top of page
IRKAAT

The region of Irkaat is located in the Narok County of Kenya. The community is predominantly composed of members from the Kipsigis, Maasai and Dorobo ethnic groups. 

  

WE Charity partnered with Irkaat to implement community-led, holistic, and sustainable programming across the five-pillar development model to support new resources and expanded access to education, clean water, health care, food security, and economic opportunities.  

  

Together, we have built sustainable mechanisms to support community growth as the people within the region of Irkaat continue to drive their own transformational impacts.

 

Over 20 kilometers from the nearest market town, Irkaat is one of the furthest regions WE Charity has partnered with. Within the last two years, the Irkaat Primary School population has grown by hundreds of students as more and more families have joined in the educational development model.

 

When the school community grew, so did our investment.  ​

 

Primary schools often require teacher accommodation on site to ensure teachers can be in class for early mornings and stay on site until the studies are complete. This is especially important in this region during the rainy season when roads can become impassable, and would otherwise cause teacher attendance to suffer. There has also been great support from the government, with a 67% increase in the number of teachers staffed at the Irkaat primary school itself to support the student population and additional classrooms.

 

With the number of Grade 8 graduates steadily increasing, we also work with the nearby high schools in the region to ensure that students can continue on their educational path. In the case of Irkaat, WE has supported 4 nearby highschools by building new school rooms to meet increased capacity and also by renovating and repairing existing infrastructure help support learning with kitchens, science labs, and student dormitories.

 

Irkaat has a very mobilized community, ready to engage in their own solutions to building a better and brighter future for their children and the region. Together, we have created sustainable mechanisms to support that growth as the people within the region continue to drive their own transformational impacts.

 

The following photos represent the 66 schools or school rooms constructed or renovated by WE Charity in the region of Irkaat. Each of the photos corresponds to a unique room including; classrooms, a library, administrative offices, teacher accommodations, a student dormitory, or a school kitchen.

The following community highlights reflect some of the impacts from our partnership with the community of Irkaat. 

 

EDUCATION

  • Over 40%  increase in student  population  since our partnership began   

  • Improved teacher to student ratio

  • 100% of  recent  primary school graduates transition to secondary schools  

  • Improved academic performance, with a  21% increase in mean Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam score since our partnership began     

 

WATER

  • Improved access to sanitation facilities for learners at school   

  • Conducted community and school water and sanitation trainings to promote safe water purification practices and clean water harvesting techniques  

  • Trained and empowered a water management committee  to ensure  the  sustainability  of clean  water  projects in the community

  • 100% of community members have access to clean water through implementation of a community water system, piping, and community access points    

 

Screen Shot 2021-07-27 at 5.52_edited.jpg
Screen Shot 2021-07-19 at 2.43_edited.jpg

HEALTH

The 10 Habits of a Healthy Home program trains members of the community to implement basic health and sanitary indicators in their homesteads.

  • 84% of all  households have implemented  90% of the  10 Habits of a Health Home program indicators in their homes, decreasing conditions for preventable diseases 

  • Community members have improved access to quality healthcare through Baraka Hospital, Kishon Health Centre, and mobile medical clinics

  • Conducted community trainings to encourage sustained safe health practices, which have realized a reduction in vaccine preventable diseases and maternal complications during pregnancy   

FOOD

  • Supplemented school nutrition program 

  • Access to large scale farm for provision of sustainably grown diverse foods and the opportunity to learn first-hand about new techniques and crops 

  • Over 30  total agricultural trainings held over the course of partnership

  • Community members empowered to provide their families with a more diverse diet,  improve  food security  for  their  families, and  are equipped with modern farming skills and knowledge  that will sustain them for years to come    

 

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

  • Over 130  community members have participated in an Economic Empowerment group, with over 130  total economic empowerment trainings completed   

  • All participants have  developed  financial literacy  skills, are self-reliant, and  nearly  half of all participants have engaged in income generating activities aimed at improving their household incomes  

WE CHARITY'S FIVE PILLAR DEVELOPMENT MODEL

WE Charity’s five-pillar development model empowers communities to break the cycle of poverty over, on average, a period of five to seven years of construction and local skill-capacity building, with a goal of long-term sustainability. Projects are focused on education, clean water, health care, food security and economic empowerment.  

  

This holistic model starts with education, usually building schools or school rooms (including classrooms, libraries, kitchens, teachers’ accommodations, and school offices), that are then supported by other infrastructure needs key to breaking the cycle of poverty.  

   

Building new schools or school rooms (or renovating existing structures where possible) are not the only inputs into the five-pillar development model. To date, WE Charity has built or renovated over 850 schools or school rooms in rural Kenya. Each school room is furnished with the necessary supplies, such as desks and chairs, libraries with books, and other essential items for teachers’ offices and accommodations. Funds are also allocated to critical program needs that ensure quality services are delivered. For example, teachers must be trained and housed, students need healthy meals, and health care facilities (training and supplies) are necessary to look after the health needs of both faculty and students.   

   

This model and needs extend to all the pillars, such as training for those maintaining water projects; education of community and family leaders on agriculture and healthy food; recruitment, training, and housing of medical staff; and the cost of economically empowering the women of the communities to ensure the development model is financially self-sustainable.

 

Primary school rooms and regional high school rooms may include the following: a classroom, a library, teachers’ accommodations, an administrative office, a science lab, a student dormitory or a school kitchen, which are all key elements of our education programs. All educational infrastructure is designed for the best learning of students. 

   

WE Charity’s records and finances have been reviewed annually by independent auditors, and WE Charity has undergone a special review for its international activities from a respected forensic auditor, confirming that WE Charity operates with the highest financial integrity.    

   

The following photos each document a unique school or school room used for educational purposes which was constructed or renovated by WE Charity. Most of the buildings are stand-alone, while some school rooms are adjoining, in multi-room structures (where indicated).   

   

Renovations (where indicated) may often include structural and foundation repairs, walling and floor rebuilding or repairs, roof rebuilding or repairs and the provision of important educational infrastructure including desks, chairs, and blackboards to ensure a conducive environment for children to learn. Learn more about renovations to education facilities, here. 

Final-Pillar-Icons-02-01.png
Kenya_Sunset_edited.jpg
Kenya_Sunset_edited.jpg

EXPLORE A MAP OF THE REGION

Irkaat.png
WCF-10.png

CONTACT

If you have any questions about WE Charity Foundation, please contact us at info@WECharity.org.

2024 WE Charity Foundation

bottom of page