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Supporting Education - Emarti School Project ‚ update Feb 2019.

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Pictured: AIRKENYA Commercial Director John Kimondo‚ points out a possible site for the Dormitaries to AIRKENYA‚ General Manager‚ Capt Dino Bisleti together with Board Member Nico Spangberg and the Emarti School Board.

EMARTI PRIMARY SCHOOL‚ MAASAI MARA GROWS FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH THANKS TO AIRKENYA

The Emarti Primary School‚ is now a fully operational Primary School.  By the end of 2018‚ AIRKENYA has ensured all eight primary classrooms are built. The school also boasts a library with school text and reading books donated by Airkenya‚ Wildlife Safari Ltd‚ and passengers who donated monies and or bought the books that have been donated to the Emarti School Library.  The school administration have an office.  An ablution block has been put in for the children.  Running water is provided too after a borehole was dug and a bio septic tank were put in to take care of grey water.  The two bed-room teachers house – one of the first buildings built by AIRKENYA - has come in handy with up to four teachers living on site.  The school is lite by solar power - all of the above has been built‚ dug‚ installed by AIRKENYA Express as its ongoing social responsibility to give back to the Maasai community in the Maasai Mara.

The school’s enrollment stands at 252 children‚ the growing number of students and in a bid to keep the child in school‚ there is mounting pressure for boarding facilities.  The children not only walk long and treacherous (walking amongst wild animals) distances to get to school everyday but very often pressures of home will sometimes force children to do their parents bidding; herding cattle‚ fetching water‚ taking care of younger children‚ etc‚ and this has the negative effect on the child’s education progress.

The AIRKENYA master plan includes building Dormitories for the children and AIRKENYA hopes to embark on the Dormitories and a kitchen in 2019 offering up to 300 students boarding facilities. 

AIRKENYA‚ General Manager‚ Dino Bisleti together with Commercial Director John Kimondo and PR & Communications Manager Cheryl deSouza-Pedersen and Board Member Nico Spangenberg visited Emarti Primary school on 15 February 2019 to discuss the plans for the year.



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It gives us great pride to be a part of the community in providing world-class education in the Masai Mara.  A project that started in 2012‚ today boast six classrooms‚ a library‚ an abulution block‚ an administration office and a two-bedroom head-teachers house.  Every year since 2012‚ has seen the school grow and thrive‚ indeed Airkenya still holds on to the dream of making the Emarti Primary School a world-class primary school in the Masai Mara.

Airkenya proudly handed over two new classrooms and a two-bedroomed Staff House to the Emarti Primary School in the Maasai Mara on 25 February 2013‚ making good its promise for the first phase of the building of Emarti Primary School at a cost of Kenya Shillings 10 million.

Airkenya General Manager‚ Capt Dino Bisleti said at the handover ceremony‚ “we are proud to have completed the first phase of the school”‚ and promised future support. He also said “ I hope to see children out of Emarti School come for employment with Airkenya and to fly our aircraft”.

The Mara District Education officers thanked Airkenya “for the quality of the classrooms built” and indicated “this should encourage performance and enrollment in the school”.

Airkenya decided that the most beneficial corporate socially responsible project would be education because it comprised the most important component in raising people’s livelihoods and safeguarding the environment.

The Maasai Mara is Airkenya’s flagship destination with three flights daily. It was therefore an obvious choice for a place to situate the school as an expression of Airkenya’s commitment to social responsibility and involvement.

Airkenya not only commissioned a detailed Master Plan for the school but made sure the schools buildings would be as good as the best schools in Kenya‚ “We found most schools in the Maasai Mara are made up of mabati (tin panel) classrooms. Children are having to learning in grueling conditions with poor lighting‚ high temperatures and at times the deafening sound of the rain‚” said Airkenya Marketing Manager Cheryl deSouza. “Airkenya wanted to ensure we would build a school with conducive learning facilities and a school Airkenya would be proud of”.

The school which will eventually have boarding facilities‚ dining/school hall plus new classrooms for standards 1 – 8 and a Nursery School is a long term project for Airkenya with a total cost of not less than US $1.5million.