The school has one hundred and seventy five pupils, twenty six of whom have special needs, ranging from cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and visual impairment to learning difficulties, epilepsy and Down Syndrome. Five of the children are in wheelchairs. There are also orphans, some of whom have lost their parents through the HIV/AIDs.
The ALC charity aims to improve the environment at Aquinoe for all pupils by providing better facilities and equipment for everyone at the school.
There are several children who would benefit greatly from sponsorship, some of whom are orphans and others who are from very poor families. Details of these children are given below.
Some of the pupils at the school are older than the norm expected in Kenyan primary schools. These are some of the young people undertaking the vocational tailoring course, who are learning skills that will enable them to gain employment and be self sufficient when they leave Aquinoe.
Orphans
There are fifteen orphans at Aquinoe, only one of whom is sponsored. One or two of them are able to stay with grandparents or other relatives during the holidays, but most of them stay at the school as they have nowhere else to go.
Many of the children have lost their parents through HIV/AIDS and two of the children are HIV positive as well. These two are receiving drugs and are on a special diet.
It would be lovely if these children could all be sponsored but we realise that is unlikely to happen.
We are therefore starting a new initiative whereby supporters would be able to donate a much smaller sum of, say, £5 or £10 a month to the orphan group as a whole.
Sponsor a Child
If you would like to help with the education of an individual child, you can do so by contributing on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. The costs are given below within the summary of information for each child. The different sponsorship totals are usually related to the amount of medication required by the child.
It is possible to part-sponsor a child if you feel you would like to help but cannot afford the full cost. Please look at the matrix on the sponsor form.
Sponsorship, Gilft Aid and Standing Order forms can all be found here.
James Langoile Age: 6 years James is from the Pokot tribe. Traditionally these people were nomadic and relatively poor. James's parents are very poor. He has a sponsor ... Read More
Timothy Kimtai Age: 8 years old Timothy's mother is a single parent, and struggles to pay even a little to the school. Timothy suffers from epilepsy. He comes from Eldoret, over sixty kilometres away, so has to board. Timothy has ... Read More
Ibrahim Okumu Age: 6 years Ibrahim has one parent - his mother. She works at the Aquinoe Learning Centre but earns very little so cannot afford all of the fees. Ibrahim has a sponsor ... Read More
Lucy Njeri Age: 13 years Lucy's mother is now a single parent without any support. Lucy's brain was starved of oxygen at birth and she has microcephaly. Her father threw her out with her mother because of her problems. She ... Read More
The trustees have been concerned about the fate of South Sudanese refugees for over a year. Aquinoe Learning Centre had a number of them in the school of varied ages, some from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. The ... Read More
This week has seen the admission of a pupil at the Aquinoe Learning Centre. Nothing unusual about that at the beginning of a term, you might think. Perhaps not, but this pupil (M) is paralysed from the waist down and ... Read More
Pupils at the top end of the Aquinoe Learning Centre have been sitting papers for the KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) examinations in the last week. Lilyan Otagi, Chair of Governors (and herself a senior teacher at another school) ... Read More
Pupils are so grateful to be able to take advantage of the education and extra curricula activities at Aquinoe. EN wrote: "Life in school is usually very exciting. I assure you that even the new playground makes me happy. There's ... Read More
We have received some very moving letters from the sponsored pupils at Aquinoe and I wanted to share some of the comments. These are from some of the South Sudanese pupils and show how much they appreciate just being able ... Read More
M, who arrived at the Aquinoe Learning Centre just weeks ago in a wheelchair, has been receiving intensive physiotherapy and is now walking. Her wheelchair is folded up under her bed after two years of use. Her mother saw this ... Read More
Musical instruments, funded by Crieff Baptist Church, are being used in Sunday church services, and also in classrooms. The pupils love music, singing and dancing and really enjoy being involved in making music. It is unusual for girls ... Read More
Pre-school pupils graduated this week and will return into Grade One in January. They all look very smart in their gowns and hats, along with their teachers. ... Read More
The pre-school pupils who will be joining Grade One in January were invited to an official graduation ceremony, along with parents and friends. The headteacher, Linet Isinyen Mackenzie, and the Director, Josphat Shaduma, issued certificates. ... Read More
Pupils from Aquinoe have been participating in the local inter-county schools athletics competition. They look great in the sports kit sent by the Cherry Beach Football Club in Toronto and are proud to represent the school. ... Read More
We have received letters from some sponsored pupils. TW is a pupil who had polio and is in a wheelchair. This is a very poignant excerpt from her letter: "I am working very hard to see that I gain as ... Read More