The plan to undertake a charity project was instigated by Granaghan Parish Council in early 2006. Interest soon spread throughout the community and the foundation of a team of volunteers emerged. In search of a suitable project for the team, the help of Moving Mountains was sought. Moving Mountains is an established registered charity actively involved in Kenya. They had several potential projects in Kenya which were suitable for our team. The project of renovating 5 classrooms at a primary school in Nyasidhi, Western Kenya was the project adopted by the Granaghan team which then received the label ‘Team Kenya’.

The project was planned for October 2006 so the preparations commenced. Whilst fundraising for the project was underway in Granaghan, Moving Mountains were making arrangements at Nyasidhi for our arrival. Eventually October came and the team of 13 departed for Kenya.

Arrival at Nyasidhi School was a memorus occasion. Arriving at break time, all the children were out on the playing field. Within seconds the team were surrounded by children. The team were ushered to the school courtyard were a warm reception from the teachers, pupils and school’s board of governors awaited. A tour around the school revealed the poor conditions in which classes were being conducted. The absence of concrete flooring left bare-footed children vulerenable to ‘Jiggers’. These insects burrow into exposed skin and lay eggs. The walls consisted of exposed clay brick which, if left in this state, would soon begin to coroode. There were neither doors nor windows installed – not desirable given the torrential rains that the area witnesses.

The task of the team was to:

• provide concrete flooring in each of the 5 classrooms

• plaster the classrooms (inside and out)

• provide and install windows and doors

• paint the internal walls, doors and windows

 In addition to this, thanks to the generosity of people during fundraising, enough money was raised to hire local carpenters to build new benches for the completed classrooms. Due to the amount of work undertaken, and the 2-week timescale to complete the project, local tradesmen were employed to help out.

At the end of the 2 weeks, the early starts, Kenya heat and hard work had taken its toll on most of the group. However, the results speak for themselves…