April COVID-19 Barua

John O’Grady writes;
This is a brief Barua to inform you of what has recently happened at Lenana school.

Last month a fire engulfed and completely gutted Tom Mboya House (previously called Upper Junior
House) at the school. No one died because the fire raged during morning Assembly and classes. A
couple of days later 2 pupils were arrested in the process of trying to set fire to Lower Junior House.
14 other pupils have since been sent home. Investigations into the cause of the fire in Tom Mboya
House are ongoing.

Two weeks ago Lenana was closed as were all the other schools in the country. All pupils were sent
home. Kenya is in a partial lockdown with many businesses closed and others under curfew.
This last week two Houses at Lenana (Delamere and Thomson) were designated to be some form of
facility for Covid-19 control. On Tuesday an initial group of 32 people returning to Kenya from
abroad were placed into quarantine there. More are expected.
So, quite a lot of unusual things going on there.

The process of identifying new potential recipients for our OKT/MKT Bursaries was begun before all
of the above but is now stalled. We expect to award at least 6 new Bursaries this year in addition to
the 12 we are currently providing. We hope that, with your financial help, we shall be able to do
even more next year. Given the fire and all the other impacts that the lockdown will have on the
ability of parents, especially those in the more tourist-dependent regions of the country, to pay the
required school fees, we are seeking your help.

We, the OKT and MKT Trustees, are increasingly aware of the interest Old Boys take in the school
and would like to meet up with others at events or smaller gatherings such as a golf day or even a
lunch. With this in mind, we would welcome offers from anyone who would be happy to establish a
local network of Old Yorkists in their region or locality. We think that by establishing a network of
Ambassadors or Key Enablers who could reach out to others, it would provide a means of
communication and contact that could be beneficial and rewarding for those with an enduring
interest in the school, past and present.

Could I ask anyone to whom this appeals to contact either me at johnogrady@wanadoo.fr or Nigel
Gaymer at nigel.gaymer@btinternet.com or Alan May at mail@alanmay.co.uk. Thank you.
There will be a further Barua with updates and more shortly.

Our best wishes to you all.
John, Nigel, Alan, Alexander and Ronnie.

OKT May 2020 Barua

John O’Grady writes;

For those who haven’t heard, it is with considerable regret that I write to inform you of the death of Dave Lichtenstein who was recently found dead at his home in Sydney, Australia. The cause as yet is unknown.

Many of you already know that for many years, Dave maintained meticulous records of Old Yorkists throughout the world and has been instrumental in keeping us all in touch with one another. His annual Christmas newsletter was always well received. For many years, he also hosted popular annual picnics in Sydney for Old Yorkists who lived close enough to attend. His affection for the school, now named Lenana, was unlimited. The pleasure he got from being part of the Old Yorkist/Lenana community was both intense and immense. He and his enthusiasm for our community will be sorely missed.

Dave’s wife Anne died last year but our thoughts and condolences go out to his son Guy, his daughter and to his grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by his many friends in Australia and around the world. Attached below is a photograph he took at our reunion in Taunton last year of some of his Old Yorkist contemporaries and classmates, which he circulated after the event.

Some of us Trustees/Old Yorkists were recently invited to present and participate in a Zoom Laibon Society meeting. The Laibon Society recently started up this forum/facility in the current Coronavirus crisis. The Zoom meeting we participated in was extremely well organised and well managed and we certainly want to participate in more such meetings in the future and on other subjects. For recent Zoom meetings they have had up to 160 participants from all over the world.

We think that we could and should do something similar for Old Yorkists. Why not, especially in these lockdown times? We shall therefore be sending out to you invitations, from time to time, to join in forums featuring Old Boys from around the world and we hope that you will come and join us. On Zoom you can get to see and chat with some old friends and maybe make some new ones. We can help you get access to Zoom, if you do not already have it.

Our best wishes to you all.
John, Nigel, Alan, Alexander and Ronnie.

OKT October 2019 Barua

John O’Grady writes;
One of the highlights of 2019 has unquestionably been the very successful Reunion for the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Duke of York school, now called Lenana, in Nairobi, organised and hosted by Ken Doig and John Tucker in Taunton earlier this year. It was a pleasure to meet up once more with so many fellow pupils from way back then. Memories were jogged, faces recalled, friendships revived, relationships re-generated and more. The only problem was that there was insufficient time to meet up with all those, I in particular, wanted to meet and to talk with once more.

Alan May, a fellow OKT Trustee, wrote what follows for posting onto Andrew Hillier’s great website, www.oldyorkist.com. Andrew's newly reformatted website is always worth a visit and Alan’s resume of the Reunion is also worth a read.

Alan May writes;

DUKE OF YORK SCHOOL

70TH REUNION

TAUNTON 27TH JULY 2019

Thanks to another huge effort by John Tucker and Ken Doig, the 70th reunion of Old Yorkists was held at the Holiday Inn, Taunton on 27th July, followed by a golf competition the next day organised by Al May.

Some 190 Yorkists and their wives came from all over the world to attend what is likely to be the last event of its kind as age and infirmity erodes the numbers of that fraternity. Despite that, at least 5 of those present were 49ers, part of a unique cohort who had joined the school when it started in 1949.

Amongst those who arrived before formalities commenced was David Lichtenstein, resplendent in his kikoi, having travelled from his home in Sydney Australia, via Kenya on safari, before going on to Europe the following week.

As we were all ushered into the dining room, we were entertained by a video of the Moipei Quartet singing a beautiful rendition of Country Roads, produced by Mike Andrews. It was a perfect start to a memorable evening. They were followed on three large screens by a rolling succession of old school photographs, which featured many of those present, including the 1952 School Boxing Team!

Following an excellent meal, as coffee was served, Ken Doig, having gained the attention of an increasingly animated audience, kicked off the speeches with a very amusing presentation which was roundly applauded. He was followed by John O’Grady who spoke about the Optimum Kenya Trust, which raises funds to sponsor students and improve the infra structure of Lenana School. Al May then spoke briefly about the Golf Day and, finally, John Tucker eloquently thanked those who had helped organise the event and especially all those in attendance who had come from far and wide.

Before we closed, Anita Murphy, the daughter of teacher Bulldog Harris, spoke eloquently of her father and his love of the school and her memories of Kenya. Warwick Davis was also there, whose father, some may remember, taught woodwork at school.

It was a most enjoyable occasion which, inevitably, was rounded off by a rendition of Suave Rosam ably led by David de Bromhead and Simon Williamson, the only ones there who could remember all the words!

