Primary lessons in partnership

Irish charity Suas has linked up with Gatoto primary school in Nairobi, Kenya, to introduce technology to its pupils

"Just because they are from the slum, does not mean they cannot succeed and that they cannot do better," says Ms Betty Nyagoha. In the high technology research centre MediaLab Europe, Dublin, she speaks of the Gatoto Community Primary School in Kenya where she is head teacher.

Against the odds, Gatoto, a community initiative, has given a solid education to 950 students. In Kenya, she says, three million children do not attend school at all because they are too far from a classroom or cannot afford the costs, despite government promises of education for all. In the slums, the situation is worse.

Though the Mukuru slum, where Gatoto is based, lies in Nairobi, where one might imagine that access would not be a problem, only 30 per cent of children attend school. Overall, 56 per cent of Kenyans live below the poverty line, up from 40 per cent in 1990.

Ms Nyagoha and her colleague, deputy head teacher Mr Joseph Aloo, were in MediaLab Europe (MLE) because of an unusual partnership that has arisen between it and Suas, a new Irish charitable organisation.

Suas, devoted to expanding educational opportunities for children in the developing world, wants to give stable, long-term support to schools such as Gatoto, and others in Calcutta's slums.

Part of that picture is to bring information technology into the schools, both for administrative support and to create computer labs for the students. MLE has given Suas a home in its Guinness premises, and will be involved in helping the organisation bring IT expertise into the communities it serves. "This is the right thing to do. We're incredibly gifted with the technology and resources we have, and returning some of that to the developing world is the right thing to do," says Dr Kenneth Haase, acting director of MLE.

Suas emerged out of the interests of Trinity students involved with the university's St Vincent de Paul branch, says Suas chief executive Mr Michael King. "Our aim is the provision of quality education to the poorest children in the developing world." He adds: "We got to understand the importance of contributing through education when €12,000 we raised put 400 children through school in Calcutta. Our experience with the schools in Calcutta made us realise that schools really needed the extra funds."

Stabilising school incomes through such donations meant teachers could begin to budget for the longer term and also meant the schools could guarantee children a meal, often the only nutrient-rich meal they receive each day, he says.

The group got involved with the Gatoto School because of its existing Irish links - a local Irish priest in Nairobi, Father Patrick O'Toole, has backed the school and St Vincent de Paul was already involved.Gatoto now has 950 students (300 had to be turned away this year due to lack of space), 23 teachers and seven support staff. It regularly performs in the top 10 per cent of Nairobi schools and is ranked at the top of Kenyan schools for its music and sports programs.

But 23 teachers means classroom sizes typically are more than 60 pupils and Suas hopes to relieve this situation by sending student volunteers out to both Gatoto and Calcutta as teacher's aids. Ten students leave for Gatoto in June for the summer, and Mr King hopes the programme will expand to rival the J1 American summer work visa programme for Irish students. Mr King stresses that students act as advisers or organisers but "as the humblest members of the class. We sit in the back and listen and then help the teachers to aid students as they do their work".

Gatoto has made special efforts to guarantee that supporters know exactly how the school is run, and where its funding goes, by placing all its accounts on the school website, www.gatoto.org. The site also gives detailed background about the school and its ethos. Mr King hopes other Irish technology and business organisations will support Gatoto and the Calcutta schools. Plans are under way to build a computer lab and vocational centre at Gatoto within the next 12 months.

For more information, see www.suas.ie and www.gatoto.org. Suas is at 01-474 2840.