From bricks to brighter futures... Introducing The Kilgoris Project's 2016 Impact Report.
If you could zoom in tightly on this year’s Impact Report, you’d hover over the many gifts you’ve given: bags of ground maize for school lunches, test prep books for the national 8th-grade exam, monthly salaries for teacher Irene and janitor Joseph, jars of pediatric deworming pills, trailer loads of bricks for new classrooms, and rows of eucalyptus seedlings. Your donations continue to build transformative futures for children in Kenya.
When you zoomed out, you’d see how these gifts blossomed into a patchwork of growth areas. These efforts and many others will continue to nurture our students and their communities for years to come.
• Campus development—TKP and the Ololturot community, partnered with Live Oak Community Church and the Van Elderen Family Foundation to build a multipurpose building that will be used as both a preschool and church. It’s the first building on the site. This community continues to impress me with their commitment to their children’s education. Look for more growth in late 2017 as we continue to develop the Ololturot campus.
• Sustainability investment—With a grant from The Paperseed Foundation and key donor gifts, we purchased 33 acres of land to expand our tree farming. Over the next ten years, we will grow and harvest eucalyptus trees, which are in high demand throughout Kenya. The proceeds will help fund TKP school operations, helping us realize a growing, sustainable, in-country income.
• Water infrastructure—Several California donor families pooled funds to bring a well to the Oltikampu community, where more than 300 children attend TKP’s preschool and primary school. Drought has severely hampered this isolated village, bringing with it the serious health problems that a lack of clean water creates.
• Model graduates—Perhaps the highlight of the year was seeing the success of our first class of 8th-grade graduates. These students exceeded our expectations and all other local performers on the national exam. They provided both a proof of concept for our holistic educational model and a shining example for all the classes below them.
We’ve highlighted just a few of the hundreds of 2016 accomplishments made possible by our many volunteers, donors, advisors, travelers and friends. Thank you for your faithful partnership in 2016. Scroll down or download a PDF of our 2016 Impact Report to learn more about your impact.
With gratitude,
Caren McNelly McCormack
President and Co-founder
The Kilgoris Project
