First stone laid by Hilda Kibet
On Monday November 11, Kibet4Kids chairperson Hilda Kibet and her sister Sylvia Kibet (two times silver medal winner at the World Championships Athletics), laid the first stones for Kolol’s new classrooms. Our plan is to finish the first classroom before the end of the year, so that the pupils of Standard 4 can use it and will not be forced to sit outside.
Preparations were already done in October; the community of Kolol had worked hard in preparing the terrain of the school and in digging a foundation, while contractor Birech made sure many of the materials were transported to the school. Stones, sand, hardcore, bricks, cement; everything was there, waiting for the official start sign to be given. At 9.00 in the morning he field of the school was filled with children, parents and teachers. The mood was exuberant, the pupils showed their appreciation by singing a song and many parents came to thank Hilda, Hugo and the other Kibet sisters. Speeches were given by headmaster Kipyego and chairman Ego. They stressed that the community of Kolol has very little means and that without help from outside, it will be hard to establish good education. Classrooms, study materials, notebooks; there is a lack of everything. The headmaster wrote to the local government on many occasions, but always got the same answer; there was no money available. It looks like the government prefers to invest it’s small budget in schools in the major towns. That’s why Kolol is very happy with the help from Kibet4Kids. Furthermore, he promised that the school and the community would participate as much as possible in the project, but in planning and in acting.
Hilda Kibet, Sylvia Kibet and Hugo van den Broek took their turn to speak to the community. They took the chance to let them know that this project can only succeed when the community is actively involved. Even when the school has great classrooms, the whole project is doomed to fail when the children don’t do their best in school, or when the parents don’t stimulate their kids to read and study, or when the kids don’t have enough food to eat. From all sides we should work together to create good circumstances, to create the best learning environment for the children of Kolol. So that 10 years from now, we can say that also Kolol is producing doctors, teachers, nurses and lawyers. Our ideal is that Kolol primary school will become a top-quality school, that can compare itself with the schools in the big towns, and that anyone who works hard will be rewarded with good results.
After the speeches, the first stones were laid by Hilda and her sisters Sylvia and Valentine, together with a student from the school. As soon as this was done, the present workmen started their job of laying the foundation. In the next month Kibet4Kids will sit around the table with the teachers of Kolol, to determine which textbooks should be bought for the different classes. We will also employ a carpenter to make the new desks and chairs.