Building Hope, Learning Together
campaign for a new school Building
Challenging Context
Reasons for Celebration
The hardships faced by the fishing communities of Rusinga Island were explained by the founding volunteers of the CAITHS organization:
“Our people are dying. Poverty is everywhere, and HIV has left us with many widows and orphans. When a mother cannot feed her children, she will exchange her body for scraps of food. And so, HIV spreads further, and families are being headed by children. But how can THEY feed their little siblings? Even younger girls exchange their bodies for food. Girls of 14 and 15 are having babies, and so disease touches even the smallest children. Each year we become more desperate and are losing the joy of life; we are losing hope.”
KMMA not only educates these children, but provides food, medical care, and a stable environment for their growth and development.
It is a hub for local volunteers and dedicated school or clinic personnel who wish to make a difference — and are already doing so even in inadequate facilities. The steady success of the early years of KMMA-CAITHS will flourish with new, permanent facilities. Children and their community members will continue to thrive and see hope for the future.
Since its inception in 2016, the Kathy and Mike McNulty Academy has experienced unprecedented growth, more than tripling in size to meet the education needs of orphaned and vulnerable children on Rusinga Island, Kenya. The opening on site of St. Patrick Clinic in 2018 further improved the well-being of the students, and offers rural medical care services for the entire community. Yet, the needs of this impoverished community exceed the current location’s capacities. Both school and clinic have outgrown their small rented buildings, which were never intended to serve these functions. New guidelines from the Kenyan Ministry of Education for pupil facilities and changes in landscaping on neighboring farmland which flood the rented classrooms during heavy rains, both underscore the need for new educational and clinical facilities. Friends of KMMA-CAITHS is leading the charge to build a new school: one specifically designed to educate students and support community health and sanitation while keeping in mind local conditions for solar power, water, sewer, and ongoing upkeep. The new, nearby site will be a place to invest, grow, learn, and heal.
Our Goals
Friends of KMMA-CAITHS, in collaboration with our Kenyan partners, seeks to build a permanent home for the Kathy and Mike McNulty Academy.
The new Kathy and Mike McNulty Academy will be complete with classrooms, administrative offices, kitchen, cafeteria, library, and outside areas for learning, gathering, and playing.
A new St. Patrick Clinic, on the same property, will include a waiting room, examining room, consulting room, sick bay, office, and pharmacy.
Ample and beautiful, over an acre plot of land has already been purchased for our new home!
The aim for phase 1, to complete classroom space, is $150,000.
Building site for the future home of the Kathy & Mike McNulty Academy
Designate your gift for the Building Campaign by clicking “Please apply my gift toward:” and typing “Building Campaign”