annual report

dec 2010 - nov 2011

www.kep.org.uk UK Company No. 04970135 (limited by guarantee) UK Registered Charity No. 1104888
2

CONTENTS
Page 4 Forewords from the Chairmen Page 5 Introduction Pages 6 to 9 About KEP Pages 10 and 11 Developing our Programmes of Delivery Page 12 KEP 2010 - 2011 Pages 13 and 14 Expansion to Kakamega Page 15 to 19 School Spotlights Pages 20 to 22 New Project Partnerships Page 23 Summer Research Page 24 KEP Expansion in London Page 25 to 29 Financial Statement Page 30 Acknowledgements
3

FOREWORD
Karibu from Kenya
Firstly, we would like to thank the project workers for the good work that they achieved in the summer of 2011. When visiting they were quieter than the previous groups that was a change for us! We praise the resilience of the PWs for withstanding the accommodation problems; we look to the future in 2012 to better this situation. This year has been a momentous year for KEP in terms of successfully expanding to a second site within Kenya. It was a pleasure to see how smoothly the expansion to Kakamega was organised. I believe that the partnership between the two sites will expand KEPs knowledge about education in Kenya and lead to a positive change within the charity. As a representative of the headteachers across all our partner schools we would like to take this opportunity to welcome all Project Workers (PWs) for next summer and celebrate their future good work. Lastly, we are delighted to welcome the new board members onto the Kenya NGO Board and we look forward to having a positive working relationship with them. Best wishes to all of KEP in England, and as always, asante sana.

Welcome from the UK

Welcome to KEP's Annual Report for 2010-2011. This is a really exciting time for KEP. Having worked in and around Kisii Town for the past two decades, summer 2011 saw us expand to our second Kenyan hub. Fourteen Project Workers travelled to seven partner schools around Kakamega, found in the west of Kenya just north of the Equator. Along with the PWs in Kisii over 34,000 was invested in Kenyan schools in total! Due to their successes, we'll be sending 20 PWs to Kakamega in summer 2012. I think this really shows the KEP values at their best - the ability to grow and adapt to our surroundings, our strong connection to the schools where we work, and the real, measurable impact we have on the ground in Kenya. I'm extremely proud of the work done by all of KEP's volunteers, and feel honoured to be a part of a charity that looks to improve and build its impact every single year. This academic year we have increased the number of UK universities we work with to four, establishing a student society at Kings College London. I'm really looking forward to our first four UCL PWs travelling to Kenya this summer, hopefully laying the groundwork for a long and successful relationship with our second London university!

Eliud Mogere
Chairman, KEP Kenya
4

Tom Ebbutt
Chairman, KEP UK

INTRODUCTION
Fiona Rushbook

Hello and welcome to the KEP Annual Report 2011. As youll soon read, weve had a very exciting year with a successful expansion to Kakamega, full integration of University College London (UCL), and record-breaking fundraising and Project Worker (PW) numbers. Building upon last year's successes, this year we have nearly doubled the number of PWs to 37, working in 19 schools. Subsequently we have held the largest ever KEP training programme, provided the biggest ever Summer Team with 4 Managers and 10 Coordinators and updated our KEP model and Programmes of Delivery (PoDs) which have worked equally well in both Kisii and Kakamega. None of this, however, would have been achieved without our first ever UK-based Project Manager Jake who provided the essential full-time capacity to facilitate our expansions during 2010-2011. Jake spent a great deal of time fundraising and managing our internal and external communications to Kenya and all the various Workstream Programmes. Through his fundraising efforts, KEP secured significant donations from the Allan & Nesta Ferguson Trust and the North South Travel Foundation, totaling over 7,000 which has given the charity a long-term development strategy. He also worked towards implementing further UK-based expansion to Kings College London, our fourth KEP university! Thank you Jake for all your hard work! This year has also seen the departure of Chris Trimble, who after a long and successful tenure, decided to step down as Chairman of the KEP Board. When Chris first got involved with KEP in 2000, there were no Workstreams, PoDs or a Management Committee KEP consisted of just 4 friends from Cambridge University! Chris and those early volunteers were fundamental in shaping, growing and sustaining KEP into the organization we are today. We wish Chris all the best with his new wife in the USA, and also welcome Tom Ebbutt as our new UK Chairman.
5

ABOUT KEP
Mission statement
Kenya Education Partnerships is committed to improving the secondary education opportunities of young people in rural Kenya. We work in direct partnership with schools, striving to build their capacity for sustainable, good quality education, primarily through investment in essential resources. Our programme offers a unique opportunity to talented UK students to both help improve our partner schools and experience life in a different culture.

Guiding principles
> Opportunity
Opportunity guides everything we want to do as an organisation. Ultimately, we aim to improve secondary education opportunities for young people in Kenya. We also place great importance on the opportunities we offer our UK volunteers starting with the Project Worker experience, and continuing through to opportunities to be involved at all levels in running an exciting charity.

