Arise and Shine Schools

Arise and Shine schools are located in the north-west of Kenya, within the Rift Valley Province. Founded in 1998, with just 6 pupils, there are now three schools with a total enrollment of over 400 pupils.

Arise and Shine Ziwa Primary was established in 1998 with the aim of providing a good level of education in the local area. Following pressure from parents in the immediate vicinity, a second primary school was established 9 kilometers from the main site in 2002 in Sirikwa. Arise and Shine Sirikwa Primary now accommodates pupils in nursery and forms 1-5.

In 2005, Arise and Shine High School at Sirikwa was established. Pupils sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) first in December 2006. Consistently high examination results are best illustrated by performance in the national examinations at both primary and secondary level.

Arise and Shine schools have a strong link with the local community. The main school has been a driver behind several community development projects including a community borehole and access to mains electricity. In addition, and where possible, supplies for the school are sourced locally, and local people are employed.

A particularly important development for the school going forward is the establishment of an orphanage to serve the needs of the local community. Plans are well advanced for the orphanage to become fully operational in 2011. The area, which is close to the centre of the early violence in Eldoret, was impacted greatly during the troubles. The orphanage will provide hope, opportunity and some degree of normality for the lives of those with no family support.

Kenya Aid Programme became linked to Arise and Shine schools in 2009, by way of friends of the charity in England. We were able to visit the schools in December 2009, and to see the initial stages of the orphanage development. We were moved by the situation of a local father who produces crops for the school in return for his sons’ education. When visiting, we learnt that water storage to guarantee the supply of his crops had become an increasing problem.

Kenya Aid Programme has since been able to support the completion of an irrigation project to benefit both the family concerned and also the school. As of April 2010, virtually the whole of his plot had been planted at intervals to produce a continuous supply.