Our Stories

Kibowen Komen Primary School is a mixed primary school in Nakuru, Kenya. So They Can partnered with the school a number of years ago and has gradually built a strong relationship with the community and the teaching staff, enabling us to support them through a number of projects, including Our School Improvement and Keeping Girls in School. Recently, the Head Teacher reached out with some exciting news.

We always love stories from our community, but it’s amazing to see a shift in the statistics too. Which is why we were thrilled to hear from the Head Teacher at Kibowen Komen, who reached out to us to let us know that through the support given by So They Can they have seen a reduction in absenteeism cases by 20% for pupils who were supported with school uniforms.

“Inability to have uniform due to poverty would make students feel less worthy and cause them to miss school frequently,” the teacher explained.

The school has also recorded a 25% increase in enrolment compared to 15% in 2019 due to improved learning environment, availability of water and access to learning materials. The head teacher noted that the school has seen more students able to pay for the lunch program at school as a result of easing the parents the cost of buying stationery, sanitary towels, desks and masks for their children.

What’s more, after running Keeping Girls in School education sessions at the school, our research indicated that the girls feel more empowered with information and can make the right decisions. 100% of the girls reported that they were sufficiently supported with sanitary towels, enough undergarments and masks even during the COVID-19 crisis. This made them stay focused on their academics and disciplined at home.

We hope you share in our joy hearing how much of an impact our projects are making, and this is all thanks to our generous donor and supporter community. Find out more and donate at www.sotheycan.org/donate.