> Passion
We are passionate both about the work we do, and the way we go about it. We place a high value on meeting our commitments and on doing a good job on time. We are also passionate about our friends: it is tremendous that we are a volunteer organisation, and we value a relaxed, positive and friendly attitude throughout our work.

> Responsibility
Above all, we want to be a responsible and ethical organization. This has several dimensions: Understanding the impacts (both intended and unintended) of our work in Kenya Being reflective and responsive as an organization Maintaining meaningful partnership with our schools Respect for all we work with Aiming for long term sustainability in our work

Our aims in UK

Offer a unique opportunity to talented UK students to live and work in a developing country. Promote understanding among young people in the UK about the realities facing developing countries, especially in the education sector. Deliver a high-class training programme that enables volunteers to maximize their beneficial impact in Kenyan schools, in tandem with their opportunities for personal development. Mobilize the skills and enthusiasm of students and young professionals, and give young people the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the running of a charity.

Our aims in Kenya

Work in direct partnership with schools to help increase the opportunities for young people to access good quality secondary education. Invest in each partner school, to build its capacity for delivering and maintaining quality education, primarily through a programme of tailored resource investment and development initiatives. Identify and select schools with greatest potential to benefit from our programme: typically in areas with low access to affordable secondary education and high potential for growth. Connect schools and students with exciting opportunities, for example by catalyzing partnerships between schools and: (1) existing service providers for specific education issues; (2) the Ministry of Education; (3) local businesses.

Kakamega

Cambridge

Kisii

London Oxford 7

Our strategy
This is achieved by sending talented university students from Cambridge, Oxford, University College London (UCL) and now Kings College London who fundraise money in the UK for investment in our partnered Kenyan schools. We invest heavily in resources and school development, working closely with school management to ensure that resources are fully utilised and our interventions are sustainable. We take a holis-tic approach, understanding that a good school offers much sources. As such we use our Programs of Delivery (PODs) to curricular activities, information regarding HIV/AIDS and educational opportunities. Our other interventions try to assist -resourced schools, through sports, music, art or drama. more than just good reimprove access to extraknowledge about postthe wider needs of under

Investing in academic education as well as their broader personal development does not just help at an individual level but contributes to the wider development of Kisii, Kakamega and Kenya as a whole. Students who have benefited from being at a KEP school will hopefully grow up to be able to invest their own wages, skills and time in their community and country. Our efforts over the last 20 years have been focused on the Kisii region in southwest Kenya and in 2011 we successfully expanded to a new project site in nearby Kakamega.

Updating our strategy

In the past, KEP has tried to instigate self-led growth for our schools by trying to attract more students to the school, which in turn brought greater income from school fees and provided schools with the finances to carry out their own investment. However, the introduction of Free Secondary Education (FSE) in 2008 has widened access to education, significantly increased enrolment and provided schools with a larger and more reliable income. However, our research shows that some schools are unable to put up with the pressure of increased enrolment. Therefore we have shifted the overarching aim of our Project Worker intervention towards building a schools capacity to deliver a quality education to its pupils.

The KEP model explained

KEP has a basic model which frames which schools we work with and how we work with them. The model was updated in 2008 after FSE was introduced and takes a realistic and sensitive approach, making a strong but conditional commitment to our schools. Following successful application and selection, each KEP partner school receives a base level of support. This involves investment and PW presence for two consecutive years, followed by a review between KEP and the partner school. The criteria for judging an appropriate and then a successful KEP school following PW investment are as follows:

Receptive management of

Selected School

staff

Lack of resources Community support Basic infrastructure to

KEP Assistance

support number of classes

Teachers: well-trained teachers with capacity and enthusiasm to run extra-curricular classes Management: Clear financial planning, expansion planning and leadership Resources: Well stocked library & lab with equipment

Graduate School

A Graduate School is one which achieves clear development targets, such as sustainable levels of growth, self-investment and rapidly improving exam results. No school enters this stage immediately, if at all. For example if a school is incompatible with the KEP programme or shows little commitment to the understandings outlined at the start of the partnership it becomes an Alumnus and will no longer be involved with the charity. However it is most likely that after the first 2 years, the school will pass into an X stage of the programme which is an undefined period of further investment that will be reviewed each year. We also continue to monitor our post-programme Graduate Schools closely and could return to the school if it would benefit from further investment. Graduate Initial 2 years Alumnus
9

X years

Our programmes of delivery

Kate Summers

A solid base of core books and equipment is fundamental to the success of a school. However these only form part of our Programmes of Delivery (PoDs). In addition, we work closely with the school management to ensure that the school has the capacity for these resources to be fully utilised and our initiatives are sustainable. This human investment includes:

