Humanitarian Projects
School for Orphans and Disadvantaged Children
Rapogi Lwanda, Western Kenya
The village of Rapogi is located in a sugar cane farming area of Western Kenya. Tractors and trailers transport the sugar cane to the nearby Sony Sugar Refinery at Sare Awendo.
Two kilometres from Rapogi is a large rock, the Lwanda. It is this rock that gives the name Rapogi Lwanda to the primary school.
Projects began through contact from a twelve-year old orphan girl, Faith Akoth. This history is provided in the The Story of Faith. Her carer was “Aunt” Lilly.
Lilly Ouma completed high school in Kenya and graduated with a degree in Social Work from Makerere University in Uganda. She served as "the eyes and ears of the community", and brought more than a dozen total orphans to the home of her mother. She began to teach a group of local children in the shade of a tree while leading in the formation and registration of a Community-based Organization.
Lilly's father Joseph donated land for the building of the Rapogi Lwanda Primary School. One of the photographs shows Lilly and her father with my wife Norene rejoicing at the start of the project. The Opening of Phase 1 in 2013 included three classrooms, an administrative office and toilet blocks.
Construction of Phase 2 (2014) and Phase 3 (2015) included four more classrooms and a dormitory for 80 orphans. The student enrollment is 385, and more than 20% of the children are total orphans.
The members of the local Community-based Organization (CBO) take seriously the role of owning projects. Several sustainability projects have been implemented. The profits of these projects assist in paying teacher salaries. The CBO plants maize, beans and other vegetables twice each year just prior to the rainy seasons. The harvest provides food for storage and for sale to the surrounding communities.
You are invited to donate to the Rapogi Lwanda Primary School project through the Australian tax exempt Rapogi Lwanda School for Orphans Building Fund or a Humanitarian Fund. The Rapogi Lwanda School for Orphans building project is registered as a charity in Australia. A separate bank account is available for tax exempt donations. Please contact us for further information and to make an investment in the lives of orphaned children. Official receipts will be issued by email to the address provided.
Information on membership and other information is included in the Association Rules of the Rapogi Lwanda School for Orphans charity.
Research into GoSol developments has led to the building of a bakery at Rapogi Lwanda.
The initial class of Grade 8 students sat the national Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in November 2016. Student results have continued to be very good, however, few students are able to proceed to high school for financial reasons. This has led to the building of a Vocational Centre in 2018 so that orphans and disadvantaged children can learn work skills. These include bicycle repairs, carpentry, agriculture, tent-making, sewing, quilting and cooking.
A deep well was provided by Maranatha International in 2020, Early Childhood Education classrooms in 2021, a Dining Hall and Kitchen in 2022.
A separate bank account accepts donations that support humanitarian projects at Rapogi Lwanda Primary School. This support will assist in providing school uniforms, medical supplies and the purchase of food and drinking water in times of drought. Please contact us for details to invest in the humanitarian fund. Your donation will to be acknowledged and receipted by email.
The Rapogi Lwanda school and community join us in thanking you for your interest and support.