Sponsorship Scheme

Thika Prime Junior School is a private school for Kenyan children in the Thika area, north of Nairobi. Check other parts of this web site to read more about it. The school was founded with private capital from the UK and is owned and managed by its Principal, Olivia Wanja Gitau, and her husband. School fees in Kenya have to be very low because of low incomes, so further funding for expansion and extra curricular activities will be needed on a regular basis, particularly as the school grows. Currently, (Spring 2006) we have 90 pupils in two kindergarten classes and three primary classes. The school hopes to grow to approximately 120-150 pupils in the coming years.

Even with the relatively low fees, it is of course not possible for children from poor families to attend, which is a real pity, because we feel that we offer an exceptionally high standard of education. A good education is the passport out of a life of poverty and hardship, and even when there is just one well-educated child in a family, the whole extended family can benefit from their increased prosperity. For developing countries like Kenya, it is the people themselves who can be the only truly effective driving force for sustainable development. Therefore, sponsoring a child's education is a wonderful way of helping the country to develop.

Being privately run, the school does not have any official charitable status in the UK, nevertheless we have come up with a sponsorship scheme which will enable anyone to make one-off donations, or contribute on a regular basis, through a fund set up in the UK and adminstered by myself, Sally Prime (you can read more about me on my own web site).

Student bursaries: The total cost of educating one child at Primary level is currently £500 per annum, inclusive of all expenses. If you would like to make a regular contribution, it can be made through a bursary. Deserving cases will be selected through local charitable organisations. If you wish to donate at this level, we can put you in touch with the child who receives the bursary. This contact is probably best done through myself (acting as postman) rather than directly, so that you do not expose yourself to unwanted requests for extra funds.

One-off donations: Donations of any amount at all, no matter how small, will be most welcome, and will go into the general bursary fund, through which we will sponsor as many children as possible.

In either case, we will monitor the progress of our sponsored students, and report on their progress through the school web site.

We are also looking for volunteer teachers. If you can give between 3 months and one year of your time as a teacher or teaching assistant in the school, please get in touch. We would be most interested to hear from you.

If you would like to help, please contact me directly by email, and I can give you details of how to make your donation through online banking, or simply send a cheque made out to Thika Prime Bursary Fund, to Sally Prime, 37 North Hinksey Village, Oxford OX2 0NA, England.

Thank you.