How to enhance the development of DERA Brightway Academy by making it more sustainable: for a better future of the pupils!
In brief:
The (privater) school was founded in 2017, bottom up, adding one school grade a year.
The school was founded by Emmanuel Masha Wanje. He was able to study because people noticed he was very bright and paid for his education.
This is the reason why Emmanuel started a school in a very poor area in the northern part of Kilifi, to give educational chances to other deprived children.
DERA Bright Academy now has about 180 children from PP1 up to grade 7. Following the changes in the educational system, the school has started with Junior High school as from January 2024, at the moment the Kenyan school year started.
More than 30 orphans attend the school. The school also provides meals for all children and housing for these orphans.
The parents have a rural background, hardly have any education and part of the year there is no work at all. So the school mostly depends on gifts from sponsors.
Because of the investment in well trained teachers and little children per class, the learning results are great: the exam results of grade 6 are very good, recently a 13th place in the total Kilifi Area! In a recent contest between schools, the grades 3-6 of Dera Bright Academy became #3 of the region. This means that 45 of the best achieving children of Dera Brightway Academy will be participating in further contests in October. Only the best 10 schools of the area of North and South Kilifi will have this opportunity. In that contest, they reached a 13th place of the complete Eastern part of Kenya.
Also in sports and other areas like dancing and poetry, Dera Brightway Academy reached very good results. In April 2024, they will join sport contests at the national level!
So far, gifts mainly come from a few people that are working for or associated with the Inspectorate of Education in the Netherlands. And also a fund with roots in Dutch education system gave € 5000 fort the buiding of classrooms!
What has been established so far?
Most of the progress has been established in the past two years.
In the beginning of the school year 2022, the school only had 5 wooden classrooms and 4 toilets, and hardly had any learning materials. Each year had its own teacher.
DERA Brightway Academy now consists of 9 years. In September 2024, the school has 9 solid brick classrooms that fulfill all standards of the Kenyan Inspectorate. Also a library has been built that also serves as an administration office.
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The Kenyan government recently has acknowledged the school. The school has a five year license starting from 2024 onward.
The school establishes great learning results that hopefully will attract parents from further away who can better afford the school fee.
The school also excels in other activities, like sports. In September 2024, 56 pupils of Dera Brightway Academy attended games at a national level! They became third, a huge accomplishment!! as a result, in November 2024, the school will attend East African Sports games.
The most essential learning materials are available. Grade 6 now even has 18 laptops to learn about ICT and do exams in the subject.
Teachers follow courses to be able to give the Competence Based Curriculum.
Toilets for pupils and teachers have been built.
The school is connected to electricity net and has its own watersupply.
A huge mango tree that stood in the way provided for many timbers that were used to build school furniture. The Kenyan government provided special furniture for the 4 and 5 year old.
The orphans now get a food programme, consisting of two to three meals a day. Other children at least get one meal per day. DERA Brightway tries to grow as many crops as possible (mainly maïs, also beans and vegetables) to provide for the food. Parents that can't afford the school fees are working at the school fields.
Dera Brightway Academy has professional teachers. The quality of the teaching is very important. That is why the teacher salaries are mostly paid by the sponsors. Efforts are still undertaken to convince parents that they also should contribute and invest as much as they can in the future of their children. But choices for them are hard given the circumstances.
The formal status as a school made it necessary to extend the schoolarea. The required additional acres have been bought.
The Kenyan government has noticed that the school performs very well in many fields. Dera Brightway Academy is one of the only 65 schools that will recieve some kind of subsidy in the near future. How much that will be, remains to be seen.
How can the development and the sustainability of DERA Bright Academy be enhanced?
- Buiding additional classrooms voor grade 8 and 9 (grades of the Junior High School) and an administration office.
In the two years to come, by the end of 2024 and 2025, two additional classrooms will be needed. The grades 7, 8 and 9 are the replacement of the former junior highschool and now will become part of fundamental education.
- Building of a Practice classroom/Science lab by the end of 2024
- Building of an ICT classroom by the end of 2025
Needed in the near future (not specified):
- Housing for the teachers to reduce travel (CO2 emissions) and costs of rent.
- Extension of school area, agriculture area.
- Learning materials for grade 9 (end of 2025)
Also: in the near future meetings or contacts with other schools in and outside the region. Maybe exchange programmes, other secondary school pupils can give sports lessons at Dera Brightway Academy?
In total, specification of amounts needed
€ 1= Ksh 137,3185 (rate September 19, 2024)
Necessary for 2024 till 2026
2 Class rooms gr. 8 and 9, each € 5500.00 2x 755.250 = 1.510.500 Ksh
Practice Class room/Science lab Junior High School 755.250 Ksh
Administration office 500.000 Ksh
ICT-classroom 755.250 Ksh
Learning materials grade 9 (end 2025) 300.000 Ksh
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TOTAL 3.821.000 Ksh