Summing it up

Spending 6 weeks in a rural community in Kenya with no running water or electricity is physically and emotionally demanding. Nevertheless it is an extraordinary learning experience that helps to provide unparalleled knowledge and insight into the development world. From June 27th 2009 until August 4th 2009, I spent my time in Kayafungo, Kenya on a Global Development Internship with the organization Student Movement for Real Change. Throughout my time, I worked extensively with local community members and officials in monitoring and evaluating past implemented projects as well as working to develop future sustainable projects.

In the time that I spent in Kayafungo, I was able to get a better understanding of what projects work or don't work, and why this may happen. I saw success, and I saw failure. I saw solutions, while also seeing more problems. Its difficult creating development in an area that is stricken with problems in a multitude of areas. Not only do the people live with limited to no income, but geographically, the area is stricken with limited resources which further hinders development amongst the community.

A major problem in the area is access to clean water. Water is vital to all life and without it, it is near impossible for development to occur. The people in Kayafungo get their water from watering dams that are usually dug by the community. Unfortunately the water is stagnate, and full of parasites and water-borne diseases. Women will walk anywhere from 1 hour to 3 or 4 hours in the dry season to fetch water. As a result women will spend most of their day fetching water, while children will leave school to help their mothers get the water. All of this hinders education for children and future personal development for the women.

In addition there is a lack of schools and classrooms for children in nursery, primary and secondary schools. I spent time at a secondary school that was recently built with the help of Student Movement for Real Change. The school is Mwijo Secondary school and is the only other public secondary school in the area besides Ngalla Secondary school about 5 km down the road. The problem is the school only has 1 classroom for 75 students. Currently the school has 11 primary schools that feed into it. As a result at the end of each academic year they expect about an addition 120 students that could possibly attend Mwijo, however with only 1 classroom they cannot accommodate for the large influx of students. In turn, many children might not attend secondary school because they cannot afford another one, or live too far away to walk. Secondary school has proven to provide opportunity for children to live successful lives further creating development in the community and in their personal lives. If there are no classrooms, then there won't be that opportunity. I worked with the Board of Governors, as well as the headteacher and headmaster in helping to create a timeline that will allow them to fundraise money for additional classrooms. Most of the students at Mwijo Secondary school would not be attending any secondary school if it had not been built. This goes to show the power of education and the will to learn in this area of Kenya. We need to help this community in getting additional classrooms so that children have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

With education being such a vital aspect of development and opportunity for the people of Kayafungo, Kenya, it is the hope that the changeIT project will work in this area of the world in the near future. In helping to provide classrooms for schools in Kayafungo, the changeIT project would not only be constructing a physical structure that would help facilitate development, but it would be creating the opportunity for success and helping to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of countless motivated children.