What we do

GROW MINDS

From Under the shade of just one old Mango Tree in 2000, Timboni Primary School was established and now stands as a multi-classroom school, providing education from age 4 years upwards, the eldest child being around 18. The school continues to grow and around 350 children are currently enrolled.

Following significant changes to the education system in 2018, all primary schools were directed to send the oldest children in the school at age12 years old to high school or technical school, following successful completion of the Kenyan Primary School Leaving Certificate. However, in 2018, when the changes were announced, there were still almost 70 children in the 12-18 years age range, thus causing significant difficulties for both the school and pupils in attempting to push these pupils through the leaving exam. Delays in learning have been historically high, usually caused by missed schooling (pupils needed to help at home with care or work) or a late start (reluctance to start children at school). 

Under the Mango Tree recognises that there continues to be ongoing challenges for both teachers and pupils.

Photo - New starters joining the school

If you would like to help fund the cost of teaching provision and support our feeding programme please click this link to take you to our Funding campaign

 

GROW HOPES AND DREAMS

The majority of local families have received little or no formal education; the area is very poor with most families just about surviving as subsistence farmers and crops have been hit hard over the last few years due to drought throughout the region. When drought is broken, the rains tend to be torrential making farming an incredibly difficult enterprise.

Timboni Primary School, serving this extremely poor community, gives the universal right to education to some of the most marginalised children. Without this local school provision, children would need to travel a great distance for education or more typically join the 500,000 Kenyan children who still do not attend school.

Photo -  Mixed age class of the oldest children aged 12-18 years, girls and boys, of multi faiths, in the UTMT funded (2018) classroom

The provision and encouragement of education for all, especially girls, is crucial to help break the cycle of poverty:

  • educated girls are less likely to be married early
  • suffer in childbirth
  • less likely to contract HIV/Aids infection
  • and an educated girl, whilst able to earn a living, is ultimately more likely to give birth to a healthy baby and support the education of her own children.

GROW BODIES

Timboni School has a feeding programme.

Under the Mango Tree has been providing support for the feeding program for many years and substantially increased this support over the last five years.

Currently, around 350 children are given a breakfast of porridge followed by a lunch around 1pm. The school day starts at 7am and many children walk long distances, often in bare feet, so ensuring the children are fed and energised is a priority. Once school finishes around 5pm, the children walk home again. Often children can be seen carrying their younger siblings wrapped on their backs.

Photo - Children must bring wood each day for the fire in the kitchen so the cooks can prepare a hot meal