Dear members and supporters of LM,
I hope you and all those that are dear to you are all well.
I would like to update you on what has been going on with our organization this year since the pandemic changed the way we live our lives.
Schools in Kenya were all closed in mid-March as part of Covid-19 prevention and mitigation measures. Following that closure, the majority of the boys in Starehe Boy’s Centre left for home to be with what family they have, but a few of the ones that come from particularly difficult circumstances remained at the Centre. Those who remained have been catered for during the entire closure period by the school.
As for Starehe Girls, all the girls went home. The government opened the schools again in the second week of October, but only for the form four candidates who are preparing to sit for their final exams which have been moved to March 2021 instead of the end of November.
The schools are still waiting for a directive from the President and the Cabinet Secretary of Education with regards to the new term dates and when students in other classes will report back to school.
As you all know, Learning Means had paid in advance for this academic year, and I took contact with the school regarding what will happen.
1. Whether we are going to count the money as payment for next year 2021.
2. Whether they will refund the money.
From the Boy’s Centre, I received an email saying that, although the students were not in the Centre, a significant portion of the advance payments made had to be deployed to meet the unchanging overhead costs, and to meet the extraordinary costs include the establishment of additional hand washing facilities, provision of disinfectants and sanitizers, provision of masks for students and staff and the specialized personal protective equipment for their medical staff. There is also the establishment of additional classrooms and dining facilities for when the rest of the school resumes. They therefore were requesting whether we could make the usual sponsorship payment again in January, which they shall rationalize as the situation evolves.
I will keep you informed in case of any new information, regarding any changes in the structure of payment for next year, if any. I will also kindly remind those who did not pay for this year or paid less to take this as a general reminder in case they forgot. We will need those funds and more for all the new initiatives to enable the school to continue as usual when all the students come back. Many schools have had to close, because they can not raise enough funds to make the required changes.
Please get in touch if you have any questions.
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Lucy MukuriaFounder/Managing DirectorLearning Means
https://learningmeansblog.wordpress.com/
Email: lucy.mukuria@learningmeans.org
Learning Means Norway 