Angaza 2004

Editor's comment

Welcome to the first edition of KAG school newsletter. The title - ANGAZA - reflects the school motto - Rise and Shine. Only the word SHINE is translated to give the newsletter name ANGAZA. The newsletter provides history, as well as present and future aspirations of the school to provide quality education to less privileged members of the society. The next ANGAZA issue will feature passport photographs of all the sponsored children. We hope readers will find ANGAZA informative and enjoyable.

KAG School management

Board of Trustee

• Chairman: Joseph Gathonga
• Secretary: Harrison Kamere
• Treasurer: Mrs Caroline Wanjiru
• Committee members: Rev. Francis R. Ndoroh, Dr. James Kairo, Joseph Mulinge
• International Office: Mrs Rosemary Donnan - UK, Mrs Dilys Williams - UK

School administration

• School Manager: Rev. Francis R. Ndoroh
• Headmaster: Mr Harrison Kamere
• Deputy Headmistress: M/S Jacinta Munyoli
• Curriculum Head - Primary Section: M/s Joyce Njeri
• Curriculum Head - Nursery Section: Mrs Grace Katana
• Student Councillor/Discipline: Mrs Esther Mulinge
• Games Mistress: Mrs Emily Nyabuto
• Scout Movement/Girl guide: Mr. Moses Omwayo
• School Matron: Mrs Mary Rai

Message from the School Chairman, Mr Joseph Gathonga

Parents, teachers and pupils of KAG school, I do appreciate the effort you have put into enhancing the image of the school.

KAG School is a church sponsored school situated in Msambweni Division of Kwale district, 60 km south of Mombasa, Kenya. The board of directors, which include a manager, chairman, secretary, treasurer and members, runs the school.

The school has both Nursery (Kindergarten) and Primary units and aims to reach the less privileged in society through affordable quality education. To achieve this, the school depends on donations and scholarships from well-wishers, both locally and internationally. We are grateful to our international network for the continued support towards achieving the school goal.

To single out, I would wish to thank individuals and churches from England, USA, Scotland and Denmark that have assisted in building classrooms, in providing stationery and game facilities, and in paying school fees for deserving children. The school has currently 3 classrooms for Kindergarten and 4 classrooms for the primary section.

Among the school's challenges to achieve its vision are the poverty status of the adjacent community, and inadequate learning resources such as classrooms and stationery.

Part of KAG School. We have classroom for up to Class 4

Our priority plan for the next 4 years is to construct an additional 4 classrooms for standards 5 to 8. This is addition to the construction of an administration block, a library, an activity room; and expansion of the playground.

Message from the School Manager, Rev. Francis R. Ndoroh

I would wish to take this opportunity as the school manager to thank all those who have dedicated themselves to make the school achieve the success it has continued to have over the years. As the school motto rightly states, the school has indeed risen to shine in our society. We now see more and more Muslims parents enrolling their children in our school without the earlier fear of being converted to Christian faiths.

"The annual school fee per child is approximately US$ 189 (equivalent to £100 or €140."

KAG School started with a baby class of 15 pupils in 2001. To date the school now has 3 Nursery classrooms and 4 in the primary school, with a total enrolment of 115 pupils.

We really appreciate the support we have received from our many sponsors. Individuals and churches in Europe have, in the last 3 years, contributed approximately £30,000 towards the school's development. This money has been used in the construction of classrooms, buying stationery, game facilities, textbooks, and in paying fees for deserving children. To date some 21 pupils are benefiting from the school fees program.

The annual school fee per child is approximately US$ 189 (equivalent to £100 or €140). This will buy the child books, uniform, pay for tuition, as well as provide the child with lunch.

Primary education in Kenya lasts for 8 years. At class 8 the child sits for an entry exam to secondary school.

KAG School Enrolment, 2004

May I once again take this chance to thank all our well-wishers who have contributed generously to the welfare of the school. My sincere gratitude is to Rosemary Donnan and Dilys Williams in their tireless endeavours in seeking sponsorships.

Message from the school headmaster, Mr. Harrison K. Ngatia

As the headmaster I am responsible with the day to day running of the school. Some of the futuristic aspirations one gets from our children are; I want to be a doctor, I want to be a pilot, I want to be a lawyer. These aspirations can never be achieved without combined efforts from parents, teachers and the pupils themselves. My role as the headmaster therefore is coordinating these partnerships to ensure that our children achieve their dreams. Currently KAG school is served by 8 teachers and 4 sub-ordinate staff.

Part of KAG School Staff from L-R: Harrison (H/M), Jemmimah, Jacinta, Joyce and Emily

The school academic performance has significantly gone up by 39%; moving from 292.8 points in 2003 to 405.4 points in 2004. The most improved subject was science see table below.

I am indebted to all our sponsors for their continued support and interest in our school. They have really assisted the school to be where we are today.

My personal ambition for the school is to see it becoming the limelight of the area and being competitive nationally.

Performance Index for KAG Class 2 pupils (2003 - 2004)

• 2003: English 60.8, Kiswahili 65.1, Maths 60.5, Social Studies 60.3, Science 46.1. Total 292.8, mean 58.56
• 2004: English 81.2, Kiswahili 89.6, Maths 77.6, Social Studies 77.8, Science 79.2. Total 405.4, mean 81.08
• Improvement: 39%

Nursing babies, by Jacinta Munyoli, head of nursery section

My name is Jacinta Munyoli, the oldest teacher in KAG school. I joined KAG in 2001 as a Kindergarten (KG) teacher, in age bracket 3 to 6 years. During this time, the school had an enrolment of 15 children - 11 boys and 4 girls. Since then KAG school has grown, thanks to a devoted team. My first pupils in the school are now in Standard 2.

