the Light School
Uriri, Kenya
Located in the Uriri District in western Kenya, The Light School has 260 students, man of whom are orphaned, between the ages of four and fifteen. The Light School also has a grade for children as young as two.
In Uriri, many children live far away from good schools, and with limited infrastructure, high rates of poverty, disease, and harsh living conditions, many children lose one or both parents. These children are most in need of quality education.
The Light School was founded to offer these children that education. Jackson Bambo, The Light School's founder and director, says the school "benefits the orphans and fee paying children by giving them a chance to develop themselves academically, physically, and spiritually." Bambo hopes the school's influence will extend into the local community by providing jobs and "serving as a model of effective and relevant education in the area."
In January 2013, GEN purchased the school's first complete set of books. The Light School now has a full set of school books for each student and a small library on campus. GEN, together with The Light School, is working to raise the low literacy rates in Uriri and Migori County.
A Light in the Village
In 2013, GEN founder Matthew Goeller traveled with filmmaker Xander Moffat to make a documentary about the success of The Light School. The film, A Light in the Village, highlights the tremendous success, as well as the challenges, of the school and in the surrounding village.
Matthew and Xander have since screened the documentary at schools and organizations in the United States. These events have engaged audiences with the story of The Light School and have raised over $1,000 for the school.