John O'Grady writes once more;
Here are a few photos taken by Paul Tanner-Tremaine at the Reunion. You can see many more photos of the Reunion on Paul’s excellent website www.tantrem.com/Duke-of-York-Kenya.

Dave Lichtenstein also herded his fellow pupils in IVL at the D.O.Y. in 1962 and who were all at the Reunion in Taunton for the photo below.

And now to a more serious matter which is ongoing. Last month a private school not very far away from Lenana, suffered a classroom collapse killing some of the students. The Chairman of the Laibon Society, Frank Matua, distributed the following notice to all Laibon members very recently which highlights a problem that this tragic incident has prompted and which also relates the status of various other matters.

Frank Matua writes;

Dear Laibon/Old Yorkist, 27/09/19

Greetings from Nairobi to wherever you are in the world. Tragedy befell our community at Precious Talent Academy on the 23rd of September leading to the death of 8 children and injuries to numerous others. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

This tragedy was followed by statements from various civic and national leaders indicating a desire to establish a primary school to serve the community within the perimeter of Lenana School. Since then, a lot of information has been circulating in social and traditional media space eliciting passionate debate among the community.
Allow me as Chairman of Laibon to share with you the current facts;

1. During the Board of Management (BOM) meeting held on the 26th of September 2019, the Board resolved unanimously in agreement with the Laibon Societies position that there should not be any annexation, excision or subdivision of Lenana School land.

2. The Ministry of Education representative at the Board meeting reiterated that the Government's position still is and shall remain that there are no plans to hive off any Lenana School land, which is also in line with the CS’s and PS’s earlier communication while visiting the school.

3. The Board appealed to the Ministry of Education to invest in the rehabilitation of the neighbouring Ngong Forest Primary School to immediately accommodate the affected students and serve the community of Ngandu. The Board confirmed its assistance to the ministry and community where necessary specific to this process.

4. The board approved undertaking a feasibility study on the establishment of a Junior Academy as a Centre of Excellence in consultation with all stakeholders. This proposed Academy will be in line with the School's Strategic Plan for the period 2020-2030 which may potentially include a Centre for tertiary education within the current ICT roadmap. The engagement of an alumni team in the ICT sector has enabled partnerships with Safaricom foundation and Huawei the establishment of modern computer laboratories as part of the first phase of this roadmap.

Beyond the Board meeting, please allow me to share with you a snapshot of the school;

The Integrity of School Land
The title to the school land is in the custody of the Board of Management of the School. The Survey of Kenya Department has been invited by the School Management to undertake survey work to re-establish all the official boundary beacons. This will help identify any encroachment on the original boundaries and facilitate restorative action. The Laibon Society as an interested party is supporting this process and will update members of the outcome once complete. We believe having full visibility of Lenana School assets and official documentation will go a long way in securing the interest of the school now and in the future.

Board of Management Representation
There are five members on the School Board for the period 2019-2022 namely Martin Mogwanja, Dr Songa (co-opted), Gikonyo Gitonga (co-opted), Kimani Ruhanga and Frank Mutua. This is an improvement from four on the previous Board. In alignment with our mandate to support the school, we have representation in all Key-Board committees through co-option namely;

• Executive committee - Martin Mogwanja

• Audit- Frank Mutua

• Finance - Kimani Ruhanga

• Infrastructure - Eng. Anthony Mwaniki (co-opted)

• Disciplinary and Student Welfare - Dr Songa (co-opted)

• Strategic plan - Gikonyo Gitonga (co-opted), Marvin Sissey (co-opted) and Martin Mogwanja

• Endowment fund - George Ooko (co-opted) and Cliff Mukulu (co-opted)

• Sanatorium Quality Improvement - Dr Riro Mwita (co-opted)

School Enrolment
The student population stands at 1604 boarding students. There are 82 teaching staff members (69 TSC, 13 BOM). The non-teaching staff is 119. These comprise 69 permanent and 50 part-time/seasonal staff.

Infrastructure
The construction of six new classrooms is on track and will address the current pressure on class size. These classes are scheduled to be ready in the first term of 2020. The World Bank-funded school dam project under NAMSIP (Nairobi Metropolitan Service Improvement Project) will move the dam embankment downstream and increase the height of the dam by 2 metres so that the dam holds 163,000 cu.m of water for the school farm use.

The construction of the new 18 hole golf course is well advanced. The project team expects to complete the course and the clubhouse in the coming months. This will host the National Junior Golf Academy. The School has received a commitment for support in the construction of a boundary wall as part of the effort to secure the school. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Interior are supporting this initiative under the supervision of the Board.

The School Sanatorium is now officially registered by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council as a Level Two medical clinic. The process of accreditation by NHIF is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of October 2019. This has been possible through the efforts of the alumni team represented by Dr Riro Mwita. Whilst the Sanatorium remains steadfastly a student facility, it will now be a great community outreach facility too.

The work to replace the old and leaking asbestos roof at the Carey Francis house is scheduled to be completed over the December school recess.

I would like to conclude by saying that the state of Lenana's alumni, board and community is strong. In these times of tragedy and uncertainty, the focus and resolve of the Laibon Society is to make sure the voice of the alumni is represented. I want to thank the Laibons, in the board, alumni, government, teachers, students and the community for the strong support and engagement we have seen this week. I pray that this is the start of recommitment to a collective engagement in the other avenues we have for the Lenana School namely participation in the alumni association, Networking, the mentorship program, bursary programs, infrastructure projects, strategic planning and many other volunteer initiatives.

I welcome you to be a part of the movement.
Nihil Praetor Optimum,
Frank Mutua (CF 1994-1997)

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John O’Grady writes;
The ever-essential Ronnie Andrews continues to be active and here is Ronnie’s resume of various aspects of recent events at the school.

Ronnie Andrews writes;

Earlier this month three trustees of Msaada Kenya Trust (MKT) and the part – time administrator, Lorraine Kirgia went up to the school to meet with the boys who have been receiving bursaries to date and also to address the whole group including the new form 2s who have now been included in the Bursary scheme. The project has now been successful enough to be endorsed by the Laibon Society and as such we are now receiving funding from Laibon who would wish to assist and are comfortable with the level of support and flow of information that MKT is able to provide. We therefore now have 21 boys under the scheme and 4 of those are Laibon sponsored, amounting to over KES 1million per annum in support. Some of those boys are exceptional and all of them are good so we have great hopes for their results this year although last year’s will be hard to beat – 4As and 1B is a tough ask!

