September, 2017

Dear STRIVE-Kenya, interns, parents, and supporters,

First of all, we want to extend a huge THANK YOU to the seven college interns from all of us at STRIVE and from all the people to whom you helped provide support this summer in Iten. Through fundraising efforts before arriving, a full six week commitment to the community, and taking time to learn about service, we were able to continue working on providing a sustainable positive impact in the community. So, along with Robert, Dominik, and the staff and students at Kamirany and Kiptabus primary schools, we send a huge thank you and congratulations on a job well done!

As you know, informed philanthropy is a cornerstone of the STRIVE philosophy, so we want to give a clear breakdown of how our groups spent both our person-hours and funds on projects this year. We’ll outline the projects we worked on with the total cost of each and attach a spreadsheet with a budget for all our service work.

Our group of interns began by learning about service ethics and philosophy, reaching out to local schools to see where we were qualified and needed, and planning the work to be done the rest of the summer. After interviewing students, teachers, and administrators at Kamirany and Kiptabus primary schools, the interns collectively made decisions about what they could do to help the students and the schools. By the second week of the program, the group had begun a regular schedule of helping as teachers’ assistants at the Kamirany and Kiptabus primary schools, offering help in English and Mathematics classes.

A few afternoons each week were spent doing activities with the students at Kamirany and Kiptabus primary schools – some sports and games. The local students really enjoy the STRIVE interns being around and playing along, and mentioned that the STRIVE members provide encouragement to their involvement in their activities at school. Some fundraising money was spent providing new soccer balls and volleyballs to be used during the activity times going forward after our departure.

Other afternoons were spent at historic St Patrick’s Secondary School, helping six student-athletes that are preparing their applications to US universities and colleges. Based on their academic and Track and Field records, the STRIVE interns helped compile a personalized list of colleges that were within their grasp. While we dealt with a lot of logistical difficulties such as lack of computers and wifi when working directly with the students, eventually we were able to provide some basic assistance in helping the St Patrick’s students start an email account and begin their common application. This was greatly encouraging to the students, and many of them will be attending schools in the USA next fall due in large part to the help they received from STRIVE Interns, as well as Kevin Thompson from Crossroads Africa and KenSAP member Victor Yegon, who helped set up our meeting with the students and coordinated with St. Pats staff. It truly does take a village!

STRIVE interns spent a few mornings and afternoons completing a painting project alongside two local contractors. Close to $193 was spent on paint and supplies for two classrooms. This will help speed up the process to open the classrooms for use, giving students more space in classrooms which allows for more personal attention from teachers.

STRIVE also invested about $180 in plastic covering and supplies needed to protect books in the libraries. Given the harsh environment with dust and moisture, this is especially important for the longevity of the books. Interns spent a few afternoons using staplers and scissors to complete the actual covering of the older books as well as the new books that had been bought using STRIVE and fundraised monies.

Interns were particularly interested, based on their experience in the classrooms, to help students with some basic supplies needed for learning. Around $658 was spent on adding books to Kiptabus’ library, and students were provided with pencils, pens, sharpeners, erasers, etc for both schools, as well as the aforementioned sports equipment. These learning materials will continue to build up the local schools in providing materials desperately needed by students living in abject poverty.

In total, the group spent $1,034.35 on the ground, $300 of which came from donations received from the interns and the remaining $734 came from STRIVE itself.

All in all, it was a successful summer with a lot of time spent in the classroom encouraging students who do not get a lot of personal attention from mentors or teachers in their community due to the large class sizes. We will continue to monitor and increase our fundraising ability through the work done this summer by the interns and the hiring of a photographer to help document the work we have done in the past and this summer. We can’t wait to get back to Iten and continue trying to help the community grow and also continue learning from them.

Please feel free to read over the attached spreadsheet which gives a detailed breakdown of all of our fundraising expenditure over the course of the program. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions or comments; we’re happy to answer anything.

Best,

Rob, Nic, and Tyler

 

2017 STRIVE-Kenya Service Budget (click to view)