At the heart of Maragoli, Vihiga County, lies the Tender Herbs School founded by Sacha Chabaga, a former nanny who worked in Portland, Oregon.
Chabanga revealed that she decided to invest in Kenya's education system after finding a new home in Western Kenya following her marriage to native Elliot Ajega in 2019.
In an interview with US-based media house, KION, on Thursday, January 13, she noted that she decided to start the school given the local community's dire need for a centre of learning.
The former nanny acknowledged that a number of challenges affected the quality of education in the area including the student-teacher ratio and insufficient resources.
In particular, she stated that she wanted to build a school with a swimming pool citing some of the challenges identified with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
“We want to have a library and a computer lab, a clinic and a swimming pool because swimming is an integral part of the national curriculum, but almost nobody actually swims in a pool,” she stated.
Through the funds pulling, Chabanga - together with her husband - was able to put up structures to hold two classes that hosted Grade One and Grade Two students.
However, she noted that she still faced an array of financial challenges as she revealed that she needed Ksh10 million to run the school for the year.
The former nanny added that the money would be used for operations including infrastructure development in the school.
Chabanga also divulged that she was working on offsetting the outstanding balance for the piece of land the school sits on.
Further, she indicated that she would set up four classrooms and a playground at a cost of Ksh4 million.
"In our next phase of building, we plan to add a dedicated pre-primary building for our youngest students, install play equipment on the playground, and build a small room behind the office.
"We are still partially dependent on outside funding to cover our operating costs of food, salaries, fuel, and ongoing repairs and miscellaneous supplies," she stated.
In the school, students wear African print uniforms in celebration of the African culture.
Additionally, the students are also taught the local dialect and music, drama, and dance.
