We've Come A Long Way

Orginal School

An Excerpt of an Email Written in 2003 by the Director and Founder Fanuel Okwaro

The school started in 1997 having gone through non-formal school education from preschool to std.8. I was lucky to get a sponsor who saw me through my high school education. After graduating from high school I went back to teach as a volunteer in my former primary school.

It is during this time that God showed me another place where my services were really needed. What started like a walk in Soweto slums turned out to be a vision on which the school started. I and my friends were so touched by the number of children who were not going to school in the villages, then came this idea of doing something to make a difference in their lives is what led us to starting this school.


Most of the children coming to our school come from very poor backgrounds, these includes orphans, destitutes, street children for rehabilitation and children from very poor families who are sometimes abandoned by their parents due to economic constrains. We embrace all the children at risk and at least give them basic education, we also counsel them and pray with them for God to intervene in their hardships we do all this with the aim of molding them and giving them hope for the future. Presently we have four teachers who are working hard to attain our goal of caring and educating these children. They are all working on voluntary basis. Driven by the predicaments and plight of these children they are selflessly serving these children with an aim of making a difference in these children lives.

Today the school is offering education to children, rehabilitating the street children and offering counseling to those who are traumatized by one problem or another.

There are eight classes in the school. Ranging from pre – school to standard seven. The total number of children at our school presently is 186 children, with their ages ranging between 4yrs to 18 yrs.

The school is expanding very fast with the activities we are undertaking, they suit the children found in the area and thus they are attracted to our school. Although the expansion is fast it is inhibited by the incapability of the school financially to expand the facilities and thus congestion occurring in the few classroom we have.

The free education introduced by the government has been actually a blessing, because before free education was declared we had about 300 children who were a big problem to serve due to lack of facilities and finance. Although some of our children got chances in public school we still need to expand our facilities because the rate at which we are receiving new children in our school is very high and soon we shall go back to the 306 mark. For example in the month of February alone we admitted about 23 new children and are still coming. Children still come to our school since it is an alternative to the public schools around which have very high demands like text books, shoes, uniform, games kit etc. which most parents are unable to meet. Another reason is the programs we offer are attractive to them.

We hope in the future to diversify the programs we are offering to include feeding program which is really needed, secondary education, vocational training for the graduates who will be unable to continue.

We also hope to buy land on which we can build better facilities in order to take in more deserving cases. All these others will only be possible if we get donors who will assist as financially.

Next week, an update of where we are today and just how far we have come.