Health and Hygiene Support: April 2022

April 5, 2022

Dear TKP Family,

Little hands at TKP’s 12 schools line up at handwashing stations tens of thousands of times every school year. This somewhat simple, but critical routine keeps our 1,775 students healthy and guards against the spread of germs on campus. 

We know that kids need to be healthy to thrive in the classroom and this week we’re launching a three-week campaign to ensure our water, sanitation, and hygiene programs are fully funded. The need for proper sanitation and hygiene resources remains a top priority for TKP beyond the pandemic. 

In 2022, we’re investing in these important programs by:

• Allocating increased budget for handwashing stations.

• Adding more choos (toilets) at Nentkeny to ensure cleanliness for this growing and thriving campus (now up to 6th grade!).

• For TKP’s five campuses with clean water wells, we’re moving forward with regular maintenance and repairs to keep the supply of clean water flowing.

• Investing in student health clubs so students can become ambassadors for health and hygiene on TKP campuses.

 Will you partner with us today to raise $15,000 in April?

We can’t do it without you!

Make your secure, tax-deductible donation here: www.kilgoris.org/donate

Health and Hygiene Support: April 2021

April 12, 2021

Dear TKP Family,

This week we’re launching a three-week initiative to keep our health and hygiene programs going strong for TKP’s 1,500 students. This campaign is more important than ever, as our team in Kilgoris continues to face challenges related to COVID-19. 

 Thankfully, all of our students were able to return to campus for the first school term of 2021, January through March. But right now, Kenya’s largest counties and cities are facing strict lockdowns and we don’t know what that will mean for Kilgoris or our students. We’re planning to welcome all TKP students back in early May for the second term and are committed to doing so in the cleanest and safest way possible.

 Our team continues to serve the health needs of our students by ensuring the sanitation of our campuses and classrooms:

• We’ve allocated an increased budget for sanitation supplies and temporary hand washing stations. Adequate hand washing is more important than ever in helping to curb the spread of COVID-19 and we are committed to making sure each of TKP’s 11 schools have plenty of water, soap and supplies for all teachers, staff and students. 

• As we continue to serve more students, we’re adding more toilets and an incinerator on the Nentkeney campus to ensure cleanliness.

• For TKP’s five campuses with clean water wells (let’s celebrate that for a minute…access to clean water is a true gift for our students!) we’re planning regular maintenance and repairs to keep the access to clean water flowing. 

We need you to join us in raising $15,000 in the next three weeks to keep these important health and hygiene programs going strong.

 Will you partner with us today?

 Make your secure, tax-deductible donation here: www.kilgoris.org/donate

2020 Impact Report

Dear Friends,

One year ago, a new reality hit for all of us. Educational authorities sent students home. Travel disappeared. And an upcoming fundraising campaign looked shaky.

Even in those uncertain times, it was your faithful partnership, love and prayers that allowed our TKP team to continue serving our incredible students, their families, and the Kilgoris community. We have so much to be thankful for.

With your unwavering generosity, we found creative ways to serve our 1,400 students and families, we kept our talented staff fully employed, and we joyfully welcomed students back to clean, fully-stocked classrooms in January of 2021.

PANDEMIC PIVOTS

As 2020 unfolded, our team quickly found ways to serve students outside the classroom. From your gifts during our April campaign, we delivered food assistance to our most vulnerable students, providing their families and caregivers with monthly staple grocery kits.

Once we met students’ basic nutrition needs, we turned to meeting their social and educational needs, as well. On campus, students picked up pencils, erasers and grade-level workbooks so they could continue learning at home. And in August, we began our Village Classroom program—small, socially-distanced, neighborhood gatherings reconnecting TKP students and teachers. These outdoor classrooms also allowed our health team to check the students’ safety, health and overall well-being.

FLOODED WITH GENEROSITY

We’re grateful to share 2020 was our most successful fundraising year to-date. From grant funders, to church partnerships, to the thousands of individual donors we count on—everyone showed up in big ways to support TKP students. We felt the love and generosity all year.

With strong income (and lower expenses because school was out of session), TKP is well positioned to grow and continue to invest in the young hearts, minds and bodies of our students.

Read on in this 2020 Impact Report to see the exceptional impact of your generous gifts. More than ever, we thank you for your continued support and faithful partnership.

While we still don’t know how efforts to fight the pandemic will unfold through the year, we do know we’re well-positioned to continue serving Kilgoris’ kids. Bring on 2021!

Caren McNelly McCormack
President and Co-Founder

David Lemiso
Executive Director

Video: Changing Lives in Rural Kenya

Tune in to see behind the scenes of The Kilgoris Project’s work in rural Kenya. Meet a few of our staff members, hear from one of our top students, and see the joy that is created on each of our campuses. Your continued partnership brings incredible education and health care to this rural community. Enjoy seeing your impact firsthand!

2019 Impact Report

Dear Friends, 

As I sit down to write this letter in March 2020, we are in the thick of uncertainty, watching the global COVID-19 pandemic unfold around us. But as I start to write, and reflect back on 2019, I can’t help but be immensely grateful when I think of all the ways you blessed TKP in 2019. 

The way you showed up for TKP students in 2019 helped us add three water wells to our campuses, brought healthy meals and clean water to an even greater number of students, allowed us to celebrate eighth-grade graduation at two campuses, and encouraged us to find creative ways to use our Kenyan farms and revenue projects to support all schools. 

Your faithful partnership, love and prayers continue to bring education and transformation to rural Kenya. Here are a few highlights from 2019: 

CLEAN WATER ADDED TO THREE CAMPUSES: 2019 was the year of new, clean water wells at our Oloowang, Oloturot and Nentekeny campuses. These sites serve both preschool and primary school students. Private donors, church partners, and foundations all came together to make these three wells a reality for the 525 students who call these campuses home.

Besides the obvious benefit of clean drinking water for our students, the on-campus access helps ensure the safety and productivity of our amazing cooks who previously walked much further to gather water daily. Access to water is transformational for communities in rural Kenya, and we’re grateful that you provided for our students this year. 

INAUGURAL OLTIKAMPU GRADUATION: In September, Oltikampu eighth graders joined their classmates at Intimigom for one of our largest graduations to date—49 students across both campuses. During the beautiful graduation ceremonies, I’m always touched by the pride I see in the parents’ eyes. Parents take the day off work and come with gifts of shiny tinsel leis and messages of congratulations on printed placards. And, with tears of pride in their eyes they celebrate their children and their immense accomplishments all day. TKP graduates once again boasted a 100 percent enrollment in high school—amazing for an area where 60 percent of public school students fail to qualify for high school. 

DIVERSE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES: We continue to invest in our in-country revenue generating programs, which now includes: eucalyptus tree farms and seedling nursery, a plowing and hauling business, egg production, and farming of beans, maize and cabbages. We’re beginning to pivot more of our food and egg production to directly support the school meal program (two meals per day, per student) where it can have the most impact, versus selling it in town. Additionally, our farmers and tractor drivers continue to effectively manage our land and hire the tractor out for income generating jobs to support the schools. 

All of this—the wells, graduations, and preschool-to-eighth-grade students learning every day—would not be possible without your years of faithful partnership. Asante sana! 

Read the full 2019 Impact Report to see how we stewarded your generous gifts in 2019.

With gratitude, 

Caren McNelly McCormack
President & Co-founder, The Kilgoris Project