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Welcome
The Elimu Fund is a charitable organization started by Kenyans living abroad. In 2005, a story of Felisters Ondari, who had done well enough to garner a place in Alliance Girls School, but did not have tuition fees, galvanized the actions that resulted in The Elimu Scholarship Fund. Anderea Onwonga, who co-founded the Fund and serves as its President, read her story in the Standard Newspapers (Friday, January 14th, 2004) and solicited funds to help her pay for school.
Since then, the Fund, which is run by a volunteer Board, has sponsored over 30 Kenyan children. Funds are solicited from individuals, groups, corporations and foundations. The students sponsored must be in the top 10% of their KCPE class and must have received admission to a public or private secondary school that is recognized by the Ministry of Education in Kenya.
The Elimu Scholarship Fund hopes to have sponsored at least 400 students in the next four years, 100 every year. To accomplish that, at least $500,000 is needed. Like Felisters and her sister who were orphaned at an early age, most of the students sponsored by this fund have been touched by the Aids/HIV pandemic.
Withdrawing children from school or not enrolling them at all appears to be a commonly adapted coping mechanism for families affected by AIDS, which both impoverishes families and creates the need for children to help with care of an ill person or with bringing income into the family. Many drop out of school before completing the number of years needed to acquire basic literacy. The prospects of children who have been orphaned by AIDS are often further dampened by compulsory school fees. These fees are simply not affordable for most AIDS orphans or those who care for them.
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At Elimu, we believe that schooling increases earning power, self-confidence and social status, allowing young people to take greater control over their lives. Education is an important tool in combating Africa's devastating epidemic which is Africa's leading cause of death. HIV/AIDS is fast eroding the health benefits that Kenya gained in the first two decades of independence.
Under the “Free Primary Education” policy, started in 2003, school fees and levies were abolished at the primary school level, relieving the household burden of financing primary education. Households, and public and private schools, responded immediately. The primary education gross enrollment rate jumped over 100%, with a student enrollment increase of close to 1 million from the previous year.
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The number of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) is expected to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. Elimu Fund will provide opportunities to children who seek to overcome their difficult circumstances through education in a manner consistent with Kenyan societal values, and government policies and guidelines.
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