How to enhance the development of DERA Brightway Academy by making it more sustainable: for a better future of the pupils!
In brief:
The (privater) school was founded in 2017, bottom up, adding one school grade a year.
The school was founded by Emmanuel Masha Wanje. He was able to study because people noticed he was very bright and paid for his education.
This is the reason why Emmanuel started a school in a very poor area in the northern part of Kilifi, to give educational chances to other deprived children.
DERA Bright Academy now has about 180 children from PP1 up to grade 7. Following the changes in the educational system, the school has started with Junior High school as from January 2024, at the moment the Kenyan school year started.
More than 30 orphans attend the school. The school also provides meals for all children and housing for these orphans.
The parents have a rural background, hardly have any education and part of the year there is no work at all. So the school mostly depends on gifts from sponsors.
Because of the investment in well trained teachers and little children per class, the learning results are great: the exam results of grade 6 are very good, recently a 13th place in the total Kilifi Area! In a recent contest between schools, the grades 3-6 of Dera Bright Academy became #3 of the region. This means that 45 of the best achieving children of Dera Brightway Academy will be participating in further contests in October. Only the best 10 schools of the area of North and South Kilifi will have this opportunity. In that contest, they reached a 13th place of the complete Eastern part of Kenya.
Also in sports and other areas like dancing and poetry, Dera Brightway Academy reached very good results. In April 2024, they will join sport contests at the national level!
So far, gifts mainly come from a few people that are working for or associated with the Inspectorate of Education in the Netherlands. And also a fund with roots in Dutch education system gave € 5000 fort the buiding of classrooms!
What has been established so far?
Most of the progress has been established in the past two years.
In the beginning of the school year 2022, the school only had 5 wooden classrooms and 4 toilets, and hardly had any learning materials. Each year had its own teacher.
DERA Brightway Academy now consists of 9 years. In April 2024, the school has 9 solid brick classrooms that fulfill all standards of the Kenyan Inspectorate. Also a library has been built that also serves as an administration office
.
The Kenyan government recently has acknowledged the school. Next year the school will be given the last one-year license, after that a five year license starts from 2024 onward.
The school establishes great learning results that hopefully will attract parents from further away who can better afford the school fee.
The school also excels in other activities, like sports. By the end of April, about 30 pupils of Dera Brightway Academy will attend games at a national level!
The most essential learning materials are available. Grade 6 now even has 18 laptops to learn about ICT and do exams in the subject.
Teachers follow courses to be able to give the Competence Based Curriculum.
Toilets for pupils and teachers have been built.
The school is connected to the regional water supply.
One solar panel provides for electricity; in this region there is no connection to the local energy supply at all (the first connection is about 1,5 miles away).
A huge mango tree that stood in the way provided for many timbers that were used to build school furniture. The Kenyan government provided special furniture for the 4 and 5 year old.
The orphans now get a food programme, consisting of two to three meals a day. Other children at least get one meal per day. DERA Brightway tries to grow as many crops as possible (mainly maïs, also beans and vegetables) to provide for the food. Parents that can't afford the school fees are working at the school fields.
Dera Brightway Academy has professional teachers. The quality of the teaching is very important. That is why the teacher salaries are mostly paid by the sponsors. Efforts are still undertaken to convince parents that they also should contribute and invest as much as they can in the future of their children. But choices for them are hard given the circumstances.
The Kenyan government has noticed that the school performs very well in many fields. Dera Brightway Academy is one of the only 65 schools that will recieve some kind of subsidy in the near future. How much that will be, remains to be seen.
How can the development and the sustainability of DERA Bright Academy be enhanced?
- Buiding additional classrooms voor grade 8 and 9 (grades of the Junior High School) and an administration office.
- In the two years to come, by the end of 2024 and 2025, two additional classrooms will be needed. The grades 7, 8 and 9 are the replacement of the former junior highschool and now part of fundamental education.
- Gutters, to collect water for irrigation of the garden, and for flushing the toilets. Total costs of gutters for the present 5 brick classrooms is 72.000 Ksh. An extra water tank to collect the rain water is also needed, a tank of 10.000 liters costs 89.000 Ksh.
- 5 Solar panels to provide for electricity (laptops, illumination for security). Each solar panel costs 29.000 Ksh + 15.000 Ksh additional materials.
Needed in the near future (not specified):
- Extension of school area, agriculture area.
- Housing for the teachers to reduce travel (CO2 emissions) and costs of rent.
- Learning materials for grade 8 (2025 and 9 (2026)
Also: in the near future meetings or contacts with other schools in and outside the region. Maybe exchange programmes, other secondary school pupils can give sports lessons at Dera Brightway Academy?
In total, specification of amounts needed
€ 100 = Ksh 13,456 (rate April 9, 2024)
Necessary for 2024 till 2026
2 Class rooms gr. 8 and 9, each 800.00 1.600.000 Ksh
Practice Class room Junior High School 800.000 Ksh
Administration office 400.000 Ksh
Learning materials grade 8 and 9 400.000 Ksh each grade
Gutters for the 8 brick class rooms, front side 72.000 Ksh
Watertank 10.000 liter 89.000 Ksh
5 Solar panels, each 44.000 220.000 Ksh
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TOTAL 3.981.000 Ksh