The Rotary Club of Wilsonville is reaching out globally to help 300 students in the Kakamega area of Kenya, Africa to get their first school desks and improve the quality of their K-12 education. Called the “Inzeku Children’s (Desk) Project”, it is a subset of a larger project in Kenya to upgrade the infrastructure in six schools in this region of East Africa.
Working with the KOTA Foundation and the Rotary Club of Kakamega, the Wilsonville Rotary is providing a total of $4,800 to support the construction of 300 desks for students, who range in age from 5-16 years old. The Kakamega students are missing some of the most basic necessities in their classrooms, including desks, books, uniforms, school supplies and building infrastructure. The Kakamega Rotary is providing project oversight on the ground, and will be there as well to celebrate final delivery and project completion, scheduled for March 31, 2019.
Wilsonville resident and long-time Rotarian, Jake McMichael, is spearheading the project for the Wilsonville Rotary, handling all of the logistics and coordinating with the KOTA Foundation and the Kakamega Rotary.
Jake said, “We’re proud to be able to support this important project, which helps with these students’ basic education and literacy. Imagine trying to learn in a classroom in which you have to stand all day while trying to pay attention, write, do mathematics and engage in all of the other subject areas. From everything we’ve seen through photos and correspondence, this is a wonderful group of students and school administrators. We’re grateful to the KOTA Foundation and our counterpart Rotary Club in Kakamega for helping us participate in this great effort.”