Written by Lucy, HHFL Operations Manager
Hanne Howard Fund Lenana has been a story that began out of the blue; just a spontaneous situation that arose from Hanne & Ted’s curiosity to have a feel of what life is like in a Kenyan slum back in 2005. Their encounter with a badly stricken HIV girl on her grandmother’s back opened their hands to this phenomenal establishment that has continued to grow and churn more and more grads. Initially, it was all about feeding the malnourished children, and providing them a place they could be occupied with some art and crafts. Hanne and Ted’s concern was however beyond this. They needed to equip the children with a decent education that would save the children from the slum woes forever.
Under their(Hanne & Ted) guidance, we have tried a number of schools since we began funding the kids’ education, and each step leads us to a new realization of just how much potential our children have.
In May 2019, we made another milestone by moving 12 of our primary school children into a new school. This is a matter that has been in our hands for a while now and we are glad we eventually did it. The structure of our programme is that all the primary school children attend the same day school. For this change, however, we had to put in consideration a number of factors – key being facilities and standard. We began the year with 20 primary school children, with 6 being in 8th grade, a very crucial year as it marks the end of their primary school curriculum.
We resolved to move 12 children into the new school and left the 6 to complete the year in the old school, as such a disruption could be a disfavor to them before they adapt to the change. This was after each of them was subjected to a rigorous interview to determine their capability in handling their respective class workload. There were a few of the children that did not make the cut, and an amicable solution was to have them resit their previous class. As a donor organization, we go beyond funding. We commit ourselves to doing our due diligence in creating a relationship and regular contact with the schools where our children go.
We are very glad to report that the new school community has been very friendly and supportive to our children, especially with the fact that we moved our kids mid year. All the students have been very positive of the change and they love the school. The school year ends in November, so we are looking forward to a new academic period.
In the latest evaluation, all the kids have made a great leap in their grades, to which we attribute the close relationship we have with the school, and the conducive learning environment in the new school
