Emley Education Centre ( formal;ly K.A.G.school )started as and still is a nonprofit making school. It started back in the year 2000.This happened after Mrs. Rosemary Donnan took the challenge and presented it to St Michaels church Emley (Please refer to earlier page on History of KAG Nursery & primary school). As a result a small group from the church decided to fund raise, along with the Wakefield Diocese’s millennium appeal and raised some money for classes. They managed to raise the money to build 3 classes for a Nursery School and our dream was realized.
The school started with 15 pupils and 1 teacher. The setting up of the school was a big challenge considering the poverty level of the feeder community and the attitude towards formal education at that time. Nevertheless the pioneers did not lose hope, and we now have a baby class, 2 pre school classes and 6 classes in the primary section. We recently have added a Junior High School with 3 classes and are presently building a Secondary High School which will have 6 classes.
The School has a Manager Mr. Harrison Kamere and 2 Headmasters one for the Primary School and 1 for the High Schools.
The school charges the lowest possible fees to cover costs Added to this there are food and transport costs. As small as this sum is, many parents are unable to pay anything. Due to this our UK partners have solicited funds to sponsor desks at £30 and supporting poor children at £150p.a. This is presently now £250 p.a. This has contributed a lot to development of education in the community since poor children from poor families are affording good and quality education, unlike the situation seen in government sponsored schools which are overcrowded, have fewer classes and which are understaffed. This leads to low morale for pupils and teachers and very poor academic results and performance in many schools.
Normally In primary school a day starts at 7am and ends at 4:30pm (Mon-Fri). In this case a child has 7 lessons per day. It might look a long day but if not well managed the teacher may not cover the wide syllabus. In KAG school our day starts at 7am and ends at 6:45pm (Mon-Fri) and 7am-3:30pm) on Saturdays in primary section. This gives us time to cover the syllabus fully and to do a lot of extra practice with our children. This can only happen due to the devotion and hard work from our staff and management, and has resulted in good performances in the examination and especially in the final National exams for standard 8. In the Kindergarten, the school day starts at 8am and ends at 3:30pm. (Please find the time table of the activities in both Kinder and Primary)
A healthy Nation must start with a health community and in this case a healthy child. In KAG School we provide porridge in the morning, a balanced lunch and of late we have introduced a milk feeding program. We believe for the education to be enjoyable the child must not be hungry. We encourage support of a daily packet of milk at £30 p.a. per child.
Additionally, in conjunction with the UK group, we have started distributing Mosquito nets to the community to eradicate the killer disease of malaria. Unlike in the government sector when occasionally there is a small campaign, for example, giving nets to pregnant women, we give, fix ,educate and follow up to ensure their proper use. We also encourage support of mosquito net at £8 per child. To sum up, we have seen fruits of our efforts since pupil absenteeism in school due to malaria has reduced hence we have uninterrupted learning environment.
Apart from curricular activities we also have co-curricular activities. We play football, Netball, Volleyball, (Both boys and girls).We also have drama, music, and scout clubs. This year we are representing our district at provincial level which will be held in Mombasa in Choral and Solo poems as we have done in previous years.
We normally raise the flag on Mondays and Fridays. This is normally conducted by the scouts with their usual drill and entertainment.
BELOW A SUMMARY OF EACH YEARS NEWS
1998 Rosemary visits K.A.G. church and was given plans for a Nursery School.
1999 Rosemary and friends in the UK start fundraising to build the School by having cofee mornings and doing talks in Church Schools.
2000 £ 5000 was sent to Kenya to start building a Nursery School on land next to the church.
2001 The new Nursery was opened by Jim and Rosemary, Dilys and Michael and Rosemarys school friend Anne
Rosemary did some teaching and we visited previous Rotary Projects.
2002 We did not go out to Kenya this year. Money was raised to purchase a piece of land over the road from the Nursey from one of the elders of the Church Joseph. This was to build a Primary School
2003 Jim Dilys and Michael went out this year Rosemary had to stay in the UK to look after the children. A new class room was opened named after a lady who had attended one of Rosemary's film shows and had left money in her will. A new Rotary School was opened. The School had a new Headmaster called Harrison who asked if we could start a programme of sponsorship of poor pupils in the school. Jim and I started this by sponsoring the Reverent Francis's girl Faith.
