Continuing Education at Petals High School
Donate at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/petalscentre
Before the COVID-19 crisis, I made this video to raise money to rebuild Petals Centre after a fire devastated its classrooms and school supplies last spring. A school of about 200 students located in a slum of 11,500 people in Kangemi, Kenya, Petals has a great impact on the lives of the children it takes in, many of whom go on to university and/or find employment to release themselves from the cycle of poverty. It’s a school that I have been working with over the past 5 years on a girls entrepreneurship program (www.gentr.com).
In the wake of the pandemic, the education of some 17 million students across Kenya has been disrupted. While the Kenyan government has made efforts to continue education on TV, radio, and online, learning at Petals has come to a complete stop; students like them are at a heightened disadvantage due to poverty and lack of technological resources/ internet connection.
This video and fundraiser are being repurposed to 1) start rebuilding the school and 2) allow Petals students to continue learning during the pandemic. Specifically, the fundraiser is focused on the 72 high school students at Petals, many of whom have had to halt studying for national exams in November and whose options for college or university are at risk.
Half of the funds will go towards rebuilding some classrooms (big enough for social distancing to be upheld) where students can begin returning in small numbers and staggered times over the next few months. The other half of the funds will go towards supplying the 72 high school students with a combination of physical curriculum materials (such as textbooks, which were destroyed in the fire) and simple, low-cost technological solutions for remote learning. Many students have some access to basic mobile phones and WhatsApp; funds for cell phone credit and data/internet can facilitate remote communication between teachers and students, allow students to receive and complete homework assignments, and enable their engagement in supplemental online learning activities, where/when possible.
The following message is from Mr. Allan Asena, the school’s principal: “Our learners have been out of class for almost two months now, yet we have candidates both in junior and senior levels who need to be preparing for national exams at the end of the year. The money will help us a great deal in moving forward as we wait for the pandemic to subside. Starting to rebuild the school and continue education with a shelter and social distancing will give students hope that, even though we have passed through a very bad time, some normalcy can begin to be restored.”
We would appreciate any and all donations during these times which are taking tolls on us all in various ways. Your contribution, small or big, will go far in helping vulnerable, disadvantaged students resume learning and work towards building a better future for themselves.
Thank you!
