Rotary clubs help replace dorm, Kenyan students' possession
The dedication ceremony on Monday, Feb. 28, of the U.S./Canada Rotary District 5080 grant to promote education continuation after a fire destroyed one of St Benedict’s High School dormitories in Budalangi Kenya in August 2021.
Of the school’s 930 students, 170 were displaced and lost all personal possessions within the dorm. The school management team opened the dining hall as a temporary residence and slept on the 75 mattresses donated by a Kenyan donor until the bunk beds and additional mattresses could be replaced.
The Rotary clubs and Rotarian contributions matched by the District 5080 funds totaled $36,430. These generous donations purchased replacement bunk beds, mattresses, a change of uniform, storage trunks, mosquito nets, and games that burned in the fire. The surplus funding allowed the 23 clubs including the Rotary Club of Ponderay Centennial to finish building an abandoned dorm due to lack of government funds. Along with the completion of the dorm, the sanitation station was refurbished.
The dedication included the priest’s blessings of the updated buildings, the replaced burned items for the school and the affected students. Trees planted during the event honored the participants, guests, and the contributors. Other activities were inclusive of students entertaining with unique selections of traditional Kenyan talents the dignitaries and members of the Rotary Clubs of Kisumu Winam and Pasco-Kennewick.
Kris Troyer of the PK Rotary Club, manager of the grant, represented the District 5080 Rotary clubs via Zoom. She brought greetings and reflected on the value of education as growing community, country and world leaders.