Resource investment School development Gender equality

Health Posteducational opportunities

Sports, music, arts and drama

In light of our expansion to Kakamega, we are continuing to adapt these PoDs to reflect variations between sites and schools. The main areas in which PoDs have been undergoing change and improvement this year include: 1. An improved accessibility and range of PoD training materials by providing comprehensive access to successful case studies in a separate booklet, and online resources for PWs via a much-improved intranet, fondly named Karibunet. The Focus PW initiative has been launched in order to enhance the continuity of our approach to each individual PoD. Now PWs can express an interest in a specific PoD and receive extra training and resources in that area before they leave the UK - whether this involves the handover of past initiatives, of knowledge about suppliers, or of relevant research. They can then take this forward into new projects during their summer in Kenya. Issues concerned with cultural practices have been updated to reflect the ethnic specificities in Kisii and Kakamega. For example, female circumcision, unlike the male equivalent, is not very common in the Kakamega region. The PoD that was previously known as School Management has been rebranded as School development to reflect its accessibility and importance. This, we hope, will help future PWs to focus on how we work with schools to ensure they plan sustainably for their future developments. Furthermore, School Development now includes materials on how PWs can contribute to encouraging good teaching practice, and providing for different types of learner.
10

2.

3.

4.

The KEP structure

In Kenya
Kenyan NGO Board KEP was successfully registered as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) in April 2008. This gives KEP an official standing in Kenya. Four members of the Kisii community sit on the board and all have been very active in their support to KEP over the years. Head Teachers Committee (HTC) Set up in summer 2003, this committee brings all the head teachers together. We meet annually with past and present Head Teachers at the Head Teachers Conference held in the first week of the ten week summer period. Summer Support The PWs are supported throughout their time in Kenya, with members of the MC, UGCs and Workstreams offering Summer Management and Coordinator assistance at each site.

In the UK
Board of Trustees This is made up of 6 former members of the MC, including a chairman. They are legally responsible for KEP and take care of the charitys legal responsibilities and provide continuity within KEP. Management Committee (MC) This is KEPs management team, formally known as the Steering Committee (SC). It is made up of 6 people, 5 core members, and a UGC Manager. The MC are responsible for the day-to-day management of the charity via the WSLs, by acting as the main decision-makers on operational matters and ensuring effective communication across the charity. Workstreams Leads (WSLs) Workstreams Leads are responsible for key areas of work, overseen by the MC. These include (but not limited to) Finance, Fundraising, PoDs, Training, Legal, Knowledge Management, Communications and Marketing. Workstreams comprise of individuals who have already been a PW. Undergraduate Committees (UGCs) These are made up of returned Project Workers still studying at Oxford, Cambridge or London who have stayed involved in the charity. The UGCs are responsible for day-to-day operations, such as recruitment, training and fundraising. Project Workers (PWs) Students from Cambridge, Oxford, UCL and now Kings College London, who are the core to the charity, fundraising in the UK and spending 10 weeks in Kenya each summer to deliver the PoDs.
11

Project Researchers (PRs) These may be graduate students or undergraduate applicants who have shown a special interest in and talent for research. After spending six months designing a project, they travel out to Kenya over the summer to investigate and improve a part of KEP's work.

KEP 2010-11
Investment breakdown
Over the summer, KEP invested over 34,000 of donations into improving the quality of secondary education for over 2000 Kenyan pupils. See below for an approximate breakdown of expenditure.

37 Project Workers from UK universities:

Cambridge (13), Oxford (12), UCL (12)

9,100 on textbooks 4,700 on science equipment 11,900 on school building costs 3,700 on supply storage 1,300 on PoDs

Worked in 19 Kenyan schools: Kisii - 23 PWs in 12 schools Kakamega - 14 PWs in 7 schools

PW expenditure 2010-2011
9% 4% 27% 11% Infrastructure Storage PoDs Other (including several large purchases of ICT equipment) Science equipment Textbooks

14% 35%

12

EXPANSION TO KAKAMEGA

Why expand to a second site?

Helen Mackreath

After expanding to University College London in 2009 we considerably increased our volunteering capacity. This meant that our aim to improve the quality of education in Kenyan District schools could be realised on a much greater scale. Increasing Project Workers in Kisii would have placed too much pressure on one site, and expansion also allowed us to diversify our impact. Alongside the solid support of people working in the charity, our ever-increasing success in Kisii and the UK has meant that our ambitions to increase our work can now be achieved.

Why Kakamega?
In November 2009 Anna Kim, a University of Cambridge PhD student, was appointed to carry out research into potential expansion opportunities in East Africa. She conducted six weeks of desk-based and seven weeks intensive research around potential sites in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Criteria for a site included:

Local environment such as political stability and healthcare provisions. Logistics such as access to Kisii and an international airport. Education levels, under-resourced schools but good support from the District Education Officer (DEO).

