2022 Year-End Report
This year has presented many challenges, but your support has made a difference. Through commitment, creativity and love we have maximized our resources to educate, feed and inspire our students.
A message from our founder
This marks the first time in 14 years that we are cobbling together an end-of-year newsletter to highlight for our friends and supporters some of the school’s challenges and achievements in 2022. You may not be aware that both organizations raising funds for Hands of Love (Hands of Love in the USA and Direttamente in Italy) have always aimed at maintaining our overhead costs at zero so that all donations we receive – around $65,000 in recent years – go directly to cover costs of teaching, feeding and caring for 160-200 children for an entire year in Kariobangi, where 40% of the population live in extreme poverty. That is why our scant communications and fundraising efforts are undertaken with the most modest of means. Over the years our goals have remained both ambitious and modest at the same time. We have seen over 1,000 children pass through our doors since 2008 and I can say with confidence that your support has had a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of appreciative families. I join these families and our dedicated team in Kariobangi to thank you for your continued moral and financial support.
Top 5 reasons you should donate to Hands of Love
Donations are totally tax-deductible (we are a 501c organization)
100% of donations go directly to the school – all administration is done by volunteers
Feeding a child’s body is the first step to nourishing their mind
Early education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty
Special needs students are embraced, not excluded
How do we spend your donations?
Help us to continue our mission.
2022 Challenges and Accomplishments
Adjusting to a shorter school year
The 2022 school year was one of the shortest and busiest in our history. Due to COVID interruptions, we had to extend the 2021 school year into March of this year. Consequently, the 2022 school year was condensed into March through the end of November. We are happy to report that we covered all the curriculum and our students passed with flying colors. Many thanks to the hard work and dedication of our excellent teachers! In addition, we decided to keep the school open through mid-December to give our students a safe space to play and to ensure they continue to receive two meals a day.
Tapping into the power of creativity
In early education, play is a powerful tool to unleash a child’s creativity and problem-solving skills. Thanks to donations of various art supplies, our students enjoyed learning about eye care as they created colorful glasses. Community pride was reinforced by drawing the Kenyan flag and they designed their own cars. Any art supplies are welcomed by both our students and teachers!
I love awakening creativity in learners and enabling them to make things on their own.
–Tr. Lillian, Grade 2B
Taking education beyond the school walls
Our Grade 1 students took their very first train ride from Nairobi to Emali, a small town 126 kilometers (about 78 miles) away. They visited a local school and enjoyed playing with other students their age. Then they returned to Nairobi by train and visited an animal orphanage to learn about different wild animals. The experience was a real eye-opener for children who seldom venture outside their neighborhood.
Taking children on educational trips, like to Emali and the Karura Forest has been one of the highlights for me.
–Tr. Justus, Grade 1 A
Out-performing peers in standardized testing
Hands of Love (HOL) joined the Kasarani District Common Assessment Framework so our students could take part in standardized testing against other local schools. The results show our Grade 1 and 2 students exceled in all five areas: Math, English, Kiswahili, Science and Social Studies. Many thanks to the combined effort of students, teachers and parents to achieve these results!
Engaging parents through outreach and home visits
From family issues and poor living conditions to bad health and food shortages, our kids face many obstacles to learning. In 2022, our teachers were able to resume home visits to assess situations and provide help where needed. Working within their own communities, teachers encourage parents to get involved to reduce absenteeism and identify any obstacles to learning.
Absenteeism and late arrivals have been two of my biggest challenges.
–Tr. Monica, Pre-Primary 2A
Embracing children with disabilities
In Kariobangi, children with disabilities are excluded at schools because they require more time, patience and special accommodations. But at Hands of Love, we embrace special needs children and happily include them in our classes. In fact, many of our teachers have gone through specific training to learn how to meet their needs.
A friendly youngster named Webster came to HOL after being turned down by two schools. He is a bit hyperactive and sometimes has difficulty sustaining attention., but his teachers have the empathy and patience to work with him.
A young girl, Lutfya, was sick for four years after birth but managed to survive. Since she had a late start, several schools turned her away after realizing she had special needs. Her mother is grateful that HOL is the first school where she feels her daughter is accepted and loved.
At Hands of Love, Webster, Lutfya and others like them will always find a loving place to learn.
Lutfya has made great improvements. She started the year without knowing anything and she now follows routines and communicates well with others.
