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Fafi district gets first girl.s secondary school

Assistant Education Minister Prof. Ayiecho Olweny has opened the first girl.s secondary school in Fafi District, built partly through funding by Safaricom Foundation to the tune of Kshs 5.4 million.

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Wednesday July 14, 2010.....Assistant Education Minister Prof. Ayiecho Olweny has opened the first girl.s secondary school in Fafi District, built partly through funding by Safaricom Foundation to the tune of Kshs 5.4 million.

Girls from Fafi District have been crossing over to neighbouring Garissa and Ijara districts for secondary education. The Safaricom Foundation Manager, Ms. Sanda Ojiambo said the school will increase access to girl secondary education within the district and entire North Eastern province.

The Executive Director of the Pastoralists Girls Initiative (PGI) Mrs Fatuma Kinsi Abbas, whose organisation approached Safaricom Foundation for the funding, said the first intake was done in February 2010, admitting 54 girls.

Ms. Ojiambo said the school will play a major role in increasing the number of girls who complete their secondary education, which over the past has been compromised by poverty forcing the girls to drop out of school.

.We believe that education is the key to a brighter future for both boys and girls. It.s for this reason that we donated Kshs 5.4 million to Fafi Girls School, through which a toilet block, four classrooms have been constructed and learning materials purchased,. said Ms. Sanda Ojiambo.

He said girl child education was a sure way of eradicating poverty as it empowered women and helped them play an active role in development matters apart from enhancing civilisation from discriminative cultures such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which are still rampant in the region.

Since its inception in 2003, Safaricom Foundation funds a range of projects in the education sector by supporting the provision of learning environments that allow the students to thrive and succeed.

Ojiambo said offering education opportunities to both sexes have many benefits to the individual, family, community and the entire nation.

Although the government.s introduction of free primary education in 2003 was a big boost for parents who couldn.t afford school fees for their children, the initiative also led to increased school enrollment for both boys and girls. This also meant that more pupils qualify to join secondary schools hence the need to put up more schools which can accommodate them.

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