November 2013
Down a mud track not far from the centre of Katito or from Magunga Primary School you will stumble across a compound with a few mud and iron buildings and a few unfinished brick rooms that constitute Kobeto Primary School. There is even one classroom under a tree!
Despite this the school has climbed up the school league tables in recent years from midway to the top third of schools in the district.
In our recent survey of schools in the area Rashid, our Project Manager, identified Kobeto Primary as a candidate for our building programme and so in March 2012 we took our intrepid volunteers to visit the school and see for themselves and ask their opinion. We were all immediately overwhelmed, not by the condition of the school which was just as bad as the survey predicted, but by the professionalism and strength of the Headmistress, Mrs Roseline Oballa.
Roseline showed us around her compound, explained the difficulties she faces, pointed out items contributed by other charities which only includes a pair of water tanks, and generally impressed us with her commitment to her school and the pride she takes in its appearance and performance.
In one classroom the blackboard said, “We should keep our school clean through (a) sweeping our classrooms (b) collecting rubbish (c) slashing tall grass (d) cleaning the toilets. We clean the school so as not to become sick.” A simple message, but a sign of the care taken to improve conditions.
In our assessment of schools for inclusion on our programme we focus on three elements: Is the Head teacher committed? Is the school in need? Does the community support the school? We found all of these questions answered positively, as the photos show. We have therefore decided to take on Kobeto as our next project.
There is a need for finishing off 6 classrooms, construction of 4 new classrooms and an admin block.
In total it’s a project in the region of £65,000. It’s a lot, but it will create a fabulous basis for this school to move up from the top third to the top 10%. We’re very happy to launch this campaign and we are confident that with the support and imagination of the many friends of Footsteps we will transform another school and make a better future for the children who go there.