Local community support. School profile whether they fit the KEP Model. As a result of this research, Kakamega (in western Kenya) was selected as KEPs

first expansion site, due to its proximity to Kisii and prevalence of under-resourced schools.
13

The expansion process

To manage the expansion, Jake Peters was appointed as KEPs first fully-employed UK Project Manager. In April 2011, Jake spent an intensive three weeks in Kakamega conducting school visits, sourcing central accommodation within the town and establishing vital contacts for KEP. Rising to the challenge Jake, visited a total of 21 schools within the Kakamega Central, East, North and South districts following meetings with the corresponding DEOs. Using an existing contact in Kenya, Jake was introduced to the Ochien family Mike, a headteacher in Kakamega East, and his brother John, whose house we used as central accommodation in the summer. A number of other contacts were also made in Kakamega in these three weeks including Luka, a local businessman, who provided key information about the area. The final school selection for Kakamega was made shortly after Jakes return to the UK alongside members of the Board and Management Committee.

First summer in Kakamega

KEP enjoyed a very successful pioneer summer in Kakamega in 2011. We sent 14 Project Workers to work in seven schools, in addition to a team of seven coordinators who were tasked with conducting 24 school visits in order to select five more schools in which to invest during summer 2012. Alongside these achievements, further meetings were held with the DEOs across the region to consolidate the initial contact Jake made and continue to raise awareness of KEP in Kakamega. We also held meetings with various local NGOs working in Kakamega: Yes Youth Can, Western Education Advocacy and Empowerment Program (WEAEP) as well as Massinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in the hope of creating new partnerships. In Kakamega Schools, Project Workers were received with great enthusiasm and co-operation by Head Teachers. Their work spanned the purchasing of resources, such as textbooks, science equipment and library storage space, the implementation of more efficient library systems and the coordination of health, career and teacher training visits. The feedback from Headteachers at the debrief session held at the end of the summer was overwhelming in its support for our work.
14

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS
School Spotlights 1: Kerongeta Secondary School, Kisii
First Year School Jessica Macaro and Jan Freyburg (2011) Kerongeta School is headed by a lovely man who has very high ambitions and has already made large improvements in his first year at the school. However on arrival we found the school had a ratio of one textbook to eight students and an average grade D- (MSS of 2.42). The library was tiny (half the size it is now), very messy and dark, - we even found rats eating the mock exam papers! There were very few books, despite the school having made an investment earlier in the year. The library was therefore our main priority. We bought over 450 textbooks for the school, increased the size of the library, made shelves, chairs and a table (for students to read reference-only books), and organised all the mock exam papers so that they were more accessible. To make these changes sustainable we also created a new index card system for borrowing which should enable the library teacher to keep track of books more easily, and we covered all the books in plastic to make them durable. We also established that the schools most serious long-term problem was that students often could not afford to pay for their lunch fees. This was adding to the schools debt. So, to provide a source of revenue we planted 400 gum tree seedlings, which can be sold as timber with 200% profit in 5 years. Other projects included improvements to rainwater collection tanks, heath awareness and HIV/AIDs testing and counselling and investments in sanitary towel at wholesale price to sell in-school to the girls. Since Kerongeta is a first year KEP school it will benefit greatly from subsequent investments especially in infrastructure and extracurricular projects.
15

Jessica Macaro

School Spotlights 2: St. Don Bosco Secondary School, Kisii

Third Year School Anneka He and Sasha Edwards (2009) Eoin Dore, Leila Jameel and Esme Nichols (2010) Charlotte Beck and Bobby Sachdev (2011) Bobby Sachdev and Charlotte Beck Without a doubt, St. Don Bosco is an inspiring example of how much an enthusiastic school management can achieve despite the diverse challenges Kenyan district schools are facing. Upon arrival, we immediately knew this was not a typical KEP school. It had the highest KCSE score in the district, electricity in all its classrooms, and a dozen computers. However, above all else, it had Samuel Castro Mabeya. Without Samuels constant efforts to sustain and further improve the schools performance, our work in facilitating the schools impressive development over the past years would never have made such an impact. In the first two years, KEP Project Workers had installed electricity to the school, improved library facilities and assisted in purchasing a number of computers. In 2011, the schools third year of investment, we brought the development phase full circle by installing a science laboratory, including gas and water fittings, and a water tank with sufficient harvesting capacity. Attempting to assist Don Bosco with its ambitious plan to go double stream, we also decided to invest in more textbooks for incoming Form 1 students, as well as increasing the availability of study space in the school library. As part of our efforts to increase awareness for health and hygiene, we installed washing facilities for students outside the toilets. Alongside this, we organized a WellBeing Week and offered free and voluntary HIV testing to the students. Other projects included the creation of the position of a Careers Teacher to reduce the workload of the existing Guidance and Counselling teacher, a Careers Day, a Gender essay competition, a Sports Day and an Entrepreneurship Day. By the end of the summer, we also decided to enter new KEP territory and apply for a grant provided by the Global Education Fund to build boarding facilities for girls at the school. In the wake of the heavy burden female students carry in rural Kenya

16

to this day, and particularly in the Kisii region, we decided to try and raise more money to help improve learning facilities for the girls. The award of $5,000 CAD for the implementation of our proposal will certainly contribute to St. Don Boscos efforts to remain a centre of excellence and hope in the Kisii region.

