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Rama Junior School’s Rama Buoyancy Fund
Emplacement
A propos de vous
Emplacement
Project Street Address
Project City
Nairobi
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Kenya
Your idea
Country your work focuses on:
Kenya
Website URL
A quel étape votre projet en est-il ?
Operating for less than a year
YouTube Upload
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
<$100
Name Your Project
Rama Junior School’s Rama Buoyancy Fund
Describe Your Idea
Innovation
Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.
An elementary school offering affordable quality education to Kenyans of average income. Rama Junior School’s Rama Buoyancy Fund guarantees continued basic education for Rama pupils who are needy. With low charges we hope to attract pupils from low-income families and ease congestion in public primary schools.
What makes your idea unique?
Rama Junior School has this unique (Rama Buoyancy Fund) project that is aimed at helping every child that passes through Rama Junior to complete their elementary education even in the event of losing a guardian. Also needy children who qualify for the assistance have a chance of completing their basic education without interruptions.
Another distinctive feature of Rama Junior School is the low fee charges. Children from families with low income can join the school. This will have double benefit since it will ease congestion at the public primary school thus those remaining at the public school can greater attention from the teacher since they are fewer. And those who join Rama School will get quality education affordably.
At Rama Junior School the admission process is free of prejudice. Unlike some schools where people of some Nationalities are not admitted, we admit all children of school going age wishing to join Rama without any discrimination.
Integration of the MONTESSORI, DICECE, and KHA for the kindergarten, Rama Junior School endeavors to give robust foundation to the children joining the school.
We have engaged teachers trained and experienced in the Montessori, DICECE and KHA systems. For the primary too we hope to hire the best for the benefit of the children. Also Rama Junior School has enlisted the services of practicing psychologist to help both parents and children to develop healthy relations.
Rama Meals Project for needy pupils (especially those from war torn Sudan since they make the bulk of foreigners living in Kasarani area) pupils whose guardian or parents can prove they are needy and are threatened with the possibility of going back to the refugee camps. So far Rama Junior School has two children in this scheme. (It is almost unsustainable at the moment but we intend to keep the project until we are able to raise some funds for the same.)
What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)
Early childhood development , Education .
What impact have you had?
Rama Junior School has enrolled 21 pupils up to now. Under the Rama Buoyancy fund we have one child of Sudanese origin who is paying quarter of normal school fees. Two needy Rama pupils are on the Rama Meals project. These two might be sustainable in the near future depending on increased enrollment and sourcing funds from organization that help needy children to acquire education. This is really difficult for the new school but we hope to raise the funds to sustain the two projects.
Through the counseling department, we are currently having one family whose child is at Rama Junior going through therapy to help reform the father who is an alcoholic and on hard drugs. The whole family is attending therapy at the school at a small fee. This child is a chronic absentee at the school. But since the beginning of therapy, he at least attends 3 days in a week. He used to miss entire weeks until our therapist talked to the mother, who then agreed to convince her husband to seek assistance and due to the favorable charges for our school members she recommended our therapist for her husband and her whole family. They have now been in session for about a month. Within this month their child has attended school for 16 days as opposed to the past when he would attend for 3 to 4 days in a month.
Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.
Keeping in school some of the needy children especially those of other Nationalities. To be able to help them through the Rama Buoyancy fund we encourage parents who are able to pay school fees to do so early enough so that the school can draw a part of the 10% for the Buoyancy Fund to help the already identified needy pupils. We also have in pipeline a plan for exploring other sources of funding for this project and the Rama meals scheme.
Rama Meals: giving free meals to needy children who cannot afford school food
Through our counseling department, the school is helping children from dysfunctional families to cope better with elementary learning and life. We are also helping entire families overcome addiction and other harmful habits that hinder proper development of the child.
Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.
Maintaining a lean budget and following it strictly.
We hope to negotiate loan from financial institutions that might be willing to lend a new business that is less than 1year old.
We also plan to source for other funds from family and other sources that can lend us money for little on no interest.
