 Access to education is a global challenge, in rural areas, it is even more challenging due to a lack of infrastructure and resources. Often, students have to travel long distances to reach school, which is not only time-consuming but also physically demanding. For young girls, this often leads to transactional sex, making them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. In addition, students often arrive late to school, missing the beginning of lessons and falling behind. These challenges not only affect their academic performance but also their overall well-being. One solution to this challenge is through the provision of bicycles to students, particularly girls. Last year, in partnership with The One Bicycle Foundation, we were able to donate 40 bicycles to students in rural areas who travel long distances to school. Providing this means of transportation to students in this area has had a significant impact on their daily lives. These bicycles not only make it possible for students to get to school on time, but they also reduce the risk of girls being exposed to sexual exploitation, especially when they have to walk long distances alone. The impact of the bicycle donation is evident; here is one of the impact stories from our beneficiaries. Sixteen-year-old Syprose is a high-achieving student with a passion for Physics. With home quite far from school, she would not be able to manage her chores and arrive at school on time each day without her bicycle. This is what Syprose had to say regarding the impact of the bicycle on her academic performance,’’ last year the organization gave me a bicycle to cycle to school and it has really reduced my commute time helping me to arrive at school on time. Since I come from a remote area, getting to school on time was a problem, and my parents were unable to provide for my daily transport cost. I found it difficult to catch up with the dawn lessons hence it became very challenging to cope up with the already covered syllabus and this led to a drop in my academic performance from an A- to B-. After receiving the bicycle I am now at position 7 out of 253 students with a mean grade of B+[68 points]. My performance has improved since I am able to catch up with the dawn lessons I used to miss before.” These bicycles will make a real difference in students' lives, allowing them to access education and improve their opportunities. The provision of bicycles to aid students in their daily commute to school is one of the many practical solutions that can be implemented to ensure that all children, especially girls in rural areas, have access to education. It is not a perfect solution, but it is a step in the right direction. Thanks to One Bicycle Foundation 40 students have access to education, which is vital for their personal development, growth, and future success.
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At ROF, we are committed to ending period poverty and promoting girls' education. We believe that every girl has the right to reach her full potential, and we are proud to be working towards this goal. Our partners at Ndiru secondary school have seen a positive impact on its female students due to our free uniforms, sanitary pads and underwear distribution program. Many students come from low-income families that cannot afford menstrual hygiene products. This has led to challenges such as absenteeism, low self-esteem, poor academic performance, and risky sexual behavior. ROF's donations have helped to alleviate some of these issues and reduce period poverty, allowing girls to focus on their education.
Beverline's story Beverline's story is an inspiring example of the positive impact our community service program can have on scholarship students. By encouraging them to give back to their communities through service work, we not only promote skills development but also foster a sense of agency and leadership. As a beneficiary of our scholarship program, Beverline excelled academically, achieving a B-(minus) in her national secondary examinations. With her sights set on pursuing Nursing at the Kenya Medical Training College, she recognizes the importance of dedicating her time to serving others. She has been volunteering as an assistant English and religious education (CRE) teacher at the Akili School. Beverline is not only helping students in their academic pursuits but also building her own skills and confidence. By taking on a role as a tutor, she is improving her communication and leadership abilities, which will undoubtedly benefit her in her future studies and career. Community service is not only about helping others but also about personal growth. In Beverline's case, her involvement in the program is instilling a sense of self-worth and esteem. By contributing to the education and development of young girls, she is making a lasting impact on their lives and empowering them to reach their full potential. Our community service program aims to amplify the voices and abilities of young girls like Beverline. By providing them with opportunities to develop their skills and serve their communities, we are not only supporting their education but also nurturing their leadership potential. Through agency and engagement, we can create a generation of strong, empowered women who will make a difference in their communities and beyond. Posted by: David Omondi  In January Riley Orton Foundation held a 2-week Akili STEMarts Maths camp in partnership with African Maths Initiative from 9th January to 20th January 2023 at Akili STEMarts academy. The math camp brought together students from 18 secondary schools nationwide and local teachers from around as volunteers. The main aim of the camp was to bring students and teachers together in a shared learning environment, exploring rich ideas that go far beyond what is traditionally taught in class. In the first week, there was an initial planning meeting from 9th January to 14th January where teachers and volunteers met for a week