During the past few months we have revamped the Trustees in MKT and are pleased to now include Arnie Mitchell, David Kabeberi and Charlie Fraser all of whom have been actively involved since their inclusion.

In the course of the months gone by we have had a few events. Dave Liechenstein came by and brought Darcy Rysenaars to a lunch at the Kenya Reg for one of Jock’s legendary curries. It was attended by a good social number and I am sure you have all seen the pics (see below). That was the precursor for the July reunion which I could not unfortunately attend but which by all accounts was extremely successful, jolly, well attended, uncontentious, etc. more of that will have come or be coming from the editor!

I also had a visit from Kevin  and Lesley Northcote and their extended family including daughter Clare and her husband Dean and their children Evan and Alice. We didn’t have a grand get together because time was short in Nairobi but we managed to catch up with Charlier Fraser and Dave Mousley. Kevin and family when went on to Watamu where by their account they had a most wonderful time and caught some good out-of-season fish too including a Marlin and Sailfish among  the Tuna.

The school is looking good under the guidance of the Principal William Kemei and there have been public performances by the school orchestra which garnered widespread support and great accolades from those who attended. The school rugby team did well enough to reach the latter stages of the Prescott Cup, the national schools competition but stumbled at the last hurdle. And the Sevens team is in action this coming weekend at the Impala Floodlit tournament. I have little to report about thte rest of the sports activities but know that the pool is being well used and the team is growing in strength again under a very capable and committed coach.

And in other News is: As I write we are expecting a new attack on the land. A primary school in the neighbouring area of Ngando (where I used a popular escape route to Van Someren’s dam to go fishing) has just collapsed to the ground killing 8 pupils. It is both tragic and indicative. The MP in a sudden burst of community solidarity has suggested that, rather than rebuilding the school on the allocated area now covered in rubble, they hive off some of our school land and give it to the community to build a new one. We have fought off such threats before but you never know…….

Have a good one

Ronnie Andrews

John O’Grady writes;
To expand a little on what Ronnie has written, I wish to emphasise the important contributor to the school that the Laibon Society has now become. They provided the lion’s share; more than 80%, of the more than £100,000 that was needed to replace and update the school pool. It was the alumni, and only the alumni: we, the Optimum Kenya Trust and our partners the Msaada Kenya Trust, and they, the Laibon Society, who funded the entire project and the majority of those funds, as well as the management of the project, came from post-1969 alumni; the Laibons.

As I said during my talk at the Taunton Reunion, this pool project has proven that those who came after us Old Yorkists, have now stepped up to the plate. The cynicism of old is no longer valid. We should all recognise that Old Yorkists and Laibon are part of the same community. We share the same school motto; “Nothing but the best”. We have all shared the same school uniform. We have all shared the same classrooms, the same dormitories, the same sports fields. We have had a shared experience. We are indeed one community, young and old.

Another topic which Ronnie also mentioned- the school orchestra- probably merits a little more attention too, and also proves how much more involved the Laibon alumni are becoming in helping the school and its pupils. Under the excellent guidance of Laibon Levi Wataka the orchestra has been completely revived. This year’s concert was planned to serve two purposes: to raise the necessary money to keep the Lenana School Music Program alive for another year and also to celebrate the first 70 years of the school’s existence. Levi was assisted during the year by several other alumni who helped in various ways, such as giving instrument tuition and supplying services, and it can now be stated that both objectives have been achieved. Expansion of the Program is foreseen in order to assist in providing an all-round quality education for Lenana schoolboys.

To return to my talk at the Taunton Reunion for a moment, let me say that it is now 56 years since Kenya’s Independence. That means almost three generations have grown up in an Independent Kenya. The youth in Kenya today know very well that the troubles of their country these days, are not the result of the colonialists of yesteryear. The school Headmasters who, in the past removed the Honour Boards and the sports team photos that hung on the walls outside the Assembly Hall are now long gone. The Headmasters of today and the pupils of today want to embrace once more their heritage. As an example, we have been asked to help source and restore those photos and the Honour Boards too. The staff and pupils of today have a new understanding and they want to embrace the whole community of which they, and we, are a part.

Finally, let me return to our Bursary Program. It is growing in numbers year on year and is proving, by the KCSE results achieved so far, to involve some top performers. Lenana school fees are lower than they were, but it still costs a little under £600 a year per pupil. We do need more new donors to assist us in growing the number of pupils we can fund and this is our current priority. Please can you help. Go to our website www.optimumkenyatrust.org to find out how you can donate either directly into our bank account or via another of our secure methods.
With our Salaams and Best Wishes to you all.

Nothing but the best.

John, Alan, Frank, Ronnie.

OKT March 2019 Barua

Nigel Gaymer writes:

I visited the School quite recently and I came away from my visit and meetings with the new Principal, William Kemei and others, very much encouraged.

As we enter the 70th anniversary year of our Alma Mater we must tell you that the Old Boy community is alive and well, with a growing commitment to the School, an active participation in the funding of projects, and setting the agenda with the School Board of Management. In addition to ourselves, the Laibon society is meeting more often and in addition to social events, is funding projects and bursaries, both as a Society and individually.

Consequently, the younger generation are very interested in the history, values and standards established during the first 30 years of the School and are wanting to reinstate a number of traditions such as the sporting awards with colours and ties, together with blazer recognition of prefect’s rings and colours and braid. This consolidation of the philanthropic ideal amongst the Laibon is very noticeable in the last two years and the input of ideas and enthusiasm for new projects is a real encouragement for the future health of the School. At a recent meeting with the Headmaster, William Kemei, he confirmed his recognition of those values and fully supports all that we can do to help recreate the history with physical memorabilia such as team photographs, house photographs, plus testimonials and experiences of school life. All to be contained in a Trophy cabinet, or for display on walls around the School.

This year the School has 1650 students with a Year 1 intake of 465 which is the equivalent of the whole school pupil number prior to 1979!! Educating this number within limited resources requires considerable ingenuity so all the support that the Old Boy community provides is very welcome and much appreciated by the Headmaster and staff.

Back row; Jock Anderson, Dave Shaw, Steve Hayo Ochieng, Martin Mogwanja

Third row; Ronnie Andrews, Charlie Fraser, Chacha Odera

Second row; Peter Low, Arnie Mitchell, Dudley Stannah

Front; Mike Kingori, Mike Andrews, Gayling May, Nigel Gaymer, Samson Ndegwa, Jeremy Mott, Peter Patterson, David Kabeberi

Also in attendance; Peter Gachuhi, Farid Mohamed

Ronnie Andrews writes:
Under great pressure from John O’Grady the following missive has been compiled using nothing but a sharpened thorn tree needle, dipped in a concoction involving some of Jonny Havelock’s old socks soaked in Jock Anderson’s last curry. It may appear as though this is neatly written in modern day computer graphics but in fact that was how we were taught to write in those early days of the Special Maths project.

