Kenya School Growth and Student Stories 2025
Heading to Kenya: Partnership in Action
Later this month, a group of 16 seniors and 2 faculty members from Blair Academy will travel to Kenya to visit and support our schools.
This annual trip represents an important part of the longstanding relationship between Blair Academy and Blair in Kenya—connecting students across continents through service, education, and shared humanity.
For Blair Academy students, the experience offers an opportunity to see firsthand how education can transform lives and communities. For our students in Kenya, it strengthens relationships, builds cultural exchange, and reminds them they are part of a much larger global community.
Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing updates from the schools and communities you continue to support.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to our recent campaign to build a new computer center at Blair Educational Centre. Thanks to your generosity, work on this exciting project will begin in early March .
We are also excited to share continued progress on the new academic building at Blair Educational Centre, which will expand learning opportunities for our growing student population .
Partner Spotlight: Building a School, Building a Future
This month, we wanted to highlight the people behind the work—the local leaders and students who make this mission possible.
Longtime Blair friend and educator Kathy Malley helped us tell these stories, focusing on the lives and experiences of our Kenyan partners and students.
Elly Adongo, Zilper Okumu & Brandon Otieno Onyango
Staff Spotlight: Zilper Okumu & Elly Adongo
How does an idea form, take root, and grow into reality?
Sometimes it begins with something as simple as looking out a window.
Years ago, Zilper Okumu watched very young children make the long daily journey to school. The village where she lived sat almost exactly between two existing schools, and she knew the walk was too far for many children. Some simply could not make the trip and, as a result, did not attend school at all.
She shared her thoughts with her husband, Elly Adongo.
Her idea was simple:
Their village needed a school of its own.
That idea took root—first in their hearts, then in their community, and eventually among people far beyond Kenya who believed in the power of education and worked together to help make it a reality.
Since the school began, Zilper and Elly have worked side by side.
Zilper has focused on the daily needs of students, teachers, and staff, while Elly has overseen the many construction projects that support those needs.
Both are proud of what the school has become and the difference it has made in the lives of students, families, and the wider community.
What began with just 107 preschool children, two teachers, and one staff member has grown into a thriving school community of more than 600 students, 19 teachers, and 12 support staff.
Over the years, a new grade was added each year, and the original two small classrooms expanded into a full educational campus.
Today, Blair Educational Centre provides much more than education.
Through the support of sponsors, over 200 children receive financial assistance to attend school—children who might otherwise not have the opportunity.
The school also provides:
✔ Nutritious breakfast and lunch each day
✔ A full-time nurse and school health center
✔ Annual medical clinics
✔ Science education
✔ Transportation
✔ Safe water systems
✔ Sports and extracurricular activities
Growing to Meet the Need
As funding has become available, the school has continued to grow.
Today the campus includes a large two-story classroom building, a kitchen, dining hall, rainwater collection tanks, school vans, a science lab, and a basketball court.
Elly is currently managing several important projects:
Completing the new flush toilets
Finishing the Clarke-Hutchinson Dining Hall
Beginning construction on a second classroom building
Exploring land purchases for a soccer field
Developing cultivated fields to grow food for school meals
Future plans include a computer lab, improved drainage and landscaping, and eventually a well to provide running water for both the school and the surrounding community.
These are practical improvements—but they are also investments in dignity, health, and long-term sustainability.
Dreams for the Future
Like the school itself, the future begins with ideas.
Zilper hopes the school will become known for its performing arts, especially through an established drama club. She dreams of a fully equipped computer lab that opens doors to new opportunities for students.
She also hopes to one day provide better teacher salaries, professional development, and staff housing.
Elly dreams of a wide green soccer field filled with students playing, additional play spaces for younger children, and a digital hub where adults and students can access streamed learning opportunities.
He imagines that one day the school could become a boarding school.
And yes—even have a swimming pool.
For Zilper and Elly, these may still be dreams.
But they know something important:
Ideas have a way of growing into realities.
And their school is living proof of that.
Student Spotlight: Brandon Otieno Onyango
I started school at Blair Educational Centre in 2016 when I was six years old. I am now fifteen and in my final year at a place that has been very important to me and my family.
The school’s Sponsor a Child Program made it possible for me to attend, even when my parents could not afford the tuition. This sponsorship relieved financial pressure on my family and allowed my parents to focus on caring for my other siblings. My younger sister was also able to benefit from sponsorship.
Being able to have breakfast and lunch every day has helped both of us.
My favorite subjects are mathematics and creative arts.
I love mathematics because it challenges me and helps me improve my problem-solving skills. Creative arts encourages us to create and think on our own, and I also enjoy the group work because I like being part of projects with others.
But school has taught me more than academic subjects.
It has taught me how to behave well, respect my elders, and be a good citizen in my country.
If I could give advice to new learners, I would say this:
Always pray. Work hard. Be determined.
After Grade 9, I hope to attend high school and continue working toward my career goals.
I want to become a judge.
When my father was alive, he used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I would jokingly say, “a judge.”
But over time, I realized that it was not just a joke—it was truly what I wanted.
Even my teachers have encouraged me, telling me that my performance in school shows I could follow that path.
I want to thank Quint and all his friends for allowing someone like me to go to school through sponsorship.
If it were not for this school, maybe both my sister and I would have dropped out.
Thank you for giving us hope in life.
Thank You for Making This Possible
Behind every classroom built, every meal served, and every child sponsored is a community of supporters who believe in creating opportunity.
Because of you:
Students are learning
Families are finding hope
Communities are growing stronger
Dreams are becoming possible
Thank you for being part of this journey.
We look forward to sharing more updates from Kenya in the weeks ahead.
— Quint Clarke
