Dear Reader,

Welcome to your July newsletter.

Oyawore!!

This means good morning in Luo, which is the local language from Kendu Bay. Today is a very good morning as we can tell you about everything the Geno Project has been up to since the last newsletter.

In this newsletter we will

introduce you to Josephine Awino another one of our graduates. Josephine is an extraordinary girl who fought hard to get her scholarship to secondary school and then went on to complete her bachelor degree. You will hear her own account of her journey.
give you an insight into the trustee’s visit to Osika last year. This was the first time all the trustees had visited Osika together. It was very successful!
tell you about the secondary school students meeting that was held by Solomon and Roselyn in April. They used this opportunity to discuss academic improvement with the students as well as their parents.

We now have 83 students that we currently support. 60 of these students attend secondary school and the other 23 students are attending or about to attend various universities/colleges. If Geno did not provide support to these young men and women they would be unable to attend school and university.

The number of students has grown significantly since Paul and Solomon originally started in 2005. It has been a privilege to see many of these students grow up to be very impressive young adults. We hope to continue supporting as many students as possible.

If you would like to support us with any of our scholarships you can donate by clicking the Donate button above.

We are also currently looking for a volunteer to drive our social media. If you are aware of someone who would be interested in taking this on a pro bono basis, please get in touch with us at the email provided below. We appreciate all assistance and financial support.

To find out more about the Geno Project please visit our website at www.genoproject.co.uk. Here you can read about what we do, donate and find out how else to get involved. Alternatively you can get in touch by email at info@genoproject.co.uk.

Your Geno Team
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Josephine

Hello,

my name is Josephine A. Awino. I am 22 years old.

I have been brought up by a single parent, my mother.

I come from Karachuonyo, Kanyaluo where l began my pre-primary education. I then moved to Osika Primary school in class five. When l reached class eight in 2007 I met Paul Macdonald, Iona Macdonald and Seonaid Macdonald through Solomon. This team promised a scholarship to the first two girls in that class that year. I therefore worked tirelessly hard to make sure that I got that scholarship since I knew my mum could not afford my high school fees.

When the results were out, l managed to get a total of 321 marks making me the third girl in the class. Unfortunately I just missed out on the scholarship. So I decided to go back to school and try my luck the following year. After all my hard work I was second best in the class.

I graduated from St. Stephen's Menara in 2012 and had a mean grade of B-. At first I was disappointed but when I called Solomon to inform him of my performance, thinking he would be disappointed with me, but instead he was very happy and congratulated me. He has always been a very positive man and not at any point has he been pessimistic.

I had always longed to go to the university just like my fellow classmates who were sponsored by Geno. I worked hard and graduated with second class Honours Upper Division in Bachelor of Education Arts with Information Technology from Maseno University last year. I specialized in English and Literature.

I want to thank Paul, Iona, Seonaid, Solomon and Rebecca together with the other Geno trustees. I am so happy that I never disappointed them. My main aim now is to further my studies, I would love to get back to university and complete a master’s degree. I long to be a professor some day in one of these big universities. I won’t let my dream fade. I would also wish to give back to the society, especially the less fortunate individuals.

Thanks and God bless you all.

Regards, Josephine

Trustee visit to Osika

Last November was a special event for the Geno project. All trustees were able to visit Osika together. This was the first visit to Osika for both Murray and Len.

It was a very eventful 3 day trip filled with many joyous moments to celebrate. We introduced Len and Murray to Kenya by driving across the country rather than flying to Kisumu as we normally do.

The visit started with a heart-warming welcome filled with song and dance. Both Murray and Len were introduced to the hundreds of people who came out to welcome us once again to their home.

That evening we visited the Osika primary school and had the honour to switch on the lights at the school for the very first time. This ceremony was a real accomplishment for the school considering where the school had started to what it has achieved now.

The following day we had an afternoon where we met with some of our sponsored students as well as their parents/guardians. It was an opportunity to introduce Murray and Len as well as discuss the procedures in place now in order to apply for a scholarship. At the same time it was wonderful hearing from the students and their experiences and how Geno has been integral to their progress.

The first four university graduates who were sponsored by Geno were also in attendance. After introductions they spoke about their experiences. Roselyne, Josephine, Jane and Jacob gave very impressive speeches. It was inspiring seeing how they have grown over the years.

On the final day in Osika the trustees sat down with Solomon, Rebecca and Roselyn to develop Geno’s strategy and plan for the next 5 years.

Our final day in Kenya we spent in Nairobi where we met up with a number of our sponsored university students for lunch. It was great to get to know them better and to understand the unique challenges they face, how we can help them more effectively and what they have achieved.

One challenge the university students mentioned was the lack of technology, specifically not having access to a laptop. When possible, the Geno project assists in the donation of laptops for the university students. Another issue that was mentioned was their commitment at home. They may be required to assist on the family subsistence farm or help raising younger siblings, especially when one of the parents is absent.

Once again this trip was filled with the hospitality and generosity of the people from Osika. It just reconfirms why the Geno project was started in the first place. Every year we go back it is filled with joy seeing how much has been accomplished at the school and seeing our sponsored students grow into successful and very inspiring young adults.

The Trustees have worked closely with Solomon and Roselyne since the visit to build on what we learned and convert plans into actions for the benefit of the students. For example our Kenyan university students are experiencing a unique challenge of obtaining report cards throughout their university career. In the past, obtaining a report card after completing a year, has been a requirement to continue the scholarship. This has proven quite difficult. Although we still require this, we are now working with the students to find a solution to this issue. Instead of penalising them, we are working with them to obtain other forms of evidence of their achievements.

Geno secondary day schools students meeting

On 14th April 2017 Solomon and Roselyn held a meeting at the resource centre in Osika. The Geno sponsored secondary school students as well as their parents/ guardians were in attendance. This meeting was planned to discuss academic improvement.

This included discussing problems that may arise in the students’ lives during their time at school. Some of the struggles that were mentioned were various setbacks, such as lack of concentration, lack of confidence in their work, lack of story books, lack of career guides etc.

Once the floor was open for discussion, the parents were very open and tried to urge the students to seize any opportunity to advance their education. Parents also stepped in and suggested motivating successful students with treats that would help them to continue their excellent performance.

Today was also an opportunity to find solutions to some of these issues. One suggestion was to introduce the secondary students to university students. This could be an opportunity for them to ask the university students any questions they may have as well as advice that could be helpful in being successful at secondary school.

It was also suggested that the Iona Hall at the Osika primary school should be turned in to a library, becoming a place for students to enhance their learning.

The students in Osika face similar problems that children attending a school in the UK would face. However these are much more extreme in Kenya and, they also face other more serious issues. If they did not have the support of the charity, then in most cases the students would not be able to attend school at all. It is often the case that families have to choose which child to send to secondary school, as they could not afford to send all of their children.

In addition where a child in the UK would go home, do their homework and perhaps a couple of chores, the children in Osika must help their family by working long hours on the farm often also looking after siblings. The charity enables the students to attend a boarding school which often alleviates these additional burdens.

In any organisation there are enablers and blockers, this meeting was a chance for all involved to discuss what these are and find solutions to them. In order to be successful it is crucial to continuously work on these. This was another time we could see how committed our sponsored students are. They want to achieve their very best. We will continue to try our very best to support our students in any way we can.