Give the gift of hope: donate to the Matunda School

Hello, my name is Anne Omina and I work as a nanny on the Upper West Side. Back in my country, I was a teacher.

Twenty-four years ago, my husband and I founded the Matunda School in our hometown in rural Kenya to provide a good education to the children of our community. In Swahili, matunda means fruit.

During this time, HIV/AIDS had claimed the lives of many parents and left their children to be raised by grandparents. Although there are public schools, the poorest families often don't send their children there because they cannot afford the required uniforms, books, supplies, etc. We strongly believe that every child should have a chance at a great education, no matter how humble their background.

I used to tutor children in the evening after school in my home to help them get an education. Since it was free, I had over 25 children from families of very humble backgrounds. My husband, who was also a teacher, realized the need to start a school to help more children in our community. On our first day, we hoped to have only 30 students, but 56 came! At the end of the first semester, we had 123 eager learners. Each year, word about our school spread and we continued to grow from grades 1, 2, 3, up until 8th.

Over the last 24 years, our school has grown from the first class of 56 students to 198, and provided hope for a better future to many children and families in our area and beyond -- some children walk two hours each way to come to the school and others live so far away that they room and board there.

Our proud graduates have made such a positive impact on their community and the nation at large. Young men and women who grew up so poor they could not afford one book are now working as engineers, doctors, nurses, teachers, economists, accountants, government officials, and successful businesspeople.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

Few of the parents at Matunda can afford to contribute anything financially, so my husband and I have funded it mostly with our own salaries. He was a teacher in New York for many years, and made enough to fund the school, but after suffering a stroke, he is now disabled and cannot work.

Our school has also received some donations over the years from generous friends & community members in New York. Our good friends set up a non-profit fund here so that people can make tax-deductible donations. With my husband no longer able to work, we need your help to keep the school open and hopefully grow it to serve even more children.

If you're able to give something to help the Matunda School school stay open, we would be very grateful!

WHAT WE WILL DO WITH YOUR SUPPORT

To keep the school open...

1. Teacher Salaries (Goal: $18,000)

We employ 13 teachers in total: 3 teachers for early childhood development, 7 teachers for grades 1-6, and 3 teachers for grades 7-8.

2. Room & Board (Goal: $2,800)

We have 22 students who live at our school full time. Some live here because their family homes are too far to walk to and from school every day. Some others stay at school because their parents cannot afford to provide them with three meals a day. While they live at school, they are sure of getting a cup of tea for breakfast, a mixture of beans and corn for lunch, a snack at 4pm, and dinner (which many of our students miss at home).

3. Food (Goal: $4,000)

Many students in Kenya face the harsh reality of hunger that hinders their education. With your help, we can ensure that no child is in school with an empty stomach, allowing them to focus on their studies and potential.

To improve the school... (if there are enough funds)

4. Chairs and desks for ages 3-6 (Goal: $500)

We would love to give our littlest students chairs and desks so that they may learn comfortably.

5. Floors (Goal: $3,000)

Our cement floors are very old and chipped with potholes in many places. A new cement floor would last our students another 20 years.

6. New Roof (Goal: $4,000)

The iron sheets we use for our roof are very old and leak when it rains. This means that when it rains, we have to stop our lessons and the students must huddle in one corner of the room where the roof is still intact to stay dry.

7. Dining Hall (Goal: $10,000)

Our students currently eat outside under a tree. It is one of our dreams to be able to build a dining hall so that students can gather and enjoy meals together no matter the weather.