School Spotlights 3: Sisokhe Secondary School, Kakamega

First Year School Margherita Phillip & Oliver Vikbladh (2011) Margherita Phillip Mr Soita Muhuyi, Headmaster of Sisokhe Secondary School, has worked hard to keep the school together, planting sukuma, beans and maize for school lunches and investing hugely in Eucalyptus trees that will hopefully one day give the school a considerable lump-sum for investment. Additionally the Deputy, Madame Patricia Kehodo, introduced a single uniform and tightened general discipline, earning the management a positive reputation with the students. Oliver and I lived with Patricia in one half of the house on the compound reserved for the head and his deputy. During our stay, we spent the majority of our budget on books, binding material, a computer and printing off topical revision questions. All of this cost much energy and required careful planning. But it was the health days and temporary boarding that elicited the longest meta-level discussions. Can it be right to invest in one-off projects like this? Does it fit with the sustainability mantra of KEP? Our conclusion was: yes. The health day lowered thresholds. The talks gave new insights, but the brilliant health worker also addressed taboo topics in a very open way, with students grinning broadly at the condom demonstrations, but also commenting with an earnest face that they had learned much previously unknown to them. I am sure that each of the students who spoke to Mary or Josephat, both openly HIV positive, will no longer attach the same stigma to HIV as before. Several students pledged that they would get tested again and some even said they would tell their siblings to get tested, too. There was one project, however, that went beyond my enthusiasm about our library system and book investments. It came at the beginning, from our discussion groups with curious students to break the ice. The girls mentioned one thing in particular: their wish to sleep at the school just like the boys. A group of boys, mainly
17

Form Four, were sleeping on the classroom floors at night in order to use the schools electricity after nightfall for their studies. We raised the issue with Soita which resulted in writing a letter to the parents of these girls, asking them to come and discuss the option of temporary boarding for their daughters. Matters were complicated when we found out that we would need much better security and fencing to meet the standards of safe boarding. We would need a female to stay with the girls, to ensure they wouldnt sneak out at night; but the matrons family lived too far away. However, after much enthusiastic discussion, it was decided that those parents who believed in the project and had sufficient trust in their daughters would allow them to stay at school. The girls would stay in the Dining Hall, a curtain separating their sleeping area from the main part of the hall, and they would be allowed to cook whatever their parents would give them in the school kitchen. We bought the fabric the week after, and brought it to the village seamstress to start on the project. It was a fantastic achievement which could have occurred without the support of Soita or the Sisokhe community.

School Spotlights 4: Esokone Secondary School, Kakamega

First Year School Beth Fiddes & Max Whittaker (2011) Max Whittaker Whilst still in the UK, Beth and I agreed that we wanted to work in a smaller than average school (which contained under one hundred students), feeling that we could make a greater difference to its infrastructure and also because we liked the idea of integrating ourselves in a small environment. When we first arrived at Esokone Secondary School by taxi, though, we noticed how small it really was. The school was composed of a single block containing four classrooms plus a separate, unfinished teaching block. A temporary staffroom was situated in the adjacent primary school only fifty metres away. Nonetheless, we were impressed by the hospitality and warmth we received from the principal, the staff and all the students. Once we began our work, sitting in on lessons and talking to both staff and students, it quickly became clear that the school was very short of textbooks. After a bit of work with an inventory, we discovered that the book to student ratios were as bad as 1:7 in some areas this was clearly a big problem for the school, so we invested more than half our funds to try and plug this gap. It was clear that the principal was anticipating books by the fact that he had already acquired a large cupboard nonetheless, it also required extra shelves, which we eventually installed. To promote the sustainable use of these textbooks, we also set up a library cataloguing system, which included a book register so that the teachers could record which student had a par18

ticular book. We also noticed that the wall separating two classrooms was only partially complete, which proved to be an inconvenience for some students because the bellowing sounds that came from a very noisy teacher in one class were heard by the students in the other. We therefore employed a carpenter to finish the wall at a fairly cheap price. Given the size of the school, we were perplexed as to why the Board of Governors and the Principal thought it was necessary to build two laboratories and an administration block. We later proposed to them in a BoG meeting that it would be better to only build one laboratory, using the second space for a library. We were excited to find out a couple of days later that the board of governors had agreed to our proposal. Particularly important to us was what Beth and I discovered about some female students being absent from school on a regular basis. It was evident that due to the severe poverty of the area these students could not afford basic sanitary towels, which led them to feel too uncomfortable and embarrassed to turn up for classes. We decided to provide a short-term solution for this problem by giving the school with a supply of sanitary pads which could be sold to the students at a heavily discounted price. Then Beth began to do some much-needed research into this matter in the Kakamega region, with the intent to try and organise a long-term partnership between the school and a cheap supplier. Although she managed to secure a meeting with a director of a well-known brand of sanitary towels in Nairobi, the person she had arranged to meet up with did not turn up! (Kuwakaribisha kwa Kenya!!).

