The Small Project

In Kenya all students at the end of Form 4 (grade 12) have to write standardized final exams in order to graduate. These exams are very demanding and students spend essentially all of the final term getting ready for them. (The school year in Kenya runs from January to November and the finals were written in the middle of last month.) Yesterday the statistics for this year’s exams were released. They show that of the 692,263 students who wrote the exams only 627 or 0.09% earn...ed a plain A average, and only 6423 students or 0.9% earned an A- or higher. If you include those who earned a B- and above you still only have 79,607 students or 11.5% of the total. The highest average mark in the entire country was 87%. There is little in the way of mark inflation in Kenya. Back in June we posted a short story about Philip, one of the young people receiving a scholarship from The Small Project. Philip grew up in an orphanage in Nanyuki and only a few years ago learned that his biological mother was still alive. Despite a really challenging start to life, Philip has always been a positive, hardworking, and honest young man. Today, the government released the individual students’ marks and we are delighted to learn that Philip earned a B average, putting him roughly in the top 10% of all Form 4 kids in the country. On a practical level this means that Philip will be offered a place at university next year, although we won’t know for some weeks what program. The government attempts to place students in courses they want but space is limited in most programs. Philip has come so far and we are really proud of him and his accomplishments.

Meet Roleen We get asked all the time how we pick kids for The Small Project. Normally, scholarship students are carefully screened. We check past reports, speak with teachers, visit their homes and families, and, of course, meet with the student. We like to start them in elementary school so they can develop a good foundation for high school. And we always have a committed donor (or donors) in place before offering support. But sometimes life throws you a curve ball. ... About a year ago Pauline, our helper in Kenya, approached us with a story, and a problem. It seems there was a Western visitor to Kenya who had somehow or another met Roleen. This woman was so taken with her that she volunteered to pay for all of Roleen’s high school fees and expenses. Roleen comes from a poor home and she was destined to finish school at the end of grade 8. What a fabulous, life changing thing to have happen! It must have seemed like a miracle. The donor faithfully paid the expenses for grade 9. But then (you can see this coming), nothing. When contacted about grade 10, there was no reply. Complete radio silence. No response to email or regular post. Even her phone went unanswered. It’s like the donor never existed. Roleen’s education came to a screeching halt. She was shattered. Through the grapevine Pauline heard about Roleen’s situation and decided she had to pay, out of her own pocket, for Roleen’s grade 10 year. But Pauline has three kids of her own in school and this extra expense was just too much for her to sustain. And so, when we next got to Kenya, Pauline told us the story and asked us to meet Roleen and look at her reports with the view of having The Small Project pick up expenses going forward. As it happened, this was an easy decision: Roleen is a great kid and a very good student. With some surplus funds we looked after things for grade 11. And that is how Roleen became a scholarship student in The Small Project. And we are really happy we did. Roleen is a very pleasant and cheerful young woman. She earns good marks and is engaged in sports and some clubs at school. And now we are wondering hoping if we can get some help with Roleen. Ideally, we need about $1000 for her final year in high school. If you could help us toward this goal, we would be very grateful. You can donate via PayPal from our website (thesmallproject.ca), send an e-transfer to [email protected], or mail a cheque (!) payable to The Small Project, 200 Lorne Avenue, Newmarket, ON L3Y 4K2. We will send a tax receipt for all donations of $10 or more. Please include your postal address so we keep the CRA happy. Thank you for considering this. Have a great holiday!

Meet Grace Grace appeared out of the blue at the foot of our veranda in Kenya about six years ago when we are having our morning coffee. A slight, waif-like girl, dressed in hoodie and clutching some papers, Grace said that she knew we helped kids go to school and that she was hoping we could support her. She told us that her father, who had been a furniture maker, had died the previous year. Grace’s mother had sold everything that he had already made to cover the fees for he...r first year in high school, but there was no money left to continue her education. Her mother had no education or skills and made barely enough to feed the family by doing casual farm and house work for others. The papers Grace carried were her father’s death certificate and her final report from Form 1 (grade 9), her last year in school, which showed some really good marks. There was something about Grace’s self-confidence and quiet demeanour that touched us and so, after some due-diligence (a home visit; an interview with her principal), we agree to offer her a scholarship. Happily, we quickly found a Canadian donor who was (and still is) willing to help Grace with her education. And we are so glad we made that decision. Grace has proven to be a bright and hardworking student. She did really well in high school on the crucial final exams at the end of the last year and is now in her third year of the Bachelor of Commerce program at Chuka University. And in addition to her university program, Grace is also taking courses at a private college toward becoming a chartered accountant. Grace continues to be the self-confident young woman we first met. Blessed with a positive attitude and a cheerful manner, she is well on the road to success.

When this photo was taken the mother nursing her first child was 12 years old. Twelve. Let that sink in. Regrettably, this mom is by no means an exception in rural Africa. A combination of cultural norms, poverty that restricts educational opportunities, and a lack of access to family planning and contraception consigns far too many young women and girls to a life of poverty, and too many children. And, of course, the baby also a girl - will almost inevitably find herself ...similarly trapped in the same cycle of poverty. And so it goes on. And on. And on. But the good news is that the provision of accessible and affordable family planning can break this cycle. And it is a true cost-saving intervention. Its benefits include: The number of unskilled abortions and infanticide declines. Infant/child mortality declines; children born 3 to 5 years apart are 2.5 times more likely to survive than children born 2 years apart. There is a dramatic improvement in maternal health with more widely spaced births. Fewer girls drop out of school due to unwanted pregnancies.

CHAT In addition to helping some Kenyan kids get an education so they might break free from the cycle of poverty, The Small Project also helps to support the work of a grass roots Kenyan health care organization called Communities Health Africa Trust, or CHAT. For most people who live in rural and remote parts of Kenya accessing health care requires traveling great distances in order to reach the nearest health facility. This often incurs a financial burden that they cannot a...fford. Additionally, the stigmas created by misinformation as well as traditional, cultural and religious barriers often prevent the people from seeking out family planning, HIV/AIDS testing and counselling, and other health services. Started in 1999 by Shanni Wreford-Smith, CHAT delivers health care to thousands who live in underserved communities in northern and central Kenya. Using four-wheel drive vehicles, camels, bicycles, and even walking with a backpack, CHAT’s teams do what it takes to reach those in need. CHAT’s mobile health clinics offer their clients a range of integrated services, including immunization, HIV/AIDS testing, malaria and TB testing, and treatment for general illnesses, infections, and injuries. However, CHAT’s primary focus is on the provision of family planning and reproductive health care so that women and girls can control their own reproductive health through the provision of reproductive health information and contraception.