to prepare for the camp and to be trained as Math’s envoys with excitement to support everyone to think through inclusive, fun activities. The volunteers were very excited throughout the training as they learned that mathematics can be taught using fun games, physical activities, and math puzzles that make learning more interesting and enjoyable for students. In the second week, students were taken through 8 themes that integrated technology and collaborative activities that included programming and Robotics, Modeling, mathematical thinking, puzzles and games, houses, physical activities, data science, and journals. It provided students the opportunity to learn about mathematics in a fun and interactive way, while also developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Throughout the week, students participated in a variety of activities and workshops that challenged and helped them learn new things. One of the highlights of the camp was a series of sessions that focused on coding and programming. Students were introduced to edblock a programing language for the Edison robot and they were so excited as they also learned to program it using barcodes, they also related this to real-life experience as they gave examples of places barcodes are used e.g in supermarkets to scan prices for good. Another exciting aspect of the camp was students learning maths concepts through physical activities and mathematical thinking. For the physical activities and games, they played fun games such as find the ball, buzz game, flag games, etc. that promoted mastering, counting, knowing multiple numbers, and collaboration. On mathematical thinking students solved maths without using pens or books, this allowed them to think critically to give answers. In the end, students appreciated and loved being taken through the themes. Overall, the Akili Maths camp was a huge success. We trained 10 volunteer teachers to be maths envoys. Students learned new things, developed problem-solving skills, and improved their critical thinking skills. Students left the camp feeling inspired and motivated to continue learning about maths and looking forward to more camps. Such similar STEM camps are important to students from rural areas since they do not have such opportunities frequently. As an organization, we are looking forward to making Akili STEMarts a STEM hub for more rural girls and boys to have the opportunity to increase their agency and interest to take up STEM subjects. Thank you to everyone who contributed and supported us and made this camp a success. Posted by: David Omondi  In April we held 2 HIV/AIDS awareness sessions at Mboto Sunrise Primary School in the Kanyawegi location. and Dudi to doho talents reaching 200 girls and boys. During the sessions, learned about HIV/ADS prevention, treatment and care, SGBV, and where to report., We also address some of the common myths and misconceptions surrounding HIV and AIDS. It is crucial to dispel these myths and ensure that young people have accurate information and understanding about HIV/AIDS. Our initiative targets rural girls and boys in the Lake Victoria region who are at a higher risk of contracting and spreading HIV. Many of them engage in transactional sex for basic needs such as fish, food, lifts to school, menstrual hygiene supplies, and more. By providing them with knowledge and awareness, we hope to empower them to make informed decisions and protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and early pregnancies. It is not only about preventing the spread of HIV but also about achieving holistic development and equal opportunities for these young individuals. By staying healthy, avoiding early pregnancies, and remaining in school, they have a better chance of reaching their full potential and creating a brighter future for themselves. Our efforts in community sports, arts, and awareness creation in schools are a crucial part of our mission to #ENDAIDS. Through these sessions, we are working towards transforming education, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and ensuring that all young people have equal access to resources and opportunities. We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with organizations like the Mercury Phoenix Trust, who share our vision and commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS. Together, we can make a lasting impact and create a world where all individuals have the knowledge, resources, and support they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Posted by: David Omondi  Gender inequalities continue to manifest in various aspects of society, including healthcare. In many communities, these inequalities are contributing to an increase in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths among adolescent girls and boys. To address this issue, we organized a football tournament at Oyiengo Primary School, aiming to sensitize the community on HIV prevention, Treatment, and care. Adolescence is a critical phase in life, and the inequalities faced by girls and boys during this period have far-reaching consequences. In many communities, girls face limited access to education, healthcare, and resources compared to their male counterparts. These disparities contribute to higher rates of new HIV infections among girls, as well as increased vulnerability to gender-based violence and unplanned pregnancies. In our efforts to combat gender inequalities and reduce HIV transmission, we organized a football tournament at Oyieng primary school for the local girls' and boys' teams. This tournament served as a platform to raise awareness and engage the community in an inclusive dialogue on pressing issues. By blending sports and education, we aimed to deliver crucial messages effectively and foster a positive environment for change. In parallel to the tournament, we conducted participatory theatre sessions in partnership with Amazon theatrixs to address HIV prevention and its intersection with teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence. Through this interactive medium, we encouraged community members to actively participate and challenge harmful norms and behaviors. By facilitating open discussions surrounding these sensitive topics, we aimed to break down stigmas and establish a supportive network. The football tournament and participatory theatre proved to be effective in engaging the community and addressing gender inequalities that contribute to HIV transmission. By empowering adolescent girls and boys, promoting education, and fostering a supportive environment, we took significant strides toward reducing new HIV infections, teenage pregnancies, and gender-based violence. Moving forward, it is imperative that communities continue to prioritize gender equality, access to education, and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all adolescents. By collectively challenging gender norms and working towards a more inclusive society, we can create a safer and healthier future for all. Posted by: Sheila Akoth Ouma - Mhub Project Coordinator  Dear Friends, We are happy to share that thanks to your support, 5 women have received seed funding of $50 each to finance their small scale businesses mainly buying fabric for tailoring business, purchasing bags of beans and maize for a cereals business, cooking oil, rice and sugar for a community shop business, fishing nets for a fishing ascessories shop and a mortobike spare parts for a mortobike taxi business. We are now training the next group of women on business skills mainly how they can make a budget, track their sales and know how much profit they are making. After this we will give them micro loans to boost their businesses. We are encouraging collaboration between businesses eg encouraging schools to work with tailoring centers by giving them uniform making jobs to help them make more income, fishermen to partner with fish ascessories shop for discounts and items on loans etc. We look forward to raising more funds so that we can give the women the microloans and grants they need to sustain their businesses and ultimately support their families. Thank you so much for your generous donations and empowering our women. Asante sana!   Posted by: David Omondi  Literacy session at Jimmy Junior Academy Dear Friends, The Literacy Garden has been a beehive of activity over the past couple of months. With the help of our volunteers Kendra and Josh, we successfully piloted the Bilingual E-Book Writing and Publishing. 15 girls created e-books and shared stories about their culture. The girls learned to express themselves tby describing how they celebrate christmas, Songs and Dances, Housing, Favorite foods, Drums, Religion, Languages etc. The girls also translated their work in swahili hence helping to develop heir mastery of both English and Swahili. Their stories have been published on our website as well as he Write Our World Org website. We are excited to see the girls horn their writing skills and become the next generation of authors, readers and leaders. Our storytelling and sexual and reproductive health and rights sessions have been on going. We currently have Young Women Christian Association- Kenya volunteers teaching our girls menstrual hygiene management and sanitary pad making. In the construction front, we have finished building the mini library where literacy equipment/books will be stored and accessed by the girls. We are also building a multi-sport playground/basketball court and roller skating paths that will see us use sports to empower the girls and bring the boys into the conversation. Over the next months, we are looking foward to secure funds to complete construction of the reading areas, shades and benches as well as an amphitheater. We also hope to conduct our first annual girls leadership camp at the garden by the end of the year. Thank you so much for your support that has seen us build the garden step by step and create a safe place for marginalized rural girls to develop their skills and talents through literacy. As funds come in, we will keep working hard to ensure that we complete the necessary infrastructure required for the full functioning of the garden. Thank you  Tablets for ebook writing and publishing  Mini library complete  Construction of roller skating paths  Multisport playground under construction
Posted by: David Omondi  New teacher sharing her class results Dear Partners, We are happy to report that your continued supprt has enabled us to serve our girls well and successfully conclude second semester 2018. The two teachers we hired are working at Akili Girls Boarding school where we now have a total of 6 teachers taking care of 3rd, 4th, 5th grade students. This term, third graders registered marked improvement in their academic performance with 99% of the girls scoring 350marks. The overall mean grade for this class was 395 marks. In 4th grade, 14 girls scored 520 marks out of a possiblout of 600. The mean grade for the class was 524.9. We attribute this good performance to the commitment of our teachers to serve our girls. We thank you so much for giving to support these teachers so that the girls can continue to get quality education. We are currently building 2 new classrooms to accommodate our girls as they move to 7th grade and 8th grade in 2019 and 2020. We will hire more teachers to take care of the girls as they graduate to these extra classes. We invite you to continue Giving to support the teachers and the girls. Thank you so much for walking with us on this journey. Thank you  Another new teacher sharing her results  Exams in progress at Akili Girls School  Prize giving  New classrooms
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Riley Orton FoundationRiley Orton Foundation (ROF) provides holistic education and promotes gender equality in STEM education to ensure girls and a community with the agency to realize their full potential Archives
June 2024
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