Nkasioki School, Kenya
The Need.
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While searching for our first project we became aware of a remote, Maasai community in the Kenyan bush which was in dire need of a kindergarten and committed to making this wish a reality. The nearest primary school was a 15 km roundtrip walk through the bush, too far away for the young children to manage. A kindergarten classroom was built in the community with mud, wood and corrugated tin along with a smaller equally tenuous structure.- They borrowed broken pieces of chalk and a piece of a chalkboard for writing from the primary school. The structure had fallen into extremely poor condition, and the community was too impoverished to replace it resulting in the cancellation of kindergarten.
Interior of existing kindergaten. It was deemed too unstable to use.
Exterior of existing kindergarten. Constructed of mud, termite riddled wood and a dilapidated corrungated tin roof, this structure leaked terribly in the rain and was falling apart.
The Initial Project.
In November 2006 Gary’s Fund accepted a proposal from our first partner, Africa Exchange, to build, furnish and supply a kindergarten and provide certificate training for one teacher from the community. Gary’s Fund made an $11,000 donation, every dollar of which was used for the implementation of this project. High school student volunteers from Nairobi and members of the Nkasioki community contributed labor and the community also provided the gravel for the foundation.
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Since its completion in March 2007, the school has been fully operational. A few years after the school was launched the community independently completed the steps necessary to register the school with the Kenyan government and received a government funded teacher as well.
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Our second classroom building funded by donation from Clay and Dorothy Perkins on left. County govenrment funded classroom on right. Note solar panels and water catchment system.
Ongoing Support .
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2021
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Gary's Fund provided $4,875 in April 2021 to provide the combined 140 kindergarten students at our new school in Sisit and at Nkasioki with the following:
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About 60 Nkasioki students received, at a cost of $25/child/school year AM nutrional porridge and lunch daily.
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About 80 Sisit students received, at a cost of $50/child/school year: Daily meal lof nutritious porridge and snack, bi-annual anti-parasitic medication, treated mosquito netting, school supplies and a tree seedling from the community's tree nursery to plant.
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2023
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Gary's Fund continued food support providing $9,000 in April 2023 to provide porridge and food to our kindergarten students at Nkasioki, Sisit and to another remote school in dire need of food assistance for their kindergarteners due to a severe ongoing drought.
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​Nkasioki: 120 students.
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Sisit: 59 students.
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Turkana: 78 students
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Total: 257 - students
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The cost $35/child/ schoolyear
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Nkasioki and Turkana students also received treated mosquito netting.
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The Nkasioki food included maize, beans and oil which are the staples for this community. These items were purchased locally and greatly welcomed and appreciated. The delivery was received and distributed by the new head teacher and one of the school's original teachers and founders, Wilson.​​
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Exterior of our first classroom building at Nkasioki School.
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Additional Projects .
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Over the course of the past 17 years the school has grown exponentially with support from Gary's Fund, our partner and even the local government. It is now a full-fledged primary school with 211 students, 8 teachers and nine classes (plus two kindergartens). Today it is a thriving government school which is considered to be a showpiece for the region. We continue to provide support and have a strong tie to this special school.
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2014
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The school's population had grown from 55 kindergarteners in 2007 to 186 students from pre-school through grade five. Overcrowding in the existing structures was a serious problem. Many eligible students in the community could not attend due to space limitations.
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Gary's Fund partnered with community, the local government, and our partner, Exchange, to increase the number of classrooms at the school and employ additional teachers to address the increase in enrollment and allow for expansion.
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Thanks to a generous donation from Dorothy and Clay Perkins, in 2014 we provided a donation of $16,500 to construct a steel-framed, two-classroom structure and water containment system. The original one room classrooom structure was divided into two classrooms. This project was completed in 2015 and the new classrooms were occupied immediately. The completion of this project was used as leverage to require the county to construct a matching one classroom building.
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2016
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Gary's Fund provided the funding for 60 locally made desks to be used at the school. Each desk seats 2 students and they were made for a total cost of only $1,500.​The Kenyan government became aware of Nkasioki School's success and installed a solar power unit on the roof of one of our classroom buildings with the intention of providing the students with electronic tablets. The students were provided with these tablets which are now in use and charged via the solar power unit.
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From 2021-2022 Nkasioki kindergarten enrollment doubled from 60 to 120 children mostly due to the feeding program. We are delighted to help these children begin school and to feed them as well.
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2023
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The Kenyan government officially granted 17 acres of land to the school and registered it under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

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2024
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Gary's Fund provided daily lunch to a total of 280 Kenyan students, 151 of whom were Nkasioki kindergarteners. The total cost wasf $6795 for all 280 children. The Nkasioki children were fed at a cost of $45/child/school year. The other two schools are extremely remote raising their cost to $70/child/school year. (We also provided daily lunch and snack for our students at our other Kenyan schools in Sisit/Baragoi. For more details please see their project pages).
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Costs increased this year as Gary's Fund is now paying transportation, fuel and delivery costs plus the stipend for the school cooks. Due to inflation this additional assistance was needed.
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Despite the increased cost it only takes pennies/day to feed these children. The cost to provide a nutritious lunch each school day is only 23 US cents/day/child, money that most of their parents do not have.
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More Ongoing Support...
The Community.
The Nkasioki community is populated by an indigenous people called the Maasai who typically herd and hunt. This community is located in "the bush" in a remote, rural area several kilometers off the nearest dirt road. It consists of about ten Maasai settlements situated adjacent to the world famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The nearest town is the county seat of Narok, a 4-5 hour drive southwest from Nairobi.
The area where our school is located has no plumbing or electricity and there are no paved roads. The people have very little. Local streams and creeks provide water which is not always free of disease. A borehole was drilled to access underground water years ago. When it is functioning properly it is tremendously helpful in slowing and preventing the spread of trachoma which is the leading cause of blindness among Maasai. Trachoma is spread by flies and the lack of clean water to use for face washing and other hygenic purposes.
There are challenges faced when trying to keep the older children in school. During a recent, prolonged drought, the older boys left school for extended periods to move their cattle further away in search of water. Cultural taboos and traditions make it difficult to keep girls in school. Gary's Fund is aware of this situation and is in communicaiton with our partner regarding possible ways to help them.
The Community Contribution.
At one point 6 years after the school was founded, the county stopped making their contribution towards teacher salaries. One parent volunteer worked with 120 children attempting as best she could to continue their education rather than close the school.
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During construction, the community always contributes labor, in this case, the backbreaking labor of gathering and manually crushing stones for concrete. (As seen to the right).
Wilson, a teacher from the school's inception and the head teacher for many years, was teaching at one point without without receiving his government salary until an issue at the County level was resolved. Gary's Fund provided the funding for his teacher certification training in 2007. He remains dedicated to the school and community.
All photos provided by Africa Exchange