Senior Chief Mutunkei Primary School
Bishop James Onuhaka one of the directors of Kila Mtoto Afaidike Program (KMAP) introduced us to the Senior Chief Mutinkei Primary School.
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“We do shed tears sometimes. People around the world shed tears all the time. Tears can be because of sorrow, pain, and suffering. Some tears are because of joy. Very few people in the world shed tears of joy. Much of the tears people shed are due to pain and suffering. Indeed, if these tears were to be gathered in buckets, rivers would get jealous of the depth, speed, and volume of such tears. I wonder what stories such tears would tell. Tears! I shed tears, too, sometimes. Sometimes, it is because of sorrow, and sometimes, because I am happy. The tears of Senior Chief Mutunkei Primary School are tears of joy. Sometimes, it takes a helping hand to make someone weep for joy. Every Child Counts has been that helping hand to bring joy to Senior Chief Mutunkei Primary School to remove the weeping of struggles seen previously. But now there are abundant tears of joy. “
- James Omuhaka
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The resident chief, the late Senior Chief Mutunkei, donated two acres of land and persuaded the government and well-wishers to start the school in 2010. The school is located south of Nairobi city, at the southern end of the Nairobi National Park. It is in Maasai country. The host community is the middle-class poor to impoverished families. It is the catchment area for the children who come to the school. These are parents who cannot afford even transport for their children. These children walk to school in a dusty, muddy, stony, and rough environment. Some walk many kilometers to school and back home. Many of these children live in shanty houses. The Maasai community around the school, ravished by drought and famine, has lost any meaningful source of livelihood since they depend on cattle, sheep, and goats, which the drought decimated. Other parents are casual laborers from various Kenyan communities who have escaped poverty in their villages for a better life.
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While the community hosts some affluent families, many have no direct cultural and social linkages as a means of assimilation into the school social system. Most, if not all, only come to their homes in the area to sleep in the evenings and leave early the next day to attend to their jobs and businesses in Nairobi. Their children go to better schools, and they have no direct social cycles or academic linkages to arouse their interest in the school. Sometimes, the national government, through the Ministry of Education or the constituency development fund, or the county government, or a few well-wishers come in to help here and there. However, this support is inconsistent and cannot be relied upon to run the school reliably.
ECC commissioned the construction of a modern kitchen in April 2023, and the school feeding program started after that.
Basic Needs
"Since the feeding program of Every Child Counts started in our school, we have been able to sustain the learners in school, particularly my class, which is an examination class. We have no absenteeism anymore. We can stay with the kids in school up to 4 o'clock. We are also very happy because the environment of the school has improved. Since the feeding program started, the children have been happy and relaxed. We have seen improvement in the learning areas. Most of the children before the program began were not in school; however, we can cover the entire syllabus as we have enough time and learners are present in school. We have an orange and some snacks in the morning, and at lunchtime, we have a well-balanced meal, reducing illnesses that we saw in the learners before. We pray that this program of Every Child Counts in our school will continue and we can sustain our learners."
The Daily Lunch Programme
Kenya is a middle-income economy with pockets of poverty across the Country. Poverty and social degeneration have often led to orphaned children, single parent families, abandonment of children and growth of slums. All these have an impact on children who remain innocent and victims of circumstances. Many of these children often end up on the streets, teenage prostitution, robbery, or child labor. Every Child Counts (ECC) has an opportunity to make a change in the lives of many children within the schools they are already working with for the ongoing projects (Waitua, Napara, Kanjeru, Kisawayi).
In the current education system in Kenya, children spend eight years in primary school, four in secondary and a final four at the university. Schools are open for three terms (semesters) a year for an approximate 11 weeks each.
Its noteworthy to mention that Kenya introduced free primary school education back in 2002. This program has seen millions of needy children who would otherwise not be able to, attend primary school. The biggest challenge comes about when they need to advance their education to secondary level. Secondary schools are heavily subsidized by the Government but remain nonetheless not free.
A typical public secondary school charges between Kes 50,000 and Kes 70,000 ($500 to $700) per annum*. An additional amount of Kes 24,000 ($240) per annum would cater for schoolbooks, uniform, etc. Total fees over four years of secondary school would average Kes 296,000 to Kes 376,000($2,960 to $ 3,760).
Every Child Counts plans to offer scholarships to 36 students as they move to high school. Senior Chief Mutunkei Primary School will receive 6 of these.
Scholarship Program
Infrastructure Improvements
​The schools needed a kitchen to prepare meals. So, together with the school committee, we planned to construct a modern kitchen. Energy-efficient cooking systems called jikos conserve heat and use much less fuel wood to prepare meals for large groups. The school's newly built kitchen was fitted with jikos. The local team completed the kitchen project in Waitua Primary School in February 2020. The kitchen has become a model for other schools in the area.
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Every Child Counts has constructed these kicthens at:
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Waitua Primary School
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Kanjeru Primary School
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Senior Chief Mutunkei Primary School
Construction of a Modern Kitchen
Construction of a Toilet Block
Another problem students are facing at school is having limited toilet blocks and the students need to queue up to use the bathrooms. They end up spending a lot of time outside the classroom to use the toilet. With the new toilet blocks Every Child Counts constructed, there are sinks outside the toilets so the students are able to wash hands after getting out of the toilet. The availability of sinks for hand washing, sufficient toilets, and the elimination of congestion, particularly for the girls will have positive impact on their learning.​​
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Every Child Counts has built toilets at:​
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Senior Chief Mutunkei Primary School
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Napara Primary School