Another possibility is identifying potential donors and sending them a grant-seeking proposal for our Buoyancy Fund and Rama Meals Project
Impact
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:
It will require effort and proper management of the little resources we have. Maintaining a lean budget. and trying to negotiate with financial institutions for a loan. This is the most difficult of all since we have operated for only six months and our cash flows not really encouraging.
A good strategic plan and the discipline to follow it through. With little resource and the economic recession being experienced at the moment, keeping to the plan is paramount for our survival.
The ability to identify potential sources of funding is important. With slim chances of getting bank loan, the alternative would be to look for other sources of financial support from donors and other stakeholders.
Success in Year 2:
A good strategic plan will always be handy. It will be important for us to use the little resources we have to develop cheaper methods of creating awareness and increasing enrollment to at least 100.
Put more effort in establishing partnerships and as always streamlining the cash flow to increase our chances of getting loans from banks.
Success in Year 3:
If we follow the strategic plan, by the third year, Rama Junior School will be eligible for loans with banks and other financial institutions. We will also have established partnerships with donors and other stakeholders.
Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)
yes
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:
Developing a strategic plan and cultivating the discipline to follow it through. Seeking ways of increasing enrollment. Creating awareness and marketing of the school.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:
Negotiating financing with financial institutions that might be willing to work with our enrollment forecasts and our current cash flow.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:
Developing grant-seeking proposals and seeking partnerships with organizations that are interested in education.
Describe the expected results of these actions.
Increased enrollment, which will help in growth of the Rama Buoyancy Fund. This Fund will help needy pupils remain in school. In effect it will keep the enrollment high.
Get financing from banks and micro finance institution will be in the expansion of school. Build a school with a bigger playing ground; acquire a school and improve many other facilities at the school.
Partnerships and donor help will ensure that school expands and accommodates all needy children who would otherwise drop out of school.
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
I had always wanted to start a kindergarten and eventually a primary school. But kept postponing it until one day a friend of mine (a Sudanese National) could not get her child admitted in a school she really liked because the child spoke in their tongue only. And I thought more about my idea of starting a school. I vowed that our school would admit without prejudice. Then I talked to my family about and put together some resources to begin the school. This was in late 2008. Early 2009 Rama Junior School Kasarani opened its doors to kindergarten pupils. Incidentally, the first child we admitted is of Sudanese Nationality. But without discrimination we admit all children of school going age wishing to join Rama Junior School.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
The innovator behind this idea is a trained Administrator and Marketer (Bachelors Degree) with interest in early childhood development and education. She has a postgraduate diploma in ICT and a certificate in Ethnicity counseling. She has in the past worked for the private sector and educational institutions. At the moment she has devoted her effort in the management of Rama Junior School.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Through a friend. And later I saw an advert in the newspapers.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Viabilité
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Lack of resources. If for example enrollment is poor, the 10% of tuition fees that we hope to use for building the Rama Buoyancy Fund may be too little and unsustainable. In the event that this happens it will affect enrollment since we would have to let go children under this project and also those on Rama meals project. And if the financial institutions do not give the school a loan the little resources available may not sustain the school projects until there is increased enrollment.
In the event that we are not able to secure funding for our projects from donors, we expect the success of our projects to limited or non-existent.
Financing source
no
If yes, provide organization name.
How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)
Less than a year
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
No but we hope to constitute one early next year.
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)
yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)
yes
The Story
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)
yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Rama Junior School would partner with any organization with similar interests for the common good of the society.
We have joined the churches near the school in cleaning exercises and will soon have partnerships with organization that volunteer their services for the good of all citizens. And the government is of course our partner in education.
How many people will your project serve annually?
100-1000 (depending on enrollment we could serve up to 600 or more pupil as the school grows)
What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?
7 employees and one teacher on attachment.
What is your organization's business classification?
For-profit
Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)
None of the above.
 | Winfred Kimathi a soumis cette idée. - il y a 953 jours |
