SENET

SENET, the Sereolipi Nomadic Education Trust (SENET), was created to provide education to the children of the nomadic families in the Samburu.  In the 10 years since the Trust was created by Jane Newman and tribal elders, the project has launched four initiatives that have resulted in creating schools in the area, cleaning the water supply, supporting an ever-expanding student population and feeding and clothing the eager students.  The student body has dramatically increased from 132 to 1,300 students in Ndonyo Wasin and Sereolipi.

From the website:

In rural schools in Kenya the government provides less than 45% of what is needed to run a basic school capable of delivering adequate academic standards. In our schools the situation was even worse. For example, in 2007 the Kenyan government gave Ndonyo Wasin Primary School only 30% of what the school needed to function at a basic academic level. The school had only 3 teachers when there were 8 classes from Standard 1 to 8. The government supplied only basic food of corn and cow peas for lunch even though the school is 100% boarding and the students need breakfast and dinner as well as lunch. The government only supplies enough money for textbooks for one subject textbook to be shared by 3 to 4 students and no English or Kiswahili reading books. Not surprisingly, and in spite of all the efforts of the head teacher, the school was not doing well.

In 2008, it was agreed that we would supply the other 70% Ndonyo Wasin Primary School needed for one year to see if it would help increase grades. We added 8 teachers, bought Unimix (a nutritionally balanced porridge) for breakfast and ugali and beans for dinner. We built a new kitchen with energy efficient stoves and also a new library that has about 2,500 reading books in it. And we have added 3 new large, light classrooms. Our stated goal was to make sure that all the students achieved 60% or more in all their 5 subjects.

The results were excellent – a 20 to 30% increase in grades across all classes in Ndonyo Wasin. There was still lots of room for improvement but it was good enough to continue in Ndonyo Wasin Primary School and to extend the program to Sereolipi Primary school in 2009. We also agreed to add in a third school in our area called Lerata Primary School that had 130 students enrolled in it. In 2009 the exam results were outstanding with a further 30% increase in Ndonyo Wasin, a 35% increase in Sereolipi and a 32% increase in Lerata. The increases continued into 2010 and the three schools are well on their way to being some of the best schools in the country. As a result of this, the number of students entering the scholarship program has doubled between 2009 and 2011.

Through all of these activities Jane Newman works closely with the community, teachers, head teachers, and school committees to ensure the project is well managed and that each activity has clear objectives and is fully evaluated on an annual basis. Jane travels to Sereolipi, Ndonyo Wasin and Lerata and visits the primary schools and pre-schools at least twice a year.

In 2002, there were no preschools in the nomadic areas. Now, we run 14 preschools in the Samburu area. Each school has about 30 students in attendance, with an average of 5 students a year from each school going on to attend primary school.

BETTER GRADES

The “60 × 5” program which is aimed at improving grades and academic performance has far exceeded our expectations. We instituted the first full “60 × 5” program in Ndonyo Wasin in 2008. The other two schools followed in 2009. In 2007 all three schools were performing at a low of 200 marks out of 500. Now all students are within reach of 300 marks. The students’ grades now place our schools in the top 25% of the country. Next year, the number of students eligible for placement in the country’s best high schools will increase by at least 60%.

MORE SCHOLARSHIPS

Ninety students are enrolled in our scholarship program. They attend Kenya’s top high schools, technical schools, and colleges. Given the significant improvement in grades as a result of the 60 X 5 program, we are expecting our scholarship program to grow to 325 students in the next 5 years.

Although we only started sponsoring students in 2006, we already have 12 students who have graduated from the scholarship program. They all have great jobs that have exceeded their expectations.

Eight of the students that our sponsors have supported through technical school have finished their two-year certificate course and now enjoy having excellent jobs.

Four students who were sponsored through high school have finished their 2 years of college and are enjoying equal success.