15 Years in 15 Days: Day 5

Day 5 of OWC’s 15 years in 15 days campaign takes us to 2016, where Livingstone Kegode and Fredrick Manzugu at the HIPAfrica school in Kenya told OWC that HIP was facing closure due to changes in Kenya’s educational zoning policies. As a first year teacher, I shared this challenge with my students, and my 6th graders Amelia and Christina responded by starting the Kenya Help project to fundraise the construction of new classrooms that would save HIP. Kenya Help got the attention of Microsoft Education, who posted Amelia and Christina’s efforts on the front page of their website. Fifty classrooms from around the world joined this effort, with a 5th grade teacher named Eric Crouch designing and 3D printing Christmas Ornaments with his students to raise money for the campaign. With the help of these classrooms around the world we raised $16,000 for the campaign. In May 2017, Professor Melissa Collum led OWC on a trip to visit HIPAfrica in person. There OWC Executive Director Connor Janzen worked with local architects to develop the blueprints to HIP’s new classrooms. Eighteen months after sixth graders Amelia and Christina started Kenya Help, HIPAfrica finished construction on their new classrooms and saved their school.