2004 Rosemary and Jim went out to Kenya with their son Luke and his friend Paul. They planted a tree and attended a graduation of nursery to primary school. They also visited Rotary Projects, Mombasa, and the new Rotary School. Jim ran a first aid aid course for teachers and cooks and we kitted out a first aid box. The boys taught football and Rosemary taught science. Another classroom had been built. The sponsored programme had started and we visited the new ones at home. We started a sponsored desk programme.
2005 This year we went out with 2 Rotarians Mike and Lisette who wished to visit projects done in the area with their money. We visited new sponsored children at home and attended church and graduation. We visited a nearby Leper Community who were cuyred but unable to return home due to predudice. They were illiterate and very poor. Another classroom had been built. A literacy programme was taken in the church.
2006 We did not go out this year but sent money to start building an asdministration block
2007/ This year a large group of Rotarians came out and visited many Rotary projects and brought cricket equipment for the school. We also spent a day in the Leper community teaching the alphabet. 2008 This year it was just Dilys and Michael and Jim and Rosemary. We openned another classroom paid for by an artist who had a fundraiser for our school. she was called Madelena. The office block was well on its way. We attended the usual graduation and visited new sponsored children at home. We took a lot of books and toys as well as many knitted teddies. We had a donation to buy food fopr the people in the leprosy community so the church arranged the distribution. My young niece had died so we had a desk made in her memory. we were given t shirts with school logo as presents
2009 This year we went out with Dilys and Michael and a friend Shirley.and we officially opened the new Administration block. We had been concerned for a while that many children were missing school and even being very ill with malaria so jims Rotary donated money for 100 mosquito nets so we decided to make sure firstly all sponsored children got nets and then the younger ones in the school. The aim was to eventually have every child sleeping under a net. To do this we engaged the teachers and erected every net in the houses so no one could later when short of money sell them. We also gave lessons in preventing getting bitten by mosquitos.
While I taught sewing Dilys and shirley taught knitting but we had so few needles so one of the men found some sticks.
We also visited a well Jim's Rotary had paid for. Emley first school had sent a parcel of fooptball boots so we took a photo.
Jim did another first aid lesson with the teachers. The school needed sewing machines so we bought 2 treadle machines.
2010 This year Jim and Rosemary went out with Ian a Rotarian and did the usual projects like, sewing, teaching and erecting mosquito nets. The Rotary had donated money again to buy mosquito nets. We also bought school uniforms.This year the school had outgrown its small mini bus which brought children who lived a distance to school. The school had to take out a loan and buy a new bus.
This year we introduced milk for the nursery classes. We attended graduation and also visited the local clinic which was short of blood pressure machines and stethoscopes which Jim donated.
The next stasge of building was the construction of a library.
2011 This year Dilys and Michael and Malcolm and Gill came out . We did the usual things and visited a local hospital to give out some blood pressure machines some physio charts and some prem baby hats and cardigans. The graduation was very good as normal.
The boys needed new toilets which Rotary paid for. The new library building was going up quickly.This time we took out a lot of toys and had to buy a lot of shoes as many childrens shoes were too small and parents had cut out the toe area.
2012 This year Jim and Rose's daughter Kirsty joined them with boyfriend, now husband, Karl. The usual activities took place. Karl and Kirsty taught the children how to play rounders and cricket. The library was being plastered and a septic tank put in for toilets to go in the library. Rotary paid for piped water in the school.Rose took an outside assembly with raising of the Kenyan flag.
2013 This year Jim Rosemary Dilys And Michael were accompanied by Dr. Brian Hill and Roses college friends Mary and Joe.
The usual projects took place and we visited an eye clinic to give some specialist eye equipment donated by an optician in the UK. Dr Hill also donated some stethoscopes and prem baby knits. The team spent several days wiping down the plaster ready for painting and the library was officially opened by Marey Joe and Brian. It was dedicated to Rev Francis who had died last year of Malaria. He had started the project of the Nursery School with Rosemary and Dilys. Dilys and Rosemary taught some of the pupils to make pancakes and drop scones on an open fire. The team were also busy cataloguing books and covering them. Several boxes of childrens books had been sent by DHL.
