Dorothy schwartz community center
Project Update – September 2023
by Dorothy Schwartz, Living Water Children's Fund BOD Member
DSCC in the Nairobi slum of Mukuru is making exciting progress. Due to the requirement of the Kenyan government, it was necessary to build three new rooms: two classrooms and a room for a library and labs. With the help of many donors, and especially a very generous family foundation, $32,000 was raised to construct these rooms. Residents of the slum donated their labor to construct the classrooms. The rooms will be completed in time for the new school year in January. The rooms will be for a library, a computer lab, and a required agriculture lab. DSCC will now be both a primary and a Junior Secondary School. The children will proceed to the JSS after their equivalent of sixth grade. They will complete grades 7 – 9 at DSCC.
Secondary school/high school will now be equivalent to grades 10-12. We will continue our very successful sponsorship program, whereby qualified students are financially sponsored to attend high school. We are always eager to welcome new sponsors to help these very deserving and motivated students. These are young people from the slum who would not have had a chance to reach their potential without their sponsors. The other piece of the sponsorship program is our wonderful Kenyan team, especially Isaac and Sarah. They manage all aspects of the program in Kenya, including providing support and encouragement to the students.
71 young people are attending high school with LWCF sponsorships in the school year of 2023. We also sponsor 11 recent high school graduates to continue to University. We owe thanks to the wonderful sponsors who are dedicated to these high school and college students: paying their school fees and writing encouraging letters to them.
I was able to complete my first semester well and I would like you to know that I have really improved in my academic performance. I have been able to move from a mean grade of C which I scored in my second year first semester and I have moved gradually to a B+ now.
I was so excited to read [a letter] from you. Indeed you are my inspiration and my pillar. Life in school is good and I have very good friends and teachers who are always ready to assist.
LWCF continues to provide a nourishing breakfast to the DSCC students. The breakfast is administered by the very dedicated teaching staff at DSCC. Inflation has caused the price of ingredients to rise, and we always appreciate donations for the breakfast program.
In the very near future we will begin to raise money to buy books, computers, and other equipment for the new classrooms and the library. The books and equipment will be purchased in Kenya by our Kenyan team. Used laptops in good working order are always welcome, and when our LWCF board travels to Kenya we take those laptops with us.
To learn more about the history and impact of the Dorothy Schwartz Community Centre please visit our DSCC project profile.
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