Fort Smith Educational Centre

Fort Smith Educational Centre is located on the outskirts of Nairobi near the Kangemi, Uthiru slums. Fort Smith Development Project was started in 1990 as an informal primary school, with the support of the local community.

In 2006, to meet demand, Fort Smith Educational Centre established a secondary learning institution to accompany the primary school. It has since registered 346 students from the age of 15 upward, including several adults returning to an education previously denied to them. The secondary institution is fully supported by the local community and charitable donations.  

Challenges facing the school include finding a viable way to support the increasing number of locally impoverished and orphaned children; increasing access to affordable education and providing a conducive learning environment to those who would be otherwise excluded from schooling because of a lack of fees, their age or pregnancy; reducing the illiteracy level among adults in the local community; providing a home to Sudanese and Somali refugees who are present in the local community.

Kenya Aid Programme became linked with the Fort Smith Development Project in October 2009 when we were able to provide new mattresses and blankets for the schools’ boarders, plus new kitchen equipment. In December 2009, we returned to Fort Smith with Christmas gifts from schools in the UK. In June 2010, with the schools assistance, we were able to coordinate a shipment of new school uniforms and classroom furniture to Fort Smith. 

KAP then went out to Fort Smith in March 2011 to give the school goods from the UK. This included: 188 chairs; 42 children chairs; 23 desks and 25 padded chairs. Polly and Bev also spent time with FortSmith school and were pleased to see the pupils smiley, lovely faces again.