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Update February 2012: News from the OLARE OROK SCHOOL

A couple of days ago, Nicholus; assistant to the manager and Bahati; the camp’s maintenance personnel, visited Olare Orok School to take measurements of gutters for water harvesting during the rainy season which is expected to be starting around mid march. The money for this project was donated by Mara Bush Camp guests during the Christmas season. The rain water harvested will be used for drinking, washing hands, among other things by both the pupils and teachers.

pupils, teachers and school committee members visit the camp

Today the 17th of February, a number of pupils, teachers and school committee members came to visit the camp and gave presents as a sign of appreciation for the support given to the school.  They brought in a number of bead-work done by the pupils and the locals. A special surprise from them was a ‘HE’- goat to the manager and Mara Bush Camp Team - the irony comes in- the camp manager is a strict vegetarian….

We also got another present from the heavens as it finally blessed us with some showers after a long time of dryness…double blessing!
We would like to give this big THANK YOU / ASHE OLENG to you, our guests!
Nicholus S. Ngunjiri (Assistand Manager Mara Bush Camp)

Update Jannuary 2012: News from the OLARE OROK SCHOOL

On the last day of the old school year, the 10th November 2011, I took the initiative of visiting the Olare Orok School once again. It was an important day for both pupils and their teacher as it was the day when the brightest students were presented to their school mates and the school committee. I managed to surprise the children with some lovely little gifts that I had carried along. They received a ball and cap each to their delight ! The teachers were rewarded with a school gift set which made everyone very happy. Indeed this was an unexpected reward and some motivation for the others to do well in the next year.


Afterwards, the school committee and teachers were meeting and discussing the situation on the ground in their village as well as plans for the future. The village community currently consists of 300 women and men whereby 12 are voted into the school committee.

The school has been registered as a „community based organization“ on the basis to receive some sponsorship from the Government. A request for official registration of the land where the school is currently built, has been made.

Some important first steps for the development of the school include:
1. In the school building itself:
  • Construction of a toilet
  • Building of a fence around the compound
  • Collection of rain water into a tank
  • To put a cement floor in the school classrooms, so that the children don’t have to sit in the mud when it rains.

2. Development of the School:
  • Training of the current young individuals trying to teach the children to become professional „teachers“
  • To eventually have a „nursery“ and „primary“ school separately

During our christmas season we had a number of our guests visit the school and ask about this project. The response was excellent and we received some donations in form of money as well as through purchase of school materials (which are available for sale at the camp ) that were generously distributed to the children.
At the re-opening of the Camp in February, I will certainly visit the school again and forward some more „Olare Orok School News“ !

Your Sunworld Safaris & Mara Bush Camp Team


October THE OLARE OROK SCHOOL

In the middle of the savanna, not far from the famous ‘'Double -crossing'' lies the Maasai Village Olare Orok. It is barely 30 minutes drive from Mara Bush Camp. The homesteads, commonly known as Manyattas are systematically spread across the plains. Right in the middle of free, unfenced bush plains stands the eye catching, newly constructed Olare Orok School. A brainchild of parents who wanted to bring education closer to their Maasai children. The nearest schools in the area are found in Talek, Aitong or Mararianda. Pupils usually spend 30 - 40 minutes on foot to reach the schools. No vehicle transport is available in this area.

Olare Orok Schule
With only three months since its inception, the school has found its way to the hearts of the local community. Upto 100 children, aged 2-11 years, stream to the institution everyday in search of education. Some of them spend up to 1.5 hrs to get there. 02 teachers from the local community try their best to teach the young ones how to read and write, do some basic calculations and learn English. These teachers have never had any formal training. The children also get to learn about nature, life and having a general responsibility towards the environment & community. To show their love for the environment, they have already planted some trees on the compound and protected them from destructive goats. The children bring water from their homes or often collect water from the Olare Orok River  to water the plants. Their settlement is named after this river.

In one of the classrooms are two small chairs and a blackboard. The other classroom has three old benches and many enthusiastic  students - but nothing else!

The pupils go about their learning with lots of enthusiasm, with the two teachers being eager to impart their knowledge. Parents pay a school fee of Kshs 100/- per child every month. The process of converting the school to a regular government school is quite expensive and time consuming as it takes years of approval and bureaucracy.

We would really like to support this initiative since we believe that the future of Africa lies in educating its children.  As the saying goes: "Many drops make an ocean".

school package
school package
We have assorted educational packs for sale at Mara Bush Camp which guests can buy at cost price. It is through this initiative that we support the learning at The Olare Orok School. Guests staying at Mara Bush who wish to support this initiative can take some time to visit the school and get firsthand information by talking to the teachers, singing, playing with the children & participating in their daily learning. They will also have an opportunity to hand over the educational packs to the individual students and interact with them.
 
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