19

NEW PROJECT PARTNERSHIPS

The KEP NGO liaison plan
Jenny Jones

Liaising with external NGOs is something that KEP has always considered, and had experience on a number of occasions. From partnerships with health NGOs to solar panel charities, Project Workers have often taken the initiative in thinking through how our work could be enhanced. By linking up with various NGOs, KEP's efficacy, breadth and depth of work can be improved. Partly prompted by the move to Kakamega this year - the home of many well-established developmental NGOs - KEP has decided to have a thorough review of how we partner with NGOs going forward. Subsequently we are creating a framework through which we can assess which NGOs we can most benefit from partnership. This will be based on the type of NGO, the contribution they offer i.e. product based or advice-based, the area in which they work, and the involvement of their people within KEP to name but a few criteria. We need to establish a balance between ensuring the KEP experience is not diminished nor the consistency of our message diluted, whilst pursuing the greatest impact in Kenya as efficiently as we can. Watch this space for the outcomes of our discussions on this framework, but we hope by 2013 to have a much more coherent way of partnering with many fantastic developmental NGOs! As a taster of the kinds of work we can incorporate into KEPs remit, very excitingly we are piloting a partnership this year with I-Rise, a charity which will train the Project Workers in how to teach Kenyan women about making reusable, sustainable sanitary towels. With so many girls missing days off school during their period and unable to buy single-use sanitary towels, this could be a revolution in providing the opportunity for girls to take full advantage of their education. KEPs Gender POD and Health POD provision would greatly benefit from I-Rise mwezi reusable sanitary towels made from this relationship with I-Rise. locally sourced and easily available materials such as old tshirts, stitched together in a simple but effective manner.

20

The Sustainable Agriculture Movement (SAM)

Elizabeth Kartawick Despite Free Secondary Education since 2008, many students still struggle to raise external fees. For a matter as small as lunch money or stationary, a student may not attend school due to embarrassment. This is a shameful state of affairs however, rather than berating the government, it is important that action is taken at the grassroots level in order to achieve a level of self-sufficiency. The problem, however, is that though many of their parents are farmers, many students do not know how to farm as a result of full-time education, which they believe can help them towards different careers. Though some may achieve this, many students will have to resort to farming. This may be because of extravagant university fees, or due to their need for an income whilst trying to achieve the grades to gain a place at one of them, and a lack of alternative employment opportunities. Furthermore, since the advent of intensive monoculture and the replacement of indigenous species with their more pest-prone counterparts, farming is not only difficult and expensive (more and more fertiliser is required each year to yield the same quantity of crops) but it is also hugely damaging to the environment. Monocultures remove biodiversity and exhaust the soil if crop rotation or fallow periods are not employed (which in most cases they are not). Many locals will also illegally remove resources from the forest to supplement their income when yields or prices are low. For Kakamega Rainforest, a place of incredible beauty and diversity, which has an important role in the regulation of many natural processes, such damage is clearly a major concern. During my time at Mukulusu Secondary School, I therefore travelled between various NGOs and local grassroots organisations to discuss possible ideas for creating a project that could enable students to earn some money whilst learning vital agricultural skills. To combat all three problems - revenue for external fees, skills for a career in agriculture and minimising damage to the environment I collaborated with the local Youth Growers Training Association (YGTA) to create a sustainable agriculture project. It was agreed that YGTA would attend the school weekly to instruct the students in sustainable agriculture practices by getting them directly involved with the work whilst educating them about the benefits of selfsufficiency and the nutritional content of the crops
21

that they were growing. Students were then encouraged to set up their own small-scale gardens at home. I then created a workshop, inviting representatives from around 10 schools from the surrounding area, to gauge the enthusiasm for projects such as these and thus the possibility for future expansion. There was unanimous interest in the project, so I sought an interview with the CEO of Nakumatt (Kenyas largest supermarket) to discuss the possibility of selling the projects produce to them. I was granted the interview and discussed the proposal in Nakumatts headquarters in Nairobi before travelling home. The outcome was that Nakumatt are willing to buy the produce. What remains is to expand the project in order to make the transport of the produce to Nairobi worthwhile for the schools and its students. Since returning to the UK, I have met up with the programme manager for one of the Interclimate Networks latest projects, International Climate Change Kenya. Mr Whitehead has shown huge interest in the project and particularly the contacts I forged between the schools and Nakumatt. He is hoping to incorporate many KEP schools into his network by summer 2012 and work towards creating many similar projects (as well as my own) that aim to achieve the same goals. I remain in frequent contact with the Interclimate Network, YGTA and the Nakumatt manager of the Kakamega branch.

