The Mary Hill Nursery School opened in January 2021. One year of preschool is compulsory in Kenya. The opening was delayed due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
There are now over 80 children on site every day. The children have the opportunity to be carefree and safe here, are allowed to play and are supervised by trained teachers. As a healthy diet is particularly important for young children, they are given a nutritious snack and lunch.
The village of Awasi is located in western Kenya, about 50 km east of Lake Victoria and 300 km northwest of the capital Nairobi. The long-standing spread of HIV/Aids has also torn apart countless families in western Kenya. In Awasi, we observed that families and village communities are no longer able to look after their children as people try to earn a living as day laborers. This means they can no longer look after the youngest members of their community.
The Nursery School employs social workers who take loving care of the children’s problems. Together with the parents or guardians, solutions are then sought to ensure a safe and carefree childhood. The poverty in the region is so great that the children repeatedly ask if they can take some of their lunch home to share with their siblings or grandparents. Also due to poverty, the children are often not only provided with school uniforms, but also underwear and socks, as they do not have these themselves.
Winkista is the mother of three children. A few years ago, her husband died of an illness. Since then, she has been a single mother. Together with her neighbor Auma, who is also a widow, Winkista tries to make ends meet. Sometimes it is difficult for Winkista to earn enough money to buy food for the family in addition to looking after the children. In the past, it was not possible for the children to go to pre-school. The children were too small to walk the long distance. The joy was all the greater when the Mary Hill preschool was opened. Since then, the children have been able to learn there, have a safe place to go and get enough to eat.
By chance, our social worker Winnie found out that Winkista has a sewing machine and always uses it to sew clothes for her children. To support the family, we asked Winkista to sew the children’s school uniforms. Winkista will continue to do the sewing work for the kindergarten in the future.
"I see the children's beaming faces every day when they come to kindergarten. They are already looking forward to the day. The parents are also happy and grateful. I am happy to be part of this project."
Social worker at Mary Hill Nursery School
The following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being promoted with the help of this project:
The local NGO responsible is the “Mary Hill Selfhelp Group”. The Mary Hill Selfhelp Group was founded in 2017 by Rose Omina and other residents of Awasi with the aim of sustainably improving life in the community. Austrian Doctors has been a partner of the Mary Hill Selfhelp Group from the very beginning and worked with the group to build the Nursery School and the Community Center.
