Ireland Ambassador to Kenya Vincent O’Neill recently opened a school in Makueni County which will be providing pupils with bicycles, shoes, breakfast and clean drinking water to help keep them in schools.
The school has saved over 200 pupils who had to walk for 20 kilometres to a nearby institution before the centre, which the Ambassador was set to open, was established.
Kenya Child Foundation - an Irish organisation, oversaw the establishment of St Patrick’s Primary School which is located in Kawese, Mukaa, Makueni county.
This came after a visit by John and Ciara McCarrick to Kawese who established the Kenyan Child Foundation CLG and developed a fundraising campaign to build St Patrick primary school.
[caption caption="St Patrick school"]
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Establishing the school has seen a high number of pupils enrolling and promoted gender equality helping combat absenteeism with bicycles through the World Bicycle Relief Programme.
Additionally, the school will provide clean drinking water after a borehole well is completed in December 2018.
"Not only do the students of Kawese have a new primary school, a breakfast club, and an easier journey to school with shoes and bicycles – the wider community is also empowered by the access to clean drinking water, power, community projects and employment," McCarrick stated.
He maintained the objectives of the project were to set up a primary school providing free quality primary education for 200 students by 2018.
"Before, St Patrick’s Children were walking 20km to school each day and this prevented many of them from getting an education," McCarrick stated.
[caption caption="Ireland ambassador to Kenya Vincent O’Neill addressing St Patrick primary school pupils"]
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Pupils narrated the risks that came with the previous school where they were forced to cross the busy Mombasa-Nairobi Highway and also a river which would be rendered impassable during the rainy season.
