What we are.....

pupils learning with volunteer

Star rays education center is a clearly outstanding community institution that serves a wide range of interests. It is a project that has lived up to its purpose since its inception in 2000 by Mr. Makechi William, a livestock extension officer with the ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development. Star rays is a formal school for Early Childhood Education(ECD) and Primary education, a learning center for farmers interested in improving their knowledge in farming, a community library and a church venue on Sundays.

The project is surrounded by impoverished villages around Nangili area in Likuyani Division of Lugari District, Western Province. The people around here, who crack their backs to earn a living from their small pieces of land that barely amount to an acre for each of them, are long time internally displaced persons, victims of tribal clashes that rocked parts of Turbo, Uasin Gishu and Bungoma Districts in 1992. This led to sub-division of the land to very tiny bits, conditions that galvanized their interests in better and more efficient methods of farming in a bid to achieve food security, good health and even generate income to allay the bane of their existence……poverty. As a corollary of the same environment, the education, dreams and aspirations of many youngsters, who had irrepressible quest for knowledge, just like their colleagues in the country, had been beclouded with hopelessness.

As a result, the establishment of Star rays Education Center was met with fervent enthusiasm by all as it revitalized the whole community and gave it a new dimension upon which to base their view. It even gave young children a chance to learn with the hope to pursue their dreams in future. Having been built around the themes of service to the community, the institution is flocked with farmers with a desire to benefit from a wide range of knowledge ranging from compost making to bee-keeping and marketing of farm produce. The training is also given a practical touch through video shows, PowerPoint slides and even live demonstrations in the center’s farm or successful neighbor’s projects.

During some scheduled periods of the year, work camps are organized at the venue to construct and repair roads, cleaning and sensitization projects. The venue receives volunteers from various parts of the world during such times and many others also come to do their research at the center as they voluntarily serve the local community too,

farmers learning

What muddies the water is that Star rays Education Center is fraught with numerous challenges. The children, though always bursting with energy and confidence, face a shortage of learning materials like books, furniture and other resources to boost their learning experience.  Despite the fact that efforts have been made to collect various publications, books and hand-outs given during workshops and seminars that farmers and other officials attend, farmers still lack learning materials. The institution has also subscribed to a few local agricultural journals to countervail the shortage but still this does not solve the problem  as you would find many farmers with dogged determination to learn struggling to read furled and wrinkled cut-outs of old newspaper articles that discuss related topics. Also, more rooms and halls are required to facilitate efficient service delivery at the multipurpose institution.

Still, Star rays Education Center has stood the test of time due to the strong pillars on which it stands. It has put all its problems on the back burner and by virtue of necessity, concentrated on the little it has to make something out of it. May Star rays live long to serve the community!