The EJ Rihoy Charitable Trust has received backing from the Guernsey Overseas Aid & Development Commission to create another classroom in Nairobi.
For over 20 years, the EJ Rihoy Charitable Trust has supported community-led projects aimed at improving lives and creating sustainable, long-term impact in vulnerable communities around the world.
In Kenya, the Trust has been working with local partner Earth Angels Welfare (EAW) to develop innovative mobile classrooms for communities where access to safe and permanent educational facilities is extremely limited.
Liz Rihoy at the EJ Rihoy Charitable Trust, said: “This funding allows us to build on the socially and environmentally appropriate mobile classroom initiative we have been developing with Earth Angels Welfare and take it into communities where the need for safe learning spaces is particularly acute.
“The partnership with the Guernsey Overseas Aid & Development Commission has enabled this project to move beyond the experimental stage to a point where its full potential can be realised to the benefit of thousands in Kenya and beyond.”
The project will see the construction of one further classroom in Nairobi built to test alternative construction materials, before a further 21 classrooms are installed across remote communities in Turkana, Marsabit and Kajiado counties.
Designed by a Kenyan architect, these classrooms have been developed as a practical, socially and environmentally appropriate alternative to traditional construction, with the cost per classroom being approximately one-fifth that of standard classrooms.
The project will provide classroom capacity for 528 children each year, alongside 12 pit latrines, three kitchen facilities and rainwater harvesting infrastructure.
Deputy Jennifer Strachan, President of the Guernsey Overseas Aid & Development Commission, said: “The Commission is pleased to support the Guernsey-based EJ Rihoy Charitable Trust in expanding this innovative initiative.
“If any group or organisation in the Bailiwick, be it a business, charity, school, or voluntary group, is raising funds for such a cause, the Commission would be pleased to hear from them to discuss possible matched funding. Every pound raised could be doubled!”
