School going Children from Kilifi County especially those from poor families can now breathe a sigh of relief, thanks to a local non - governmental organisation, Grooming the future.
The NGO which was started three years ago has initiated a special programme of distributing school uniforms to students lacking uniforms.
According to the organisation, this initiative aims at making sure that students from the remote villages do not miss school due to lack of uniforms.
Ommy Dallah sat with the founder of the organisation Amina Mwanasha Mwalele who opened up on sveral issues concerning the organisation.
1.How and why did you get into charity work?
I have always been moved by people in our community who had different struggles, lack of enough funds for school fees, inadequate food, poor shelter. My focus on children however, was driven by the fact that they are innocent and should not live to be defined by their circumstances. There is also the issue of gender equality so I felt the need to do something that cuts across all genders without making either the boy or girl child feel left out.
2. Who do you rely on for support, for your charity work?
At the moment, I work with a team of three when it comes to planning and execution of the activities. Most of the support so far comes from within and more especially from family and friends. I am hoping that with time and more awareness about what we do, we will be able to garner support from different people.
3. Most people involved in charity work are always perceived to be having political ambitions, is this the case with you?
Funny enough, I don't consider myself political. I am a concerned citizen who desires for good governance and accountable public resource utilisation but that's just it.
4. How has local the community received your work?
The community feels like it's noble thing that has been for a while overlooked and has embraced the importance of good grooming in children's education. The few we have interacted with have seen the need to take an active role towards their children's education. There is still a big gap in creating awareness of the importance of this course which we are hoping we will be able to fill as time goes by.
5. What are some of the challenges that you have faced so far ?
Awareness and reaching out to the communities is one challenge. The mindset of the community about clothing as a basic need and how to make them see and understand the interconnection with the children's confidence and performance.
The other challenge would be financial constraints which makes us limited to a particular group at a time thereby not reaching out to as many children as possible.
6. What is your end goal ?
To be able to reduce the cases of school absenteeism in primary schools by reducing incidental costs to schooling (such as uniforms) which present a financial challenge to most parents. We are also working towards a future where children from less privileged backgrounds are able to compete on the same level with those that are privileged thereby bridging the gap between poverty and affluence.To create a partnership between parents and school administrations that is actively involved in the school attendance and performance of their children.
7. Are you intending on spreading your work to other countries like Mombasa, kilifi, Taita, Tana River?
Yes, because every child deserves to realise that they are capable to break any barriers regardless of their circumstances. The more children we reach out to, the more groomed our future will be.