Tr. Oyath, Pre-primary 2B
Combating a food crisis by growing our own
Food security is a vital part of the HOL mission. We serve each of our 162 students’ breakfast and lunch six days a week to help meet their basic needs. However, food costs are skyrocketing due to an ongoing African drought, COVID disruptions and the Russian war in Ukraine (Kenya depends on imports from both countries).
“This is a nightmare for us,” states our Director, Sami Maina. “Prices are changing literally every day, making planning almost impossible.
Since January, HOL food costs are up:
70% for wheat and corn
60% for rice
45% for beef
116% for LPG used to cook
161% for cooking oil
Our rooftop garden is an outdoor teaching lab with yummy benefits
To combat rising costs and serve as a living lab, Sami created a unique rooftop garden along with chicken coops. Today, we have over 100 potted plants and 45 chickens. “It’s a wonderful learning experience for our students,” notes Sami. After all, it’s safe to say most HOL children have never witnessed the life cycle of a plant from seed through harvest.
“We grow a wide variety of vegetables and fruit including kale, onions, chard, zucchini, cucumber, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, passion fruit, watermelon and pumpkin” Sami continues. Successive planting is used, so as some plants are harvested, new ones are sprouting in other pots to take their place. “In fact, the garden produces enough to meet our vegetable needs for one day a week.”
The best part of the outdoor teaching lab is the impact on our children. Instead of just viewing drawings of plants, they get hands-on experience. The children participate in each step: germinating the seeds, planting, watering and measuring plant growth each week. “The garden has become an integral part of our Hygiene and Nutrition curriculum,” explains Sami. “In fact, we are looking into vertical gardening to allow for further expansion.”
As for the chickens, they’re not only entertaining but also an important source of food. “We get about 20 eggs a day,” said Sami. “This enables us to provide a hardboiled egg to each child about three times a week. We also serve chicken on special occasions, such as graduation celebrations. It’s one of the children’s favorite meals, served with rice or chapati.”
Expanding teachers’ skills to meet special needs
In January, five of our teachers completed a special needs training course, funded by the US embassy in partnership with Nairobi schools. Our director, Sami, was very involved in the training, which ran for six months. Teachers Tr Monica Njeri, Tr. Justus, Tr. Lucy, Tr. Eric and Tr. Monica Amolo all received their certificates, expanding our ability to accommodate students with disabilities. We are grateful to have been a part of the project and look forward to future community partnerships.
One of my top accomplishments was developing and improvising teaching and learning materials.
Tr. Lucy, Grade 1B
Graduating to a brighter future
For the first time since 2019, 32 students in our Grade 2 class celebrated their graduation with a big community event filled with excitement and love. The event was held in a nearby schoolyard which let us use the space for free. Other organizations provided in-kind donations such as chairs, tents, an emcee and sound system to make it a day to remember.
Our founder, Terry Little was able to attend and reported, “I was moved to tears a few times seeing the joy in the faces of ‘our’ children. It really did make me think a lot about what a positive impact we are able to have with a relatively low cost. And I was so proud of our teachers and staff - not least of all, our director, Sami - who undertake their work with such passion and dedication.
Losing a beloved colleague
This past year, we suffered the loss of our dear colleague, Mary Mudeisi Odija (seen above in the middle). Mary was not only a vital part of our cleaning team, but also a loving “mother” to all.
Mary’s infectious smile lit up any room she entered. She loved children and would go out of her way to ensure their wellbeing. If any child was not picked up after school, she would make sure they got home safely. If a child was absent and we were unable to reach their family by phone, she would visit the child’s home to find out what was wrong. If a staff member was absent, she would call to check on them.
Mary also enjoyed cooking and would make the best chapatis and chicken. She always made sure everyone took the time to enjoy a healthy lunch.
We’ll miss you, sweet Mary. May your beautiful smile and loving soul light up the heavens as you rest in peace.
A message from our Director
As we come to the end of 2022 I am grateful to all of you for your support through the years. This year was full of challenges but through your donations and the dedication of our staff we made a big difference in the lives of 164 students and I am proud of the achievement and progress made by our students as shown in this newsletter.
As the 2023 school year approaches, we are looking forward to the reintroduction of the normality of the past in our school programs after two years of COVID interruptions. This will allow us to provide more opportunities and experiences to fuel our children’s learning and imagining. We will continue to build a rich and meaningful learning environment with connections between home and school, and the community.
Thank you so much for your support.
Sami Maina, Director
Have questions or ideas? Need more information?
We’d love to hear from you!
Email Terry Little at tlittle_tlittle@yahoo.com.
Help us spread the love!
A donation to Hands of Love goes directly to supporting the children of Kariobangi.