Report from BHW Field Director Following Visit 

Key people: Robert Gitau, Muthui Kisau

Recent Events

Nguluni Countryside Educational Centre (NCEC) was doing well until 2013 when it started to experience a lower enrolment of pupils. Some parents withdrew their children from school due to the sudden departure of some reputable teachers who joined the government sector. They also faced high competition from Catholic schools that are dominant and more popular due to lower school fees charged.

By the end of the third term of 2013 the number of pupils had gone down from 187 to 103 and by the end of 2014 the school had only 86 pupils. 

In June 2014, after the death of Mrs Rose Gitau who was managing all of the projects of F.O.B. (Fellowship of Believers) Tala region, the school faced a lot of challenges (managerial and financial). Robert Gitau appointed Mr Saul Neondo to manage NCEC, Isaac Busegere to manage the Pona Dispensary and to assist Robert as the assistant director, while Francisca was asked to manage Isooni Good News School.

NCEC teachers went on strike in July 2014 because of a two month salary delay. After consultation, the teachers were paid and their employment terminated. 

A consultation was also held with Isooni parents who agreed to transfer Isooni pupils (primary only) and their teachers to NCEC as a stopgap measure. Soon afterwards Twin Camp High School was closed due to the financial crisis.

In January 2015 Robert and Isaac met with the local committee and decided to bring Francisca from Isooni Good News School to replace Saul Neondo as manager at Nguluni Countryside Educational Centre. 

In February 2015 Robert, Isaac and Francisca met with the local executive committee and agreed to form a joint committee of six members: Robert Gitau, Muthui and Hannah Kisau, Francisca, Isaac Busegere and Joseph. They were given the mandate to manage all the F.O.B. projects in the Tala region that is: NCEC, Pona Dispensary, the water project and Good News Academy, Isooni. 

The school had a huge debt (particularly staff salaries) but the Committee has received some income from various sources to help clear this;

1) Francisca and Isaac, who are the people on the ground, have done a tremendous job in curbing any wastefulness and collecting the money due to the school – they have collected KES480,000 ($US4,800).

2) The FOB Revolving Fund (KEN03c) extended a credit of KES100,000 ($US1,000)

3) Sale of land - The school and local committee agreed with the board of trustees to sell a piece of land (NCEC) for KES850,000 ($US8,500)

4) Bright Hope World - We gave them a donation of KES398,000 ($US4,200) which enabled them to clear the terminal benefits and salary balances. 

Plans for the Future

A strategy has been developed that has a great deal of potential to generate income and make the place self-sustaining. It includes the following components:

Nguluni Countryside Education Centre

Staff – It was decided to review the work available and rationalize the staff, maintaining the necessary workers. Previously the number of staff was 29, this was cut to 15. The administrative staff numbers were cut from 5 to 2. 

This dropped the total number of employees from 34 to 17 and the monthly wage bill from KES489,872 ($US4,900) to KES155,929 ($US1,560).

Transport - Previously the school was using two vehicles at a cost of KES340,000 ($US3,400) per term. They decided to use one vehicle at the cost of KES168,000 ($US1,680) per term.

School Bank Account - Since the school account was in Robert and Rose Gitau’s name, they decided to open an independent school bank account with four signatories. All the money sourced locally or from elsewhere must be deposited into this account. 

School Fees - The head teacher would now be involved in collecting all pending fees. 

Water Project

For a number of years the school has been selling water to the community as an income earner. However, this was not being monitored well. The current pump is under performing causing huge power bills. In February 2015 the total water income was KES18,000 ($US180) while the power bill was KES67,000 ($US670). As a result the committee discontinued the water project leaving the school and all other clients without water until the water pump is replaced and proper management is put in place. The water pump has to be replaced to bring the power bills down. Then water can be used for irrigation to cut the cost of food, and local clients will be reconnected again under new water management. This has good potential if managed correctly. 

Pona Dispensary

The Pona Dispensary was doing well and the money collected from the clinic was being used to support NCEC and Twin Camp High School. However, too much was being taken out of it and as a result the dispensary got into a financial crisis. Thanks to the Revolving Fund credit of KES100,000 the staff were able to be paid and quality medicine was able to be purchased. The dispensary is now doing well and is self-sustainable. 

They would like to expand services, especially maternal and child care. To do this they want to purchase some modern equipment to provide quality healthcare, especially a Haemocytometer. This would bring in a number of fee paying clients who currently go into Nairobi for this service. 

Isooni Good News Academy

Since the primary school moved from Isooni to Nguluni with the teachers, the school has not been doing well. There are 19 pupils in kindergarten. It has been difficult to run due to the inability of many parents to pay school fees. There is a great need to support these children with quality education and a feeding programme. 

At some time in the future the school at Isooni will be recommenced. That too will require some investment to make it self-sustaining. The community is very disappointed the school had to close. 

Table Banking

As part of addressing the financial needs in the community based around the school, table banking has been introduced to the area. This is useful to both families with children at school and as a supplement source of generating income for teachers. 

It has been operating for just over one year and already they have savings of over KES500,000 ($US5,000). This is remarkable and one of the best programmes the organisers have ever seen. This will become a great addition to the lives of the school community in the future and a permanent fixture in their lives.  

Current Issues and Challenges

As far as the committee is concerned the school remains viable but there is a deficit of KES454,516 ($US4,550) per term. 

The challenge is to lift the number of students. There has already been a turn around with perceptions in the community and the number of pupils will grow from 86 to 100 this school term.  

Prayer and Praise Points

1) That the committee has been able to step in and come up with a viable strategy. 
2) That the committee is so committed to making this work and for the school to become self-sustaining. 
3) Pray that their strategy will work well and ahead of their estimates.
4) Pray that many families will benefit from the table banking.
5) Pray that many families will gain the benefit of a good school. 

Comments

The committee believes that in the next three years the school will be self-sustainable. I think this is achievable with some investment in strategic ways. 

They are putting together a proposal to get the school onto a financially viable footing. This will include replacement of the water pump, the purchase of the medical equipment, and some funds on a decreasing basis.