About

In 2005 Margaret set up a small school for the children in her community in Ukunda, Kenya. In order to get a place in a state primary school for 7-14 year olds children must have completed a basic exam and this can only be achieved by attending school. These schools are all fee paying unless supported by charity. At the Ebenezer Rescue School some of the children are orphans or they have only one parent and there is no family income. Margaret rescued these children and took them into her school. She cares for them and gives them food aswell as giving them a basic primary education following the Kenyan schools curriculum. At first she used an empty building, but then the owner returned and she had to leave. She then built her own school with the help of her husband James. You can see by the pictures that it is a shack made out of mud, sticks and thatch. It is not suitable as it is wet during the rainy season and baking hot when it is sunny. The floor is just the soil, which has little creatures in it, which can infect the children’s feet!! In March 2010 we (Carole and Mike) were on holiday in Kenya and we wanted to visit a local school with some gifts of pens and pencils etc. We were taken by our taxi driver, Ernest to the Ebenezer Rescue School. We were so moved by what we saw there that we felt we could not walk away. So we decided to help to build a new, more substantial school. On returning to the UK, we told our friends and family about our ambitions and they have all been very supportive in helping us to raise money and organise events. We held some very successful fund raising events and sold raffle tickets. We were also helped by the children at St Paul’s School and Stamshaw Infant School in Portsmouth, who raised funds for us. We were able to raise enough money to buy a piece of land on which to build a new school. We now need help to build and support it!