About Us
We work with rural Kenyan communities to improve education by providing and upgrading school buildings and teaching materials.
We have no overheads, so all your money goes towards the schools.
Who we are
HSK was founded in 1999 by two recent gap-year volunteers. Since then we have raised over half a million pounds and have completely transformed a dozen schools, several from new. Ngecho Secondary, which we started from scratch in 2006, came top in its district in 2009.
Unlike most similar charities, we are run by volunteers and have no offices, so virtually every penny we receive goes straight to schools and students in some of the very poorest areas of rural Kenya.
Our nine trustees together have more than seventy years' personal experience in Kenya, most visiting twice-yearly. We personally know the staff of every school we support, and we continually meet and track the students we sponsor.
Contact us with any enquiries
What we do
We work with poor rural Kenyan schools and their local communities to develop their educational infrastructure and provision. We believe that education is vital to economic wellbeing, political stability and social integration because it creates knowledgeable, responsible and productive citizens. Above all, a good education can lift whole families out of the cycle of poverty.
Our projects focus on four main areas:
Physical infrastructure
We fund construction projects ranging from whole new schools to classroom blocks, hostels and laboratories. We build to the highest standards so that children can learn effectively and local communities can take pride in their schools.
Books and equipment
We provide schools with up-to-date textbooks and high-quality lab equipment. Ngecho Secondary School, our flagship secondary, sports one of the best science labs in Kenya. Lereshwa Secondary School is to our knowledge the first rural Kenyan school to boast a fully-equipped IT lab.
Water
Children waste time and energy fetching water for school. We build water tanks which provide a constant supply of clean water for washing and cooking. Healthy, well-fed children learn better.
Bursaries
We sponsor needy Kenyan students to attend our schools and in some cases progress to Further Education.
Where we work
We work in the central highlands of Kenya, in the hills around the town of Gilgil. The area remains deserving of assistance. Educational standards are generally extremely low. Most of the population are subsistence farmers. And following the unrest of 2008, the region saw a massive influx of internal migrants which has placed a huge strain on resources.
We pride ourselves on our intimate knowledge of the Gilgil area and our excellent local reputation, because we believe that only through community support and involvement can schools make a lasting impact. We also regularly employ local labour, boosting the regional economy. Our chief carpenter went to an HSK school and has since trained three Gilgil 'street boys'.
Patrons and Trustees
To contact the trustees please email us.
Patron
The Duke of Richmond & Gordon
Vice Patrons
The Rt Hon Lord Luce PC · The Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford PC
The Rt Hon Sir George Young Bt MP · The Rt Hon Sir Anthony Evans
Sir John James KCVO CBE · Ambassador Nancy Kirui KBS
Trustees
Jeff Austen-Brown (Chairman) · James Bowyer
Richard Chadwick (Treasurer) · Clifford Dann MBE
Andy Jones · Faith Kagundu (Kenya)
Samrina Mir · Amie Willenberg
Nina Woodcock
Further Information
Briefing: Education in Kenya (July 2010)How to help us through donations, fundraising and expertise
Resources, maps, pictures and links in several languages - especially useful for students and teachers
Contact us
