The ELIMUSAFE project was submitted by the IEEE Kenya Section and the IEEE JKUAT SIGHT Group to the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (HAC)/SIGHT Call for Proposals focused on COVID-19 response in 2020. The project proposal entailed the provision of foot-operated hand washing stations, reusable face masks, and soap to combat the spread of COVID-19 in promoting sustainable development goals.
The Government of Kenya issued a directive of school reopening after a long period of battling the pandemic. In rural Kenya, most schools struggle to achieve the minimum safe protocols due to the strain of available resources yet the urge for knowledge by the students remains steadfast. After consultative meetings and preschool visits, the IEEE volunteers picked Kyeni Girls Secondary School, Kathungu in Kitui County. The school has a capacity of 157 students, 10 teachers, and 5 support staff. Despite the availability of clean water from the nearby community borehole, good sanitation stations were an uphill task and ELIMUSAFE could not have come at a better time.
The 3rd of July, 2021 was a bright and sunny day full of joy and good cheer. The volunteers launched and actualized the projects to the warm and welcoming community of Kyeni Girls School. The school principal, teachers and students were jubilated. We were given a tour around the school and visited various areas; however most of the school structures were still under construction. The school is mostly financially dependent on the assistance of the Government of Kenya, local community and well-wishers for development of infrastructure and sponsorship for the needy students.
The traction of the project attracted other partners such as AshGold Africa initiative who donated sanitary towels for the girls and Safaricom PLC who brought in pens and string bags. We had the pleasure of interacting with the students whereby we had 13 mentors on site during our visit who were able to give words of encouragement to the students on career guidance as well as sharing unique experiences through their academic journeys and life successes despite the challenging backgrounds. The school received 6 foot-operated hand washing stations, 200 reusable face masks, soap making training, and ingredients for 100 liters to be used over time, 100 string bags and pens, 1000 pieces of sanitary towels and copies of the Queenengineers magazine that highlights the journey of inspirational women engineers from Kenya.
We believe that this event was not only successful but also impactful to the students and teachers and will enable them to strive for excellence in their studies. As the volunteers we also had a chance to learn from this project on the importance of supporting the marginalized communities and mentorship for young girls not only for them to pursue STEM subjects but also for them to have hope and work towards a brighter future and also impact their communities in the future.
We feel very encouraged, enthusiastic and confident to handle more projects that will enable us to bring change to the marginalized communities in our country. To contribute not only to their development, but also enable us to mentor more young people who will be able to give back to their communities in impactful ways. This will ensure that there is continuity in the development of these communities since these young men and women who are mentored will take on the mantle.
Sally Musonye
PES Chair- Kenya Section
IEEE Kenya Section Treasurer
IEEE Region 8 SAC-WIE Corresponding member
Local Committee Chair – PowerAfrica Conference
IEEE Region 8 SAC-WIE Corresponding member
Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-musonye-65a50a56/