A dream has come true!
In 2016 we founded Volunteers Foundation Academy, a primary school based in Kibera which welcomes children moving from St. Monica nursery.
Initially, we rented two classrooms at a nearby independent school, but we always intended to eventually move into our own space. Finding the right place, in the right location, at the right price proved to be extremely difficult.
It took longer than expected, but we finally found our piece of heaven in Otiende, just outside of Kibera, in 2019.
Originally, the plot was occupied by two semi-detached houses surrounded by a small garden. Some renovation work was required to convert the residential properties into a school building, but we finally celebrated the opening of our own school in April 2019.
Currently, the school has seven classrooms, a dining area, restrooms, and a kitchen. The garden was transformed into a vegetable patch in order to not only teach children about the process of growing and harvesting their own food, but also to provide healthy and fresh supplementary vegetables for the students' daily meals.
By setting up and manage our own school building, we will be able to set the standards and control the quality of education delivered while being more cost-efficient.
The sky is the limit!
We are now considering expanding the school, improving the layout, and adding three more classrooms. This will allow us to accept more students and significantly improve our facilities, transforming VF Academy into a high-quality educational institution in the heart of one of Africa's most challenging environments.
We are collaborating with individuals, businesses, and institutions who want to be a part of our mission and show that it is possible to create a better world for those who have nothing.
VOLUNTEERS FOUNDATION ACADEMY
A glimpse into the future
As part of the VF 2021-2025 Vision, we reviewed the current facilities and identify the key areas of developments for the future. In particular, we recognised the extension of the school building to be one of the key enablers for the accomplishment of Volunteers Foundation's mission over the next 5 years.
VF Academy will become a Knowledge Hub, a center of excellence where not only students but also teachers and the rest of the community are able to learn, develop and grow. VF Academy will progress from being only a primary school to a training center for children, adult and teachers alike - making full use of the facilities and becoming a community center, a health preside and an innovation hub.
This will require state of the art facilities which comply with the strictest building and health & safety regulations.
We have partnered with Betts & Townsend Construction Project Management Ltd. in planning an expansion and refurbishment programme, hoping to increase the capacity of the school, as well as receive a face lift, with the main goal being effective and efficient sustainable use of space. Some initial images of the new-planned building are displayed below.
The long-term project is based on several phases: submission and obtainment of all the relevant permits and documentation, completion of the fundraising campaign to fund the building works, selection of the building contractors and finally, the actual build.
We would like to thank Betts & Townsend for the excellent work done so far and for their continued support.
If you want more information about the VF Academy expansion please visit our Global Giving Page.
If you want to make a donation and contribute to the project please click the button below.
