secondary school for girls. katolo. kenya.
bricks + cartwheels in partnership with the community of Katolo are implementing the design and construction of a new Secondary School for Girls. Katolo is a community situated 45 minutes south east of Kisumu near Lake Victoria in Kenya. Katolo is faced with extreme poverty and severe underdevelopment of infrastructure and facilities. The new school will increase access to secondary education for girls within the Katolo area as well as attracting much needed community infrastructure.
In 2005, fewer than one in three eligible Kenyan students found placement in secondary schools and in the Katolo area only 12% of girls continued from primary to secondary school. The harsh reality of inaccessible secondary education prevents students, particularly girls, from continuing their school education and denies them the opportunity to benefit from state subsidised funding in universities.
bricks + cartwheels recognises the pivotal role girls education plays in supporting individual and community health as well as economic development. The Katolo community support this need for girls to be educated but the current facilities in the local area are inadequate. At present the schools in the greater province cater for privileged students from outside of the area, those who can afford the fees. The new school will be built in the community to serve the needs of the children in the community - a local school for local students. The new facility will attract students from outside the area whose fees will subsidise the attendance of a community agreed percentage of local students.
In 2005, the people of Katolo established a secondary school committee which led to the community donation of a site for a new Secondary School for Girls. bricks + cartwheels aim to support this community vision through the facilitation of partnerships and participatory processes. Through a participatory process, effective partnerships will be realised that generate sustainable development, build the local capacity of Katolo and empower them to improve their own built environment.
Following the initial investment of capital building costs, the operation of the school will be self sufficient. The investment in the school will have wider benefits for the community. The construction of the new school will attract much needed infrastructure to the community, including the upgrade of existing roads, accessibility to clean water and provision of adequate sanitation. The operations and maintenance of the school will also provide employment opportunities within the community.