It has been some time since we ( John, me, all contributors…) last wrote of the status of Lenana School and particularly the Old Boys and their contribution to their Alma Mater, so it may come as a surprise that there have been a large number of successes since the last barua. In the interim it won’t have escaped the reader’s notice that there have been Xmas festivities and since a New Year is upon us, though belated, let me welcome you to 2019, the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the Duke of York School. And the fiftieth year since the school was renamed Lenana School. And there have been and are various activities planned to celebrate this momentous occasion but I will return to them later.
So, for the summary of activities that have happened since the last barua:

The swimming pool has been rebuilt and it was officially blessed by the Archbishop Korir in April and duly completed and commissioned with a swimming gala in July. It is now a full 25m pool and has been approved by the Amateur Swimming Assn. of Kenya for use in competitions. The communities springing up around the school will also be involved in the swimming development plan. The Optimum Kenya Trust, the Msaada Kenya Trust and most importantly, the Laibon Society funded and managed this very demanding and expensive project.

As yet the changing rooms have not been built but the plans are in hand and when they are completed girls’ schools will also be involved in the plans for using Lenana as a swimming training centre once again.

As has often been mentioned, there has been significant action on the redevelopment of the Golf course and the establishment of a golfing Academy at the school. In the period leading up to the release of the KCSE (secondary) results the Minister for Education made mention of the fact that Lenana has been identified as one of three “Centers of Excellence” for the development of sporting talent in Kenya and is the only one in Nairobi. Work is ongoing to get the first greens and tees ready in the hope that they will be inaugurated by H.E. The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta since it was at his suggestion and with huge support from the relevant Ministries, that the golf course project has taken shape.

While on the subject of the Sanatorium…. There is currently a working group of Laibon, all of whom are doctors, who are hoping to upgrade the Sanatorium to establish it as a fully equipped and properly accredited Clinic. This will mean the purchase of more equipment and drugs and it is likely that the Ministry of Health will come in to assist in the project. It will also mean that better qualified medical staff will be inducted. All of this is desirable given that the school is now more than 1600 pupils strong.

The San working group including several Old Boy medical practitioners with the Principal William Kemei 3rd from left and Samson Ndegwa, the Chairman of the Board of Management 4th from left

It is worth noting that Mr William Kemei took over from William Mwangi as Chief Principal of Lenana School early in 2018 and committed himself to better teaching methods and better results, as well as to more responsible management of school resources. He works closely with the Old Boys of all generations and we are encouraged by the vast improvement in the end of year results and the huge increase in “A” passes at KCSE level this year, bearing out his seriousness in keeping his promises.

In November/December of last year the ICT centre in the school was boosted by the donation of 60 computers from Safaricom, a move instigated and driven by one of our Laiboni. The OKT and the Msaada Trust also donated significantly to enable the school to purchase the necessary software for the computers and the school collectively scored an “A” in the end of year exams. Further plans include an extension of the ICT facilities and the designation of Lenana as an ICT “Hub” among schools in Kenya.

But the primary reason for the Old Boys Society must always be the continued camaraderie and the linkage back to the old school and the country itself in some cases. The Laibon society is stronger than ever and we are targeting 1000 paid up members this year for the first time, which shouldn’t be that difficult given that the subs are less than two pints of Guinness in Ireland, as I found out last summer! The Laibon genuinely want to meet the older Old Yorkists and to have a meal or a drink with them and a case in point was the visit by an “Old 49-er” Don Rooken-Smith from the USA.

The current Laibon Committee put on the lunch and Jock Anderson obliged with his usual curry at the Kenya Regiment Club

Lenana School is moving on and up. The sports Academy status is a huge plus in that it also ensures that the grounds are developed further and utilized more fully. There are plans to put in place a good boundary fence to stop the trespassing that has been tolerated for many years and it is hoped that the entrance to neighbouring estates will also be moved so that there is no transit facility down the railway cutting. We have had some notable sporting achievements but it is hoped that with the new attitude to sport development in the Ministry of Education, Lenana will again become a centre of excellence. The school orchestra is growing in confidence and competence and they have put on several concerts in the course of 2018 underlining their improvement.

There was a Service at the school on the 27th of January for Founder’s Day and, as expected, several prominent personalities among our Old Boys attended. Lunch was served and speeches made. And, of course, there is a ding dong planned for Taunton later on this year and that should be well-attended by OB’s of all generations. The contribution Msaada Trust makes to efforts of improvement at the school, thanks to the generosity of Optimum Kenya Trust and those who contribute so generously is both highly valued and regularly acknowledged. No significant school anywhere in the world can survive without the support of its Old Boys and Lenana is no exception, either in its significance or its need. And that contribution may be in the form of contact and communication alone, but even that is important to fellow old boys, to the school and to its pupils and to all who now see our alumni as a model of such bodies in this country.

Have a good year

More recently Ronnie wrote:
I met several of our bursary recipients at the school on Founders Day this year and I emphasized the importance of their successes; how their success gives our donors hope, how they give their families hope, how they give their successors hope. I realized what thoroughly decent guys they are. I really wish that there were more opportunities for those who question the value of what we are doing by funding these guys, to also meet with them too. Our safe and transparent Bursary scheme is so successful that we have been asked by other donor groups to do the oversight on another 7 bursaries and more will, probably, follow those. I anticipate that there will be maybe 40 by the end of the year. And God knows there are a lot of needy cases in that school!

The Principal, Mr Kemei, has really grabbed the challenge of the school and wants it to become a leader once again, not only in academic achievement, but also extra-curricular competences and activities such as sports, arts, music and drama. And it can be seen around the school now – it is cleaner, there is more form to activities, his thoughts are about improvement, not continuity. Things will change in that process, but with 1600+ boys at the school there are some pressing needs and the school will flex to meet those needs. But let’s look at the changes;

• National Schools Golf Academy under construction; more funding now committed for completion.

• School Chapel completely refurbished by one individual Laibon; complete new floor, all surfaces cleaned and painted, roof repaired – a really good job too.

• Each boarding house being refurbished in turn, to enlarge and accommodate the number of pupils.

• A new dining block completed on Block 2 to accommodate both Block 1 and 2 diners. Gas cookers back in action at last

• Swimming pool completed and in use.

