It’s Ol Pejeta and PA-MOJA’s 10 year anniversary!

Between us, we have built classrooms, dormitories and IT centres. We’ve given bursaries to children who thought they’d never go to secondary school. We’ve connected students in Canada to students in Kenya and broadened horizons on both sides of the equator. Our partnership has given hope, education and a future to so many students, and we’re only getting bigger.

PA-MOJA (formerly PKSS) is an organization that helps facilitate the education of Kenyan students while supporting the conservation efforts of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

For many students in the communities surrounding Ol Pejeta, their dreams of higher education are never fulfilled. Most live below the poverty line, and their families simply cannot afford secondary school fees. The PA-MOJA/Ol Pejeta bursary scheme targets students from these backgrounds, and takes care of their educational needs through the four years of high school.

We have a ‘sister schools’ programme that involves 38 schools in Kenya, Canada, and the United States. Through this, we can fundraise for Kenyan schools and connect students from different countries. Students are able to chat, share their culture and exchange, ideas on topics at school through; exchanges, trips, letters, and Skype calls. These exchanges are proving invaluable in demystifying social and cultural stereotypes.

The third key project PA-MOJA and Ol Pejeta run together is the Butterfly Effect. This is where students from Kenyan schools carry out online research in collaboration with their Canadian peers, and publish it on an online platform. This encourages resource sharing and allows students to discuss their findings and ideas.

While Canadian students have visited Kenyan schools in the past, 2015 saw Kenyan students make the trip to Canada for the first time. Three boys from Tigithi Secondary School to the west of Ol Pejeta currently in Canada. Their performance in the Butterfly Effect programme was deemed outstanding and earned them a place on the exchange programme. They have travelled to Langley Fine Arts School in Canada along with Ian Mungai, the Ol Pejeta liaison for Butterfly Effect.

The trip has given them a chance to immerse themselves in Canadian culture, and gain invaluable insights, which will be shared with their class. It also provides the Canadian students and donors an opportunity to understand the impact of their role in Kenya. They boys are enrolled in Langley Fine Arts School and for a period of six months, and in addition to attending classes, will take part in PA-MOJA functions to raise funds for education and environmental projects for communities supported by Ol Pejeta Conservancy.