PROJECT-SUPPORT KENYA

Country / Place

Kenya / Mshomoroni

Kenya is located in East Africa and borders Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Indian Ocean. The country is home to around 55 million inhabitants in an area of approximately 580,000 square kilometres. The capital Nairobi is a major metropolis in the region. Kenya is known for its impressive wildlife, numerous national parks and cultural diversity, with over 40 ethnic groups. The official languages are English and Kiswahili, and the national currency is the Kenyan shilling.

Mshomoroni is a neighbourhood in the district of Kisauni in the north of Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city. The town is not far from the coast of the Indian Ocean and is part of the densely populated urban centre of Mombasa. Mshomoroni is a predominantly residential area with markets and small shops. Despite economic challenges and limited infrastructure, charitable initiatives and local education projects offer new prospects for children and families.

General information

Harrison's Primary School was founded in 2014 by Harrison and his wife Grace in Mshomoroni. With great personal commitment, they opened a small primary school for particularly disadvantaged children - at that time still in two simple tin huts.

During one of his regular trips to Kenya in 2018, Joshua Schmidli, a Swiss junior doctor with family roots in Kenya, learnt about Harrison's project from a long-time family friend. After a visit there, he was deeply moved and decided to actively support Harrison and Grace from then on. He founded the association of the same name, Harrison's Primary School, in Switzerland and has since been working with a small group of volunteers, both locally and remotely, to continuously develop and expand the school.

To ensure that the school can continue to operate, the children's parents pay school fees, which are mainly used to finance the teachers' salaries. Individual solutions are found for families who cannot afford the school fees. This includes a scholarship fund, which is financed by a sponsorship programme .  

Beneficiaries

The school started in 2014 with five children. In 2021, the construction of a stable school building with a solar roof and sanitary facilities was completed. For the first time, the children were housed in a classroom with solid walls, a cemented floor and a blackboard. This enabled an improved learning environment and the possibility of employing more teachers. Today, over 170 children in four classrooms have access to a sound basic education, daily meals, and a safe, non-discriminatory environment.

In addition to the school, the organisation also runs a sewing workshop where young women are trained as seamstresses. The aim is to create a self-sustaining business model through the sale of school uniforms, reusable cotton hygiene products and clothing repairs - thus giving the women a degree of financial independence.

Project-Support

Project: new building for kindergarten, office, basement

Due to government regulations in Kenya, a kindergarten cannot be housed in the same building as the primary school. The organisation is therefore planning to build a separate kindergarten building for the coming school year. Two kindergarten rooms, an office and a basement are planned. The construction plan and budget have already been drawn up by a local company.  

In addition, the schoolyard is to be made in a child-friendly way. Furthermore, kitchen gardens are planned in order to manage the waste-water sustainably and reduce running costs.