Education

Andersen Primary School, Andersen High School and Andersen Vocational Training Centre are the main schools. They are all ran by the government now. The Trust also helps to build some new classrooms in other locations, for example Chepchoina Primary School. So it is not limited only to the farm, the Trust wants to assist to develop the whole area. 


Andersen Nursery and Primary School
A small Nursery and Primary school was started in 1998 with 2 classrooms. The school now has 3 nursery school classes and 8 primary school classes. Around 1000 children have been enrolled in the school. There is also a Special Needs Class for children with learning disabilities. In the Special Needs Class are 20 children and two teachers who are trained in special education. With support from Foundation Elimu Mount Elgon and donors Andersen Primary School has been further developed into a well-respected learning institution in the district. All the children are getting porridge once a day. At the moment there are 28 teachers. For the last 5 years the school has performed very well in the national exams always positioned among the top ten out of nearly 300 schools. In 2013 the Special Needs Home was opened. Some kids from the Special Needs Class are coming from far and are now able to stay during the week in the Home so that they can go to school. 

 

Andersen Nursery School

Students from Andersen Primary School just got new pencils

Students from Andersen High School

Andersen High School
After primary school children want to go to a secondary school, so in 2008 a secondary school was built, the Andersen High School. The school caters for around 800 students. Andersen High School has two dormitories. One for the girls and one for the boys. The original boy's dormitory opened in 2013 with a new dorm being completed in 2016. Since the girls dormitory was opened in 2011, the girls who boarded dormitory performed 18% better than the girls who did not stay in the dormitory. The school has been handed over to the government in order to receive government support for each student and to reduce the cost of salaries for the Trust. The Trust is still the main sponsor and as such heavily involved in the management of the school. 

Andersen Vocational Training Center
In 2012 the Vocational Training Centre was built. The VTC trains students for several arts and crafts. At the moment students can choose for Garment making, Fashion and Design, Building and Construction, Carpentry and Joinery, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Hospitality, Floriculture and Agribusiness. Garment making consists of tailoring and dressmaking. The students start by making clothes from paper. They learn how to stitch and sew. So at the end they finish with making real clothes and they know how to repair. In the course for Building & Construction the students learn how to design and construct a variety of buildings. The students who are doing the course Carpentry & Joinery learn how to make various types of furniture. They also learn how to construct roofs. 

        

Students working in the carpentry and .......

Clinical Officer - David Barasa

Individual sponsoring
Mount Elgon Trust also sponsors individual persons in cooperation with SOK and Elimu Mount Elgon. This is done to get better qualified personnel and to motivate them. Many of them are sponsored to achieve their degree in Medicine. Francis Mukoya, responsible for the HIV/Aids program, earned his degree in Community Health in June 2013. David Barasa, a clinical officer, is working to catch up his degree in Medicine. To sponsor an individual person is a difficult story. Because not only the training should be paid, but also the livelihood of those who will do the training and of his family. The Trust always set-up a contract that the person is cofinancing the training. After the training the person has to work for the Trust to pay his study back.