Newsletter for the 2nd & 3rd Quarter of 2009
Dear friends,
Receive warm greetings from Compass school,
We are happy to be releasing this newsletter highlighting
the progress we have had since the last update. We are continuing our work at the school and are pleased to be able to share our progress.
Education Due to the sponsorship of trained teachers by our partners, Compass has been offering quality education and the MSS has improved from last term’s standing. Also this is an examination term, where the 8th graders will be sitting for the final exam of their primary school education before joining high school next year. The rest of the students shall be finishing the syllabus and doing the exams to qualify them to go to the next grade come next year. We are optimistic that the students' performance will continue to improve. |
|
MSS per Class
|
Nursery |
Pre-Unit |
Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class 3 |
Class 4 |
Class 5 |
Class 6 |
Class 7 |
Class 8 |
|
264.0 |
358.5 |
299.0 |
259.0 |
294.0 |
257.0 |
234.0 |
232.8 |
246.84 |
276.0 |
The mean examination marks of the classes listed above are actually much higher than the MSS of most of the local public schools.
Feeding program The feeding program is going very well, though By provision of food to these children, we have been able to keep them in school at to ensure they have the energy they need to grow and to learn.  (above) recently painted mural-- "The Tree of Life" |
 |
Income Generating Activities (I.G.A.)
 Rabbit Keeping This project is also progressing well and it has also become an excellent opportunity to Compass students; they are learning how to take care of animals.
 Chicken Project Food for the Hungry, Kenya has also begun supporting our cooks by buying them chickens; this helps them to generate some income when they sell the eggs. These chickens are kept at Compass school. tther
| Fish Farming This has been one of the best success stories of all the income generating activities, since the government has proposed to take up our project as a pilot project for educating farmers since it is the only one here in Kikuyu. Recently the government came up with an economic stimulus package to boost food security, and educating communities about fish farming is a major aspect of this package.Farming has been considered as one of the economically viable projects. Compass has reared Tilapia fish which are highly nutritious and the government might construct for us more ponds and bring us even more fish.
  |
Bus
We have successfully been able to operate between Nairobi,
Tailoring
This project has now been commercialized and we are getting small orders and come January, we might end up having more orders.
Trees and flowers Nursery This project has really come into it's own. Because the team of engineers and teachers that came from Ireland in June-July to work at Compass and to build the dispensary connected water for us, we have been able to raise hundreds of tree species that we sell to the local community and beyond. The flowers are planted around Compass compound.
|  |
Dispensary
Although we have had a deficit of resources, good strides have been made towards completing the dispensary. In December we are organizing the biggest medical camp in the area, where we are projecting to have over 2,000 people, and so far 5 doctors, two humanitarian organizations, and the ministry of medical services shall also participate, among others.
The theme for this medical camp is “afya yako ni nguvu ya Jamii” (your health is the strength of the community). It shall also be an excellent opportunity to officially launch the dispensary. Hopefully by that time we shall have been able to finish it.
 | Bible class This class has targeted the kids whose guardians don’t go to Church; Antony has reached out to them and teaches them every Sunday. He has also organized some special events for the children, and would like to thank the students from Alliance High schoolfor their assistance.
|
Upcoming events:
Carol Service
Other than the medical camp in December, Compass music and Drama club are organizing one of the finest Carol Services here in this village, preparations are underway and the teachers in that department have also invited some talented and skilled people in that field to help them out.
Soccer league
Our soccer team the Compass Warriors has reached the semi-finals of the "Under 16 Soccer League" here in our constituency. Hard work and discipline has seen them reach these heights and we are very proud of them. We believe they are headed to the finals. We also compliment their ability to maintain the proper balance between education and soccer.
Prayers for the 8th graders Compass fraternity here in Kenya shall be holding prayers for the eighth graders who shall be sitting for the National exam during the second week of November.
|  |
We would like to thank God for bringing us this far, and our partners for their enduring dedication towards this Cause, the board members for their endless commitment, the teachers for their diligence and drive, the guardians for their support, the community leaders for their goodwill, the local churches for their prayers and encouragement, and the government of Kenya for its effort to empower this project, and the children of the Compass School for their discipline and hard work.
As Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38 “…………The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send workers into His harvest field.”
We thank God, for He must have sent you.
May God bless you all as you continue to support this cause
and to give hope to these children.
Sincerely, David Chief Administrator, And Joshua Projects Director, Compass Foundation.
|  |