I am currently the deputy headmistress of the school in charge of the Nursery section. The total number of KG teachers is 4, who are responsible for 62 pupils- 34 boys and 28 girls. My teachers at the KG are working very hard to improve the education performance of the nursery pupils.

This year I am happy to report that all the 14 pupils in KG3 have been promoted to Standard 1.

Among the challenges facing early childhood education in Kenya is poor motivation from the parents resulting to low attitude by the pupils towards some subjects. There is a general tendency for pupils to appreciate numerical subjects like mathematics while hating creative activities such as drawing and paintings. At the KAG School we do encourage pupils to develop creative activities through giving homework on various aspects.

It is worth noting that the future success of a child depends on a good background. This is why at the KAG School, we place a lot of emphasis on early childhood education.

KG3 Graduation Ceremony 2004

Our efforts are often constrained by the lack of learning resources; such as teaching aids and textbooks.

Childrens' Corner

About my school

My school is called KAG School. Our school has eight teachers and two matrons; one is in primary section and another in nursery section. In our school there are three buildings and an office with two dining halls for nursery and primary. Our school motto is Rise and Shine and we work hard in our school. I like KAG School very much for it is a nice school.

By Mwanamvua Mbwana (9yrs, Std 2)

My Birthday

During my last birthday there was a lot of dancing and we were very happy. There were very many visitors and I was to cut the cake. We ate cake and drunk juice and then they sing for me happy birthday song. The day was good and I enjoyed very much.

By Stancy Khanga (7yrs, Std 1)

Birthday cake for Stancy

Blackboard

1.0. List of sponsored children and their sponsors

Name of sponsor (country): name of child, sex, age, class

• Shelley and Malcolm Wild (UK): Fatuma Bakari, F, 8, Class 2
• John Bullimore (UK): Bakari Machafu, M, 10, Class 2
• Bill and Pat Sutton (UK): Saumu Harun, F, 11, Class 2**
• Mary and Lawrence Roberts (UK): Pius Mwaura, M, 7, Class 1
• Rotary Club Horbury and Ossett (UK): Abdulhamid Khamisi, M, 10, Class 2
• Algie and Sue Vassis (UK): Ismail Ibrahim, M, 7, Class 1
• Algie and Sue Vassis (UK): Mwanamvua Mbwana, F, 10, Class 2
• Mike and Flo Bradley (UK): Ali Swaleh, M, 12, Class 2
• Dilys and Michael Williams (UK): Janet Osunga, F, 9, Class 3
• Christine Cummings (UK): Mohamed Swaleh, M, 8, Class 2
• Mrs Kershaw (UK): Abdul Faki, M, 10, Class 2
• Rita Sparrow (UK): Mikidadi Hamad, M, 11, Class 2
• Gillian and John Emms (UK): Swaleh Rashid, M, 10, Class 2
• Rev. Christine Bullimore (UK): Hadija Mchambi, F, 7, Class 1
• Brian and Pam Westerby (UK): Brian Njuguna, M, 8, Class 1
• Jonathan Watkiss (UK): Asha Rashid, F, 9, Class 3
• Jim and Rosemary Donnan (UK): Faith Rai, F, 9, Class 3
• Anita Leversidge (UK): Joseph Gitundu, M, 7, Class 1
• Barry Bowden (UK): Mohammed Shee, M, 10, Class 4
• Beth Meeds (UK): Amina Said, F, 11, Class 4
• Marijke De Boer (Holland): Hassan Konzi, M, 12, Class 4
• Sharon Hammond (Texas, USA): Ali Mwasema, M, 10, Class 4
• Mark and Sarah (Scotland): Faunzia Bakari, F, 9, Class 3
• Pete Cypret (CA, USA): Teresia Leboo, F, 7, Class 1

*Kadze Masood has been replaced with Saumu Harun this due to the fact that the child has not been attending the school and when contacted parents showed no interest of the child in school..

The sponsor is free to contact the school headmaster should he/she be interested in knowing the child's progress. Email. harrison_ngatia@yahoo.com or gkairo@yahoo.com

2.0. Banking Details

Sponsors are encouraged to send their support through Mrs Rosemary Donnan, 15 Tyburn Lane Emley, Huddersfield, HD 8 95R ENGLAND

or directly to the school account using the address below (to avoid bank delays, please notify the headmaster should you remit money directly to the school account):

• Name and address of the bank: Kenya Commercial Bank (Ltd), Ukunda Branch, P.O. Box 150, Diani, Mombasa. Tel. +254-40-2197, 3510, 3499. Fax: 254-40-3012, 2585
• Name of Account: KAG Nursery Building Project, Msambweni
• Account No. 113 121 558

Precious Gift to Caroline and Kairo....

Caroline and Kairo are proud parents of their new daughter LULU Wanjiku who was born on 7 Nov. 2004. LULU is Swahili for PRECIOUS.

On behalf of KAG school I take this opportunity to extend my seasons greetings to all our sponsors. Have a prosperous New Year - 2005.

Dr. J. G. Kairo; Editor, ANGAZA magazine