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Our Work
Since our founding in 2004 we have built and rehabilitated 6 schools for young children in three African countries (all of which are still thriving), funded formal teacher training for assistants and head teachers and provided food and essential medications to support hundreds of students attending our schools.
Our projects could not be successful without our partners "on the ground," the dedication of the parents and other adults in the communities. From volunteering as teachers in makeshift outdoor "classrooms" for years, to contributing free labor for the construction projects, the adults have demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring the success of these schools. There is no successful project without a community thoroughly committed to ensuring that their children obtain an education.
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We look forward to continuing this work in the years to come and to expanding our support to the students providing them with the opportunity to have a brighter future and give back to their communities. ​​
Our kindergarten school in Baragoi, Kenya opened in January 2024 and is our largest undertaking to date. With a $50,000 donation from Gary's Fund this project included three classrooms, latrines and a kitchen. The only kindergarten in this remote, conflict zone region had an immediate enrollment of 80+ children. Parents rushed to line up and be sure their children were included.
A large crowd attended the opening ceremonies. Our partner, Africa Exchange, told us the community is "over the moon” and very grateful to Gary’s Fund for providing the funding for the construction of the kindergarten, the only one in the region .
We are delighted with the immediate success of this project. Community contributions to our projects are vital and required as it is critical that the adults have a strong vested interest in the success of their new school. This community contributed heavy labor for the construction.
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Gary's Fund provided food for all kindergarten students in our 3 Kenyan schools this year for the cost of 35 cents per meal at Baragoi and Sisit and 23 cents per meal at Nkasioki. More children attend school when their families know they will be fed especially if the parents do not have the means to pay for the meal. (A common occurrence).
In 2013 the Ncedulunthu Educare Pre-School consisted of a tiny shack added to the back of the teacher's small home in the dangerous, poverty-stricken Mfuleni Township in South Africa's Western Cape. She was determined to help children in the township who are vulnerable to crime and accidents and are often unsupervised or living in "childheaded homes." With great dedication the teacher and her assistants were caring for 80 young children under a sagging, leaking, tin roof. These youngsters shared one washbasin, waiting up to an hour in line to use the single toilet.
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Partnering with Ikamva Labantu, Ncedulunthu Educare pre-school was extensively rehabilitated, supplied and its teachers provided with formal training which continues today. The school exceeded required standards to become a government school, allowing them to receive critically needed subsidies. The children and their three teachers now spend their days in a dramatically improved, safe and hygienic learning environment, greatly increasing their chances for educational success.
In Spring 2015 construction of a two-classroom school house in Gomoa Akroful was completed and immediately occupied by 30 young kindergarten children along with their teachers. This new building replaced an abandoned goat shed which previously served as the classroom for the community's younger students. By 2017 the school had an enrollment of 73 children and 4 teachers. It is registered as a government school with the Ghanaian Ministry of Education and is located adjacent to a primary school which the children can attend when they advance to upper grades.
We are providing food assistance for 2024 for all kindergarten students after recently funding the construction of a school kitchen. Enrollment is expected to rise again with the provision of food. The children receive their main meal of the day at school ensuring they are fed and taking financial pressure off their families who often don't have the few cents for lunch money.
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Gary's Fund provided the funding for the construction of a new two-classroom building and other facilities for this large and overcrowded preschool. Previously the school consisted of a row of dilapadated shacks which had recently been declared unsafe by the fire department. Located in the Gugulenthu Township in the Western Cape, the community is overwhlemed by a high rate of violent crime. It is an extremely unsafe place for children, who go to school for their education and their safety.
The dedicated teacher is a fixture in the community, also running other programs such as a women's sewing group. We have continued to provide funds for teacher training and during COVID funded the cost of food staples for all students.
In 2020, Gary's Fund donated $30,000 to the Sisit Community located in Kenya's northern highlands, to build a three-classroom school and latrines so the youngest children in the area could attend school. Prior to the completion of our project a parent volunteer held class for these children on makeshift benches outside with no educational supplies. This community, with the assistance of our Kenyan partner has also been tending successfully to a tree nursery. The saplings are planted to combat deforestation. Gary's Fund has assisted with this project by giving a sapling to the Sisit feeding program.
Last school year about 50 kindergarten students were enrolled, occupying two of the new classrooms. The third had always been dedicated for multiple purposes related to the school community which also includes an adjacent primary school. This room will also be able to accommodate growth in enrollment which is expected. For the last few years Gary's Fund has provided food and snack for the children as COVID and severe drought caused financial hardship and food shortages.
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In 2006 we partnered with Africa Exchange and a remote, rural community to replace a disintegrating wood-and-mud hut with a permanent structure so the youngest children there could attend kindergarten. This first project for Gary's Fund has been so successful we've funded the construction of additional classroom buildings to accommodate the flood of children who wished to attend. Additionally, the construction of our second classroom building was used by our partner (with our agreement) to leverage the county into funding and building another, badly needed classroom building.
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Almost 20 years later the school is thriving and has grown into a full-fledged primary school with 125 kindergarten students and 100 primary school students. During COVID and the extended severe drought experienced in this region, Gary's Fund has been providing food for the students at all three of its Kenyan schools. We are proud to say that Nkasioki is considered a showpiece for the region and in 2023 was even granted public lands to use for further expansion.