The Rotary club this year had donated £1000 to set up a breakfast club for the young children who came to school without having had breakfast.
Finally a student called Sarah arranged by Rosemary was doing a placement in the school teaching crafts.
2014 This year Jim and Rosemary were alone. We saw the library had lots of shelves and we taught the teachers how to catalogue and cover books. we watched a septic tank be built and the toilets in the library. The rotary had paid for 10 refurbished computers, wiring and training of the teachers.
This year Harrison had been concerned about the number of children living rough as orphans. Many parents dying of aids and TB. We gave him some money to buy some land and fence it.
2015 This year just Jim and rosemary went out. The usual mosquito net erection for new sponsored children took place and the charity continued to support the breakfast club and paid for the school to be fenced and a water tower to be3 built. Spoonsored children were given uniform and shoes if needed. Graduation in volved the usual speeches and cake. This year Rosemary taight both the teacher and girls hpw to make washgable sanitary wear. At the orphanage the Rotary paid for a new well and pump withg pipes. and the charity had built the first accomodation block.
The school decided certain pupils who did not have elec tricity at home to do school work could board at the school. joseph one of the trustees had adapted his house and bvuilt showers and toiletrs.
The headmaster decided the shelves in the library needed to be on wheels and be able to be moved so they were made smaller. More childrens books had been sent via DHL.
2016 This year Dilys and Michael came with us and helkped with the Days for Girls programme of teaching how to make sanitary wear. We took a lot of materials with us. We took a group of women in Harrisons church and also K.A.G. church as well as girls in the school. This year we brought withe us 240 pairs of graded refurbished reading g;lasses. Jim tested peoples eyes, Dilys recoreded names Michael tested distance vision and Jim tested eye sight with lenses and wrote a prescription which Ropsemary then waqs able to offer a pair of free glasses to the person. Everyone was delighted.
The orphanage had a new tower and an accomodation block. The School hasd a new secure gate.The usual mosquitro nets uniform breakfast club and graduation took place.
2017 No one went out to Kenya this year as Harrison had come to the uk for 1 month. Rotary and St Peters school had donated a large quantity of books which Jim and I covered in the UK.and then we sent out via DHL. The breakfast club was supported again by St peters school. New toilets and septic tank were built at the orphanage.
2018
Sad News in 2018
We returned from a very successful trip to Kenya on Thursday having done eye tests on over 150 people and given out 140 pairs of recycled spectacles. Rosemary took three groups of girls, teaching them how to make washable reusable sanitary wear, and another group of women from Samburu who travelled for 2 hours to get to the school for a day of tuition.
On the way to the airport the huge destruction of houses ,shops and other building brought us to tears. It looked like a war zone, many houses cut in half ,even an appartment block left hanging dangerously. We had seen some of this in Ukunda town near our hotel and had been told that the ministry of transport had in the 70'S earmarked the road for expansion and apparently compensated people. There is no dispute that the road needs to be built and in the long term will bring jobs but it is sad that no one thought to make sure no one built within the 25 foot road edge. The buildings were marked with a cross and within 24 hours demolished, not giving the occupants time to remove the walls themselves so blocks could be reused.
We were told on Wednesday our Nursery school would have its boundary wall and trees removed which was expected . It had been built in the year 2000 a considerable distance from the road edge so we were safe or so we believed. Late Thursday afternoon ,after we had arrived home,in the UK, Harrison our headmaster, informed us that a cross for demolition had been put on the classroom nearest the road. This was quite different to what had been previously told. Early in the morning Harrison went to the school to move desks and the blackboard and pleaded with the constructors to give us 24 hours to remove the floor ( newly tiled recently ) and the walls and roof so they could be reused for rebuilding. This was refused and the bulldozer destroyed the school which had been used for 18 years.
The other 2 classrooms are more or less intact, and we will have to use them next week when the school goes back . In the long term, however, it is clearly unsafe for a Nursery School to be next to a widened major road. We have therefore decided to rebuild the Nursery School on the Primary site which is well away from the road and where it is quieter and safer. This will cost approximately £10,000.
We are happy to announce that we have already got pledges of over £1,000 but there is still a long way to go.