22

SUMMER RESEARCH
Ashley Craft & Kate Summers The Research Workstream in KEP is entering its third year with a new position, the Focus PW, and more research projects than ever before. This summer, the research team will be doing projects on the Kisii local economy and job market, levels of political engagement amongst students, and KEPs preferred approach to supporting sanitary towels in schools. Last summer, Kate Summers conducted a qualitative research project to explore the impact of interventions made by KEP to promote gender equality. The research report is currently undergoing completion, and will be fed into PoD strategy for the KEP year of 2012-13 as well as existing as a source of reference for this years PWs. Kate carried out interviews in 10 schools, some that were pre-KEP investment, some that were actively involved with KEP at the time of the interviews and some that were post-programme schools. Interviews were conducted with a group of female students, a group of male students, and the guidance and counselling teacher(s) in each school. The questions were structured in such a way that an explicit discussion of gender was not broached by the interviewer until later on in the discussion before finally tapering the discussion to look at KEPs involvement in changing gender attitudes and realities. This meant that it could be seen if the factor of gender arose unprompted in more general discussions of students experience of school, home, and plans for the future or if other themes in fact took precedence.

best can we address this [gender inequality]? Its possible, its possible, though its very difficult, because society itself has great force, and to some extent it is difficult Some [girls] will change, and you know the percentage can be around 5, 10%, after which maybe it will go, multiply, and then maybe affect the others later on.
Female guidance and counselling

How

teacher, September 2011.

Preliminary results suggest that the ability to create sustainable change in an area such as gender is very difficult. There was considerable variation across KEP schools, although the impact made on students who were in direct contact with PWs in a KEP school was much more uniform in terms of the positive opportunity which existed for students and PWs to exchange ideas and compare cultures. In addition, common ways of thinking about gender equality issues, practical solutions, and specific initiatives that have worked have been identified by interview participants which can be taken forward by KEP. It will be exciting to incorporate the priorities and perceptions of the students and staff involved in these interviews into our work surrounding the promotion of gender equality.
23

KEP TAKES ON LONDON

Consolidation in UCL and expansion to Kings
Esme Nichols KEP has flourished in London. University College London (UCL) was fully integrated into KEP during 2010/11 and the university has already provided 11 capable Project Workers for the summer 2012. Furthermore, the UCL Undergraduate Committee (UGC) have successfully initiated a KEP expansion to Kings College London (KCL). KCL has roughly 19,000 students, compared with UCLs 24,000. The main campuses of these two multi-disciplinary university colleges are less than 2 miles apart in central London, were founded in the 19th century within 5 years of each other, and have enjoyed a strong, historic rivalry since! Due to the outstanding efforts of the UCL UGC four Project Workers have been selected for this coming year. The process, although challenging, has produced a wealth of information which will improve further KCL recruitment, and inform future expansion to other universities. In particular we now know what KEP particularly needs to focus on at UGC level including;

Advertising as widely and professionally as possible Converting enquiries into applications by improving the way KEP is presented from the outset.

The plan is for the London UGCs to remain joined to an extent next year, but devolve as much as possible to Kings. Under the guidance of the UCL UGC, I am confident that KEP KCL will go from strength to strength. Id like to thank my amazingly competent, fun, efficient, friendly and patient UGC in alphabetical order for all their help and ideas: Bobby Sachdev, Charlotte Lennon, Molly Manning, Rishik Menon and Sui Hang Hui. Thank you for putting up with my fluctuations in efficiency and blind optimism! I feel weve learned a lot from the recruitment process, not least to temper our excitement, and hone our determination.

24

FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Kenya Education Partnerships (a company limited by guarantee) Report & Financial Statements: 01/12/2010 to 30/11/2011 Company number: 04970135 Charity number: 1104888 Report of the trustees for the year ended 30/11/2011 The trustees present their annual report and the audited financial statements for year ended 30 November 2011. The preceding part of this report gives a detailed view of activities during the year and future developments, which are expected to continuing for the foreseeable future. Net outflow of resources within the charity for year was 5,194.

the rebe the

Income and expenditure in the year included 75,943 of money raised by Project Workers of Oxford Kenya Education Partnerships (OKEP), Cambridge University Kenya Education Partnerships (CUKEP) and University College London Kenya Education Partnerships (UKEP) towards school resource investment on behalf of the charity. Expenditure increased due to an increase in grants for resource investment in East Africa paid to OKEP, CUKEP and UKEP which were 67,000 for the year. Reserves are split between 'restricted' and 'unrestricted'. 'Restricted' reserves can only be used for the specific project(s) for which the donors have specified upon making their donation. Trustees: The trustees who served throughout the period are as follows: Tom Ebbutt, Matthew Sims and Rebecca Mahoney. Elizabeth Milligan, Steve Grycuk and Shalini Raste joined the Board on 1/9/2011. Chris Trimble finished his term on the Board on 1/9/2011. Secretary: Tom Ebbutt. Registered office: 37 Raddon Tower, Dalston, London, E8 3GN Bankers: Barclays, 14 Upper Street, Islington, City of London, N1 0PQ Auditors: Given that gross income is less than 90,000 per annum, Kenya Education Partnerships does not require an independent audit. Kenya Education Partnerships strives to achieve high levels of internal control.

25

Statement of trustees responsibilities United Kingdom company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its surplus or deficit for that period. In doing so the trustees are required to: (1) (2) (2) (3) select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for the system of internal control, safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

26

All of the above result from continuing activities. There are no recognised gains or losses for the current year other than as stated above. The deficits for the year for Companies Act purposes comprises the net outgoing resources for the year and was 5,194 (2010: 1,431). For the year ended 30/11/2011 the company was entitled to an exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The Members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The Directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 4th May 2012. Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Tom Ebbutt Trustee

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the balance sheet and statement of financial responsibilities.

27

Notes to the accounts year ended 30 November 2011 1. Accounting policies The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2006) applicable United Kingdom accounting standards and the Companies Act. The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are described below. Donations and grants Income from donations and grants, including capital grants, is included when these are receivable, except as follows: (1) When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods. (2) When donors impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitle to use such income, the income is deferred in incoming resources until the pre-conditions for use have been met. When donors specify that donations and grants, including capital grants, are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions of entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds when receivable. Income raised by project workers for resource investment represents those funds which were legally donated to the charity during the course of the financial year ended 30 November 2011. Additional funds were raised in the year by Oxford, Cambridge and UCL university societies. These additional funds were directly expended on Kenya Education Partnerships charitable activities in East Africa. Gifts in Kind Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Resources expended Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activates on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered. Tangible fixed assets Individual fixed assets costing 1,000 or more are capitalised at cost. No such assets are held. Fund accounting Funds held by the charity are either: (1) Unrestricted general funds: these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees. (2) Designated funds: these are funds set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects in accordance with the charita28

ble objects. (3) Restricted funds: these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor of when funds are raised for specific particular restricted purposes. 2. Legal status of the charity The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. 3. Staff costs and trustees remuneration KEP employed one member of staff during the period. The trustees did not receive any remuneration. 4. Unrestricted funds of the charity

5. Restricted funds

6. Related parties The charity has a very close relationship with the Oxford Kenya Education Partnerships (OKEP) and Cambridge University Kenya Education Partnerships (CUKEP) and University College London Kenya Education Partnerships (UKEP). These are university societies to which the charity provides support. During the period the charity paid grants of 67,000 (2009: 45,378) to university societies for school resource investment in East Africa. This represents money raised on behalf of the charity for this restricted purpose by Project Workers of Oxford Kenya Education Partnerships, Cambridge University Kenya Education Partnerships and University College London Kenya Education Partnerships.

29

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Wed like to thank everyone who has supported and sponsored KEP over the last year. In particular we would like to acknowledge; All Saints Church, Marlow Allan & Nesta Ferguson Trust BP Travel Award Cambridge Careers Service Bursary Caroline Fry Churchill College, Cambridge David Richards Travel Grant Don Baxter Donald Robertson Travel Grant Emmanuel Travel Grant Goldeny Ball Isaac Newton Trust Kevin Cummings Linklaters LLP Lord Mayors Trust Mary Euphrasia Mosely, Sir Bartle Frere & Worts Travelling Grant Mr Maurizio Sciortin Mr Ravi Menon and Mrs Sujja Menon Mr Stefano Occhiuto and family Mrs Anna Luise Mrs Luisa Cola Mrs Rosaria Cola Ms Cheah Yin Mee Mr Wong Seng Hon Murray Edwards College JCR Travel Grant North South Travel Foundation Rotary Club Selwyn College, Cambridge The KEP Headteachers committee The Students and Staff of University College London, Faculty of Law

30

KEP SCHOOLS 2010-2011

Kisii
Eronge St Thomas Turwa Amaiko Riagumu St Catharines Iranda Kerongeta Nyarainga Omobiri Tendere (post programme) Nyaburumbasi (new) Nyanko (new) Graduated in 2011: Kiogo Don Bosco Nyachenge Nyomonaria

Kakamega
Esokone Lirhembe Lwanda K Malimili Mukulus Shidodo Sisokhe

New to the programme: for 2012 Ivona School St. Joseph's Shibinga 'W' School Demesi School

Report compiled by Tom Hutchby and Fiona Rushbrook 31

www.kep.org.uk UK Company No. 04970135 (limited by guarantee) UK Registered Charity No. 1104888