More than 800 pupils from Kitere Primary School are set to benefit from classroom renovations, new desks and piping of clean water within the school, courtesy of the ‘Shine Kenya Shinda Mamilii Kama Bingwa campaign’ grand prize victory.

The renovations and piping will be funded by the extra KES 1 million awarded to Kepher Okoth, the grand prize winner in the campaign.

Mr. Okoth, a 24-year-old motorcycle repair man, was awarded KES 5 million last week, along with an extra KES 1 million meant to support a community project of his choice through the Shine Kenya Shinda Mamilii Kama Bingwa promotion.

To help realize his dream, Safaricom Foundation has contributed an additional KES 1.3 million, bringing the total to KES 2.3 million, to complete the water supply project and install handwashing points for the pupils.

“We designed this campaign in such a way that whoever wins a million shillings and above, received an additional cash from Safaricom Foundation to support community projects of their choice. Kepher Okoth, who was our grand prize winner of KES 5M, received an extra KES 1M and he has chosen to renovate his former primary school.  In addition to the KES 1 million, the Safaricom Foundation has also contributed KES 1.3 million to fully complete the project." said Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi, Chief officer, Consumer Business, Safaricom.

Adding "30 more customers from across Kenya, also won KES 1 each, and received an additional KES 250,000 each to support community projects of their choices. This way, the benefits of this promotion extend beyond individual winners to positively impact wider communities,” 

Additionally, the pupils of Kitere Primary school also received school bags crafted from recycled Safaricom billboard materials. This is part of Safaricom’s sustainability program geared towards environmental conservation through recycling.

Meanwhile, Kepher Okoth, the grand prize winner, could not hide his joy as he received a heroic welcome home.

“I want to extend my gratitude to Safaricom, not only for awarding me as the grand prize winner, but also for providing KES 1 million to support my community. I have chosen to support my former primary school by renovating and furnishing a few classrooms and addressing their longstanding water supply challenges. The school has long relied on collected rainwater and students bringing water from home. I believe that starting today, students will no longer need to carry jerrycans of water each morning and afternoon as we once did, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the school,” Okoth said.

For the school management, Okoth’s win is a huge blessing and a relief. “We are deeply grateful to Safaricom and Kepher, one of our former students, for their generous support. We especially appreciate Kepher for choosing to support this school. This generous contribution will be a tremendous blessing, benefiting hundreds of pupils and teachers who have long endured these difficulties,” said John Kennedy Kodongo, Head Teacher, Kitere Primary School.

Other community engagements to be done in Migori county this week as part of this celebration include a medical camp to offer eye care consultations, breast cancer screening, general doctor consultations and child health consultations to residents of Migori.

Patients with Fistula related issues will also get free surgeries courtesy of a free fistula camp. Further, Safaricom will visit hospitals in Migori to distribute mama-packs to new mothers.