• New ITC centre opened with the donation of 60 computers from Safaricom and using software donated by OKT/Masaada. Aggregate results: A in ICT for Lenana. ICT Ministry ( Joe Mucheru, CS is an old boy ) announced will donate 50 laptops and 100 desktops to the school.

• Uniform improvement in academic standards. Top student accepted by Ivy League university in the USA, six others applying. ( I have to mention the top students name here – Travimadox Cobb Webb. Read it out loud. Honestly. Not sure which area he came from.! )

So, yes, there is good reason to be happier, but we must not take our foot off the pedal.

John O’Grady writes:
I want to update you more fully on our bursary recipients. The first 5 bursary recipients we identified as being both high performers but financially poor back in 2017 and whom we have funded during the last 3 years, took their KPSE exams during their last term at the school in December 2018. We are pleased to report that 4 out of the 5 achieved A passes and the other one a B+ pass. Two of the five are known to be going on to University to study medicine and dentistry. Another two may go onto Uni in Australia, funded by OY Nigel Champion. As will be required, the OKT/MKT will help financially if asked to do so. At the moment we, the OKT/MKT, continue to fund our 11 bursaries for 3rd and 4th formers (attendance at Lenana is for 4 years only) and we expect to be funding at least 5 more 2nd year pupils and maybe even a 1st former or two during 2019, for a minimum of 16. Your donations will obviously help us to do just that and more.

I also want to mention, at greater length, the upcoming Taunton event. John Tucker and Ken Doig have put together a 70th Anniversary of the founding of the DOY reunion to take place at the Holiday Inn hotel on the outskirts of Taunton on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of July 2019. Full details of the event are available from John on pukkatuk@gmail.com or from Ken on kendoig@hotmail.com. Needless to say I, Nigel Gaymer, Al May, plus our wives, will be there as well as, I believe, Dave Lichtenstein who has been instrumental in keeping us together all of these years, and who will be flying in from Oz.

Finally, let me express some pleasure. A major hope of those who established the Optimum Kenya Trust and the Msaada Kenya Trust was that we would encourage the Laibon Society to “take up the reins” for the future. Although the Laibon Society was active before our establishment, it was in an uncoordinated way. They are now organizing themselves very effectively and well. One such example is the golf tournament taking place at the Karen Country Club on Friday the 12th April 2019.

Sidney Ashioya, responsible for Laibon Society Communications, writes
The tournament has been organised as part of the effort by the Old Boys of Lenana School to raise funds towards supporting academically gifted pupils who cannot afford to pay for their secondary school education as well as building changing rooms for the School’s new swimming pool. The Laibon Society Golf Day has been held for more than 4 years now, pitting the Laibons against our traditional rivals, the Old Cambrians of Nairobi School. Entry is KShs 3,000 per player or KShs 12,000 per four ball, and is open to all alumni from other secondary schools, Old Cambrian & Laibon Members, Lenana School teachers and parents, friends and well-wishers. We expect that strong competition will emerge with the joining of alumni from other schools and that it will become an exciting day for all. Tournament play will be followed by the Chairman’s Dinner for players and non-players (at KShs 1,500 for non-players) from 7.00pm, followed by the prize-giving for the winners. Advance registration is required for security reasons. Please make cheques payable to The Laibon Society or Mpesa to Paybill Number 527200 Account “2019 Golf”. Please follow this link for registration : https://tinyurl.com/LaibonGolf2019 

John ends with:
In the coming years I expect that we shall coordinate and cooperate with them more and more. We shall hopefully prompt each other into generating more donations, more bursaries and funding more projects at the school. Thus we shall prove that, no matter whether you are pre 1969 or post 1969, WE ARE ALL ONE COMMUNITY, sharing the same or similar memories of the school and seeking to enhance the Lenana experience for all the current and future pupils.

With our salaams and best wishes to you all.

Nigel, Ronnie and John.
optimumkenyatrust@gmail.com

OKT November 2017 Barua

If you have ever thought of making a donation to your old school, the Duke of York, or Lenana as it is now known, but have not yet done so, now is the time. If you have previously donated and are thinking of doing so again, now is the time. Here are some very good reasons why now is the time to do it.

1. As you know from our previous baruas our principal objective is to award bursaries to high performing pupils who either attend the school already or who have been awarded a place, but cannot afford the cost. Currently we support 11 such pupils. They are in the photo below. In January 2018, in addition to those 11, we would like to award a further 5 bursaries minimum to worthy students. These will become payable around February 2018 but we still need donations to cover them. The cost per pupil is about KS 100,000 pa, or just about £750. Can you please help?
2. In addition to raising funds to provide for bursaries, we contribute to improvements to the infrastructure of the school, in particular to the sporting facilities. We do so in conjunction with the Laibon Society, which consists of old boys of Lenana School. We believe in the value of providing an all-round education, such as we enjoyed, not just the academic experience. In recent years, the Kenya Government has invested considerably to enhance the academic aspects of Lenana, but it is for others, including us as Old Yorkists and the Laibon Society to improve the infrastructure. In that respect, the hockey pitches at the entrance to the school have been restored to their original condition and the golf course is currently being re-established but the largest and by far the most ambitious project currently underway is to build a brand new 25 metre length swimming pool with associated filtration equipment, facilities etc., as sadly, the school has been without a functional swimming pool since 2008. Here is as  picture of the work in progress. The cost of building the new pool is 14 million Kenya shillings (around £100,000). Of that the Laibon Society have so far raised about 8 million, including a contribution from us, the OKT, of one million Kenya shillings. They are actively looking to raise an additional 6 million shillings to enable construction work to continue without interruption. They are encouraging year groups to compete in a “Wall of Fame” league table board, which is proving successful but further donations are urgently needed to see this project to completion. Again, can you please help with this.

In addition to the above, there are many other infrastructure projects ongoing or about to start involving us, the Laibon Society, the Government or other donors. Here is a summary of them from Ronnie Andrews:

A couple of projects which involve us are restoring the tennis courts with an all-weather surface suitable for a range of other sports, and the financial commitment, from an independent donor, to rebuild the squash courts. The school is a hive of activity and the signs are good that academic performance will also improve in the coming years under the new Principal, Mr. William Kemei. Some of the most recent developments at the school are:

• Sponsorship by a group of companies led by Kenya Re to assist in turning the school into a model for the education of physically disadvantaged pupils. This will entail lifts, ramps and various other methods of assistance to aid those who may previously have missed out on top level education and sporting opportunities.
• A new dining hall at Block 2 to accommodate up to 500 pupils will begin the process of centralisation of dining. The new facility will revert to gas fired ovens once more.
• The new Library and Resource Centre was recently visited by the Cabinet Secretary, ICT, Joe Mucheru (also an Old Boy) and by the PS Finance Dr. Kamau Thugge (pronounced Tugey) in recognition and commitment to turn the school into an ICT Hub for the National Schools system.
• The swimming pool is reaching the tiling phase and should be ready for the New Year and the swimming term. As stated above, despite the great effort of the Laibon of all year groups and ages, the funding gap is still considerable and we need all the help we can get from you now.
• The Laibon/Old Yorkists AGM and Dinner was to be held on the 17th November at the same time as the EA Safari Classic Rally. This has been delayed now until early in the new year to tie in with Founders Day, the opening of the new swimming pool, refurbishment of the squash courts and the inauguration of the Golf Academy and new golf course.
• The Laibon v Cambrians return golf match will be held at Sigona on the 3rd November and should be a good bash. With our advantage of several past members of the Kenya Team and some former captains of Muthaiga and Karen, the Patch were soundly beaten in the first round at Vet Labs last month. We are now looking to keep the trophy in the return match and raise an appreciable amount for the Laibon Pool Project. (PS The turnout was exceptional - over 160 players – and the Laibon retained the trophy despite a strong fight from Patch. Old Cambrians DO have better golf shirts though!)
• Nigel Champion and his wife Lisa visited from Australia and ignited a whole lot of gatherings and trips as he climbed Mt Kenya, visited Serara Lodge (look it up), stayed in Watamu and unsuccessfully sought a big fish for the pot and even camped in Nakuru with no noticeably negative side effects. On the way he met with Piers Bastard, Dave Mousley, Charlie Fraser and myself. See the photo below. He also committed himself to a Bursary programme and a Scholarship offering where he will support several needy pupils and, if possible, assist them to attend Australian Universities. In addition he met with later year Laibons David Gatende and David Mambo, both past Chairmen of the Kenya Squash Racquets Assn (KSRA) and in discussion mapped out a plan to rehabilitate the court and commence a training programme for Lenana and for surrounding schools.

Andrews, Bastard, Champion and Fraser on their recent trip to Nakuru.

As we’ve said before, the Old Boys movement is now acknowledged as one of the most active in Kenya and is growing every day. A gathering can be a few people or several hundred such as the recent memorial service held at the school chapel for the Rev. Norman Dodman. Thousands are Facebook followers of the Laibon and Old Yorkist pages and there are over 500 members of the recently started “Telegram” page not to mention the WhatsApp groups that have sprung up. The successes of old Boys are widespread and the integrity and spirit of the alumni is remarkable and extremely gratifying in this time in Kenya and throughout the world. It would be good to hear of them all, small successes and large, young and old. Any news of the “Original 49ers” would also be most welcome. The Principal has openly committed himself to supporting and working with the Old Boys, as did his predecessor, William Mwangi, and the cooperation with his and the Board of Management is exemplary.

The work of Optimum Kenya Trust (and its affiliate trust in Kenya, the Msaada Kenya Trust) has ignited interest and support for needy pupils. Its work is widely acclaimed throughout the Old Boy community. But the intention of these communications, is that Old Boys, whether Yorkists or Laiboni should get together and interact. Support for the school flows from support for one another.

Besides all the above, I believe it is important to welcome and recognise that more culture is returning to the school. In our heyday we had no end of active societies and clubs; Young Farmers, Political Society, Natural History Society, Dance Band to name but a few. Most, if not all of those, withered and died. However, I am happy to tell you that, thanks to the class of ’98 and the efforts of Mr Levi Wataka, amongst others, the Boston Symphony Orchestra have donated musical instruments to the school. A concert by the rejuvenated Lenana School Orchestra is scheduled soon. Furthermore, Lenana has just joined with some other local schools in a chess competition, which it is hoped will become a regular event in future. There is still a long way to go, but I think these developments are indicative of an onwards and upwards direction. Let’s donate to keep the impetus going now.

As part of our effort to meet up more often, even in small groups, Robin Crosher recently organised a very enjoyable Kirk House reunion at the Bushey Hall Golf Club just North of London. A few from other Houses joined us as Honourable Kirkites for the day. We played 18 holes with some mixed success and then had a very successful lunch and natter and then we gave an awesome rendition of the old school song, Soave Rosam. Here is a photo of those who enjoyed their Tuskers and who sang;

Back L to R; Robin Russell, John O’Grady, Nigel Gaymer, Rodney Bridle, Neil Morison, Robin Crosher
Front L to R; John Crosher, Mike Harrington, Alan May, John Tucker, Rob Rowland

By the way, as some of you may know, a year 3 pupil at the school died recently whilst in transit from the school Sanatorium to hospital. There was a small but totally peaceful demonstration by fellow pupils along the Ngong road in sympathy for his passing. Contrary to some malicious rumour, there was no violence, nor was the demonstration broken up by the police. This tragic event has raised our interest in improving the San’s facilities and, in answer to an appeal by Ronnie Andrews, 12 Laibon Old Boys, who are Doctors, have so far offered their support and services.

Following a request by the school, the process has begun of restoring and correcting the Sports Honour boards from 1949 onwards that previously adorned the school Hall.  We have also been asked to help create a web-based gallery on the OKT website of the school’s various top competition teams from as far back as possible. These photos may also be printed and framed so as to adorn the schools walls. More on this subject will follow in the next barua, when we may ask you to contribute photographs representing your memories of the school. 

In conclusion, we should all be pleased to have influenced the regeneration of the school since our efforts began just over 2 years ago. Thanks to your generosity, we have also changed the lives and prospects of the pupils we support. Much of what we have achieved is due to the energy and commitment of Ronnie Andrews, David Kabeberi, the former Principal Mr William Mwangi and now the current Principal Mr Kemei. They, together with the Laibon Society and the Government, are doing wonders in regenerating the school and its infrastructure. Our thanks go to them and our best wishes go to all the pupils and staff at the school.

Let us continue to work with them in an effort to recreate our experience of the all-round education that we enjoyed, for the current generation of pupils at the school and, in the meantime, have a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
 
John O’Grady
The Optimum Kenya Trust and The Msaada Kenya Trust

OKT July 2017 Barua

LETTER FROM JOHN O’GRADY

Lenana School goes from strength to strength and so does the community of Old Boys. The activities of the Laibon and the Old Yorkists are growing and varied. It’s been a while since a newsletter was last circulated, for which we apologise, so there is quite a lot to report, which we will attempt to cover now.
We OKT Trustees have been wrestling with the challenge of how best to spread awareness of our charity’s activities across a greater number of alumni and entities. We are conscious of the fact that this Barua only reaches a limited audience of around 300 out of a probable 1,600 plus Old Yorkists who are still enjoying this life.

Common sense, supported by academic research, has shown that the most effective method of spreading the word and generating enthusiasm for a project is through face to face contact and human interaction. So, I want to encourage recipients of this Barua to think of organizing an event, big or small, where alumni can meet up, such as in the pub, at a summer barbecue, for a golf day, sponsored walk, whatever.
The invitees would be alumni you have kept in touch with or wish to renew acquaintance with in your geographic location, together with any other friends or contacts who would be interested in supporting a charity whose aims are to improve the education and welfare of pupils at Lenana school in particular and the youth of Kenya in general. 

Ideally we would like to establish the role of ‘Ambassador’ within many local geographical areas where this individual would become the conduit for information and the generation of funds from interested benefactors. If such a role would interest you, please let me know. I can assure you that we will not turn it into an onerous role and you will have our support.

There have been a few such events in the last year which are documented below and they have proved to be very enjoyable, both in terms of renewing old friendships but also by discovering the extent of benevolent interest that has been channeled towards the Trusts.
The activities and the events in Kenya and the direct contact with the school have been driven, since the inception of the OKT and the MKT, by Ronnie Andrews. His letter which follows will expand on those activities, but I first wish to acknowledge here his continuing enthusiasm and hard work for which he deserves our sincere thanks.

Among other things in Ronnie’s letter, you will read that there has been a change at the top of the school as the Principal William Mwangi has, recently and unexpectedly, been transferred to take over at Alliance Boys High School. Given the position occupied by Alliance these days this was a promotion for Mr Mwangi. We thank him for all his commitment, vision and hard work which have improved Lenana during his tenure and we wish him well at Alliance. So, the importance of maintaining our good relationship with the school and the new Principal is going to be crucial.

LETTER FROM RONNIE ANDREWS

The old Boys of the school have become more involved, united, committed and more mobilised over the past year and this has also led to them becoming more ambitious. Their relationships with the Board of Management and with the Principal (and indeed all levels of the school admin) have improved immensely since the arrival of Mr. William Mwangi who took over as Principal three and a half years ago. The success of small initiatives and manifestations of support such as attendance at Founders Day Chapel service, AGM’s, Class meetings, etc. has led to greater efforts and input from some very important areas of Kenya society and the Kenya Government.

The Old Boys are an increasingly important part of the school’s restoration. They knew and remember what it was like to be there and, with the benefit of age and the passage of time they can now focus on what REALLY is worth keeping or retrieving. As we now have increased cooperation between the stakeholders there is a clear movement to grow and improve for the future, whilst acknowledging the importance of history. The Board of Management, the school Admin, the Old Boys have all made a concerted effort to develop a vision, to work together and to begin the work of bringing the school to the level it can be – THE leading Academic and Sports development Academy in Eastern Africa.

So successful has this been that elements of our model are now being copied by others and we are especially sad to see the transfer of our Principal, Mr. William Mwangi, to Alliance Boys High School. But the structures that have been put in place remain in place and we whole heartedly welcome Mr. William Kemei, the new Principal, who can be assured of the support of a united group of stakeholders all ready to work with him to continue the process of rehabilitation and growth.
Lenana School is thriving. The activities of the Old Boys are looked upon by the alumni of other schools with some jealousy. We believe that our success was itself instrumental in part, in the move of the last Principal, Mr Mwangi, to Alliance.

Projects and Progress

The fundamentals are that the school is now 1300 pupils in 6 Blocks sited on around 250 acres of land much of which is not utilized sufficiently. Blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 were built in the 1950’s and the House buildings were meant to last no more than 25 years and I suspect the same goes for the staff housing. Facilities were built to standards that do not apply today and there has been much deterioration.

Principal Mwangi has restored the Tuition Block (and all the walkways) to a good standard, raised the School Flag again, kept the hedges trimmed, painted the walls, re-roofed the block so the boys could still sit in classrooms during rain storms. Kenyatta House (Lugard) has been fully restored after the fire it suffered and Kinyanjui House (Delamere) is a completely new structure. In addition, in William Mwangi’s time, we have seen the following projects progress, all of which have been funded by a more responsible use of school fees and funds or by direct grant to the school from the Government of Kenya:

• A brand new tuition block and library extension between what was Thomson House ( now Tom Mboya House ) and what was Upper Junior House.
• The completion and commissioning of Mandela House; the first part of Block 6.
• The extension of the dining facilities of Block 5 to accommodate Mandela boys.
• A Catholic Chapel built by adapting the Gym and extending it.
• The refurbishment of the Sanatorium and some staff houses including that of the Principal. 
•  Approval of plans and funding for a central dining facility (and I’m not sure – this may be one of two) instead of Block dining rooms.
• The start of the rebuilding of the Golf Course into an 18 hole National Golf Academy.
• The recreation of the correct Honour Boards for display in the main hall.

As Laibon or Old Yorkists we have also begun the process of building an all new 25 meter Swimming Pool and filtration system, Squash Courts and changing Rooms as well as planning to make an all-weather area for tennis and basketball at the site of the tennis courts. 

Laibon have, during recent years, provided a few scholarships and some bursaries, various sports equipment, some mentoring programmes, university scholarships and much more.

The Optimum Kenya Trust and the Msaada Kenya Trust are now supporting 11 financially needy but academically strong pupils and there is a possibility of extending this program in the coming months. Msaada is also providing support to some of the Laibon initiatives.

LETTER FROM NIGEL GAYMER
(who was in Kenya recently and visited the school)

Bursaries

You may recall the disappointment of the first five pupils in 2015 to whom we awarded our bursaries who failed to maintain their performance and who consequently lost our financial support.
Thankfully we can report that those selected in 2016 have lived up to expectations and so we are continuing with their grants in 2017 and we have just selected five additional students for this year and the photograph here is of the ten plus one other; Kevin Gitahi, who is a special case as we will explain below.

From left to right. Aswa Philip Khatiechi, Paul Ngabi mbarari, Mike Ambaka ,Abraham Mabior, Erastus Magak, Stephen Hayo, Alex Magoba, Lennox Kahati, Newton Wachira, Abdul-Aziz Shemaka, Kevin Gitahi

Kevin was a star pupil at Gitiba Primary School, Dagoretti and on achieving qualifying marks in the KPCE examination - he came second in the whole country - he was given a place at Lenana and the letter below is a summary of the events that led up to us agreeing to provide him with a bursary. This experience could lead to our taking a greater interest in pupils like Kevin who have the ability to progress from primary to secondary education but fall by the wayside because of a lack of parental support both financial and moral.

“Dear Mr Andrews,

I trust this email finds you well.

My name is Lucy  Wariara from Dagoretti, Nairobi, Kenya. I was given your contact by Beatrice Gachenge (copied),who was referred by Wallace Kantai (copied) after reaching out to him as an alumnus of Lenana School.

This was after I shared the story of Kevin  Gitahi with her. I come from the same village with Kevin.

I got wind of Kevin’s plight on Thursday by coincidence. My father informed me of the number one girl, Evelyne Maina from Gitiba Primary School who had been admitted to a National School but comes from a very poor background.  In the process of verifying the story, I visited the school at which point the headmaster Mr. Wambugu presented to me another desperate case of the second best student, Kevin Gitahi who scored 377 marks and has been admitted to Lenana school. 

Kevin and his family live in kamwanya slums in abject poverty, so much so that that the parents saw no need to pick the admission letter from the school because paying high school fees is simply out of reach and unthinkable for them. His mum, is a house wife doing odd jobs in the community earning less than $2 a day while his dad is jobless doing manual jobs. Their primary concern is subsistence - food for the family of six Kevin is the second born with three siblings. Thanks to the free primary education, Kevin beat all odds to emerge second and admitted to a national school.

As of Thursday last week, Kevins parents were yet to pick his admission letter to Lenana School from Gitiba Primary School as they have no hope of further education for him.

I found the lack of hope very sad. That was when I spoke to friends such as Beatrice to see how we could help both Evelyne and Kevin. Luckily my employer has agreed to sponsor Evelyn for the four years.

Beatrice was informed by Wallace that you were willing to assist Kevin. This is highly appreciated because it will not only give him hope and open a world of opportunities for him, but most importantly lift his family from abject poverty.

Kindly let me know how we can connect and support this noble course.

If you have someone in Nairobi, Kenya who we can visit Kevin’s home and school , I am more than happy to take them at the earliest to confirm that this is a deserving case. Unfortunately time is not on our side since Friday was the deadline. I am going to the village on Sunday to present the bio to Evelyn and help her prepare for school on Monday.  I could therefore connect with your contact during the day.

Nb. The deadline to report  to school was yesterday 13.01.2017. 
The headmaster Gitiba Primary School (copied) spoke to the administration of Lenana School and they promised to reserve the vacancy for an extra few days as we look for funds.”

Swimming Pool

As you have read the Laibon Society have taken on the challenge of funding the renewal of the swimming pool and this is underway as you will see from the photographs below.
The work was put out to tender and the successful bidding company for the pool and the new filtration system is run by Charlie Fraser, an alumni with Ronnie Andrews, so there is the confident expectation that the work will be to a high standard and the project will be achieved within time and budget.
The budget for the pool and the filtration plant is KS 9m and we, the OKT, have paid KS 500,000 towards the project and we have committed a further KS 500,000 once the Laibon Society have raised KS 6m themselves.  

The existing swimming pool has been knocked in and work started to resurface the area.

Squash and multi-sport courts

The squash court and the tennis courts are in very poor shape. Fortunately, there is an offer from Nigel Champion, who is an alumni and now a leading Australian squash player, together with the Kenya Squash Racquets Association to fund the refurbishment of the squash court and they are considering building a second court. Another current proposal is to replace the tennis courts with an all-weather multi-sport surface so that the courts may be used for basketball, tennis, five-a-side etc.

Lenana School golf talent development project

This project is well underway and you will see from the photographs the major groundworks are nearly complete. The project is being led by two Government Principal Secretaries, Dr Kamau Thugge of the National Treasury – he is an alumni - and Dr Belio Kipsang of State Department of Basic Education, so it has the support of the Government and the involvement of a number of relevant ministries as well as the Kenya Golf Association. The OKT has not been asked to contribute towards the costs involved.

We have seen a recent progress report and the expectation is that the work will be completed before the 2017 elections but it will probably not be until 2018 that the grass has grown and the fairways and greens are playable.
 

New Library and classroom block

This new facility has been the outcome of William Mwangi’s fund raising from the government and is an impressive addition to the educational facilities as you can see from these photographs.

Old Yorkist gatherings

The following photographs are of recent OY gatherings in London and Nairobi, together with the first OY Golf Day organised by Alan May in April this year down in Cornwall just to prove that it can be done and all the occasions were well received by those who attended and revived a number of friendships and acquaintances, besides generating interest in the purpose of the charity and even raising some donations.

First OY Golf day in Cornwall
L to R: Alan May, Simon Williamson, Nigel Gaymer, Rob Bradshaw, Mike Harrington, Rob Rowland, Gordon Chubb and Ken Doig.

Gathering in Covent Garden, London
Back row l to r: Ronnie Andrews, Carey Keates, Nigel Gaymer, John Crosher, Ron Atkinson, Mike Andrews
Front row l to r: Robin Crosher, Brian Brent, John O'Grady and Alex O'Grady (son of John)

OY Lunch, Nairobi
Front L to R: Henry West, Gaying May, Jeremy Mott, Jonny Havelock, Dave Mousley, Chairman of BoG - SR (Samson) Ndegwa, Peter Paterson, Joe Okwach, Tony Massie Blomfield, Sam Mwaura, Dudley Stannah, Renzo Benardi, John Baxendale, (nearly hidden) Nigel Gaymer, Jock Anderson (went to DoY when in Government House 1949), Ronnie ANdrews, Miki Baxendale

2nd Row L to R: Martin Mogwanja, Johnny Akatsa,Richard Njoba,

Back Row L to R: Peter Gachuhi, Charlie Fraser, Mike Andrews, Jonathan Savage, Al Sinton (Saints)

The new headmaster

Mr William Kemei was appointed Principal to succeed William Mwangi in March of this year and Ronnie Andrews has had his first meetings with him, which were very positive and it would appear that the efforts and contributions to the school and its students by all of the alumni are understood and appreciated by William Kemei.
 

BACK TO LETTER FROM JOHN O’GRADY

Another Golf Day

Robin Crosher - ex Kirk House - has arranged for a Kirk House reunion together with a round of golf for those who want