacity. In temperatures of 45 degrees in a school made of tin it is incredibly uncomfortable for the children. The school is also unsafe being built on borrowed land and through cheap material given by local well wishers.
Cycle for Africa is now working with the school, the region elders and the Maasai Heritage Preservation Foundation in planning a new school. The region contains 1,500 people, the majority of whom have no formal education. They do not speak Swahili (the language of the country) and have never been taught English or German (the language of business) and as such the Maasai people are struggling. It is critical for their continued survival that they are helped and we firmly believe that this begins with education. Education that isn’t limited to the young, but education and a place to be educated available to people of all ages. Land has been granted for a school and plans have been drawn up with the Foundation looking at controlling the building costs. A support structure is in place through the foundation so that the school can get the support it needs once built.
Too many children in Kenya are not in School and too many adults have never been educated. The schools they do have are over-run with students and more schools need to be built to give more people an opportunity to attend school.
Throughout the next year, several fundraising events will be taking place to start raising funds towards the new school. On September 15th, 3 people are riding on behalf of Cycle for Africa with a ride from Land's End to John O'Groats, which is aimed to be completed in 8 days. The ride will cover distances of between 70 and 140 miles per day (a distance for 3 currently unfit people is quite a task!!).
With all the events taking place this year we are looking to smash all targets for the build, and plan on continuing to support education for the African people. We pray that through providing the ability for education that we can help in guaranteeing some preservation of the Maasai future both in skill and knowledge attainment and health education.
Memusi School Plans
Check out the school plans to see where the money is going.