As it stands globally, 810 million students in developing countries are currently out of school due to COVID-19 [Global Partnership for Education]. Our students in Kenya and Tanzania are no exception, however our teams have been working tremendously hard to change this.

With the development of our home education packs now complete, over the last couple of weeks we have been focused on not just preventing the spread of COVID-19 by establishing water stations and providing education on the best preventative measures, but also keeping our students learning with the distribution of our remote education resources.

To date our home education packs have made their way into the hands of thousands of students that So They Can supports.

These packs include a full 3 months’ worth of education, as well as practice exam papers which, once completed, will be dropped back to school and marked by their teacher who will provide students with valuable feedback in preparation for their national exams, timetabled for the end of the year.

Last week our Kenyan class 8 students came to collect their packs from Aberdare Ranges Primary School, wearing their Sew Women Can masks and diligently practicing social distancing. We couldn’t wait to share these special photos with you.

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In other news, So They Can is pleased to now be supporting 8 medical clinics, one in Kenya and seven in Tanzania. So far, we have provided each clinic with personal protection equipment (PPE) for staff, as well as washing stations and chlorine.

In return, these clinics have become one of our latest avenues to educate the community on the clinical realities of COVID-19 and how to prevent infection. Encouragingly, our Ministry of Health partners have reported to us that they have had to deal with significantly less enquiries regarding COVID-19, as the communities are well informed.

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Last but not least, this week sees the launch of our end of year tax appeal in Australia. We understand that right now is a difficult time for many, so this year we’re asking our 5,000-strong community to donate just $50 to support our COVID-19 response and ongoing education and empowerment programs in East Africa.

$50 may not seem like a lot, but by banding together your support will mean the world.

Every week we will be bringing you a story from one of our participants in Kenya and Tanzania. You will hear about their world; discover where they live, learn about their upbringing, and most importantly, find out how your generous support has helped them on their journey to a life without poverty.

This week we invite you to meet 13-year-old Chamkal who we have been supporting since 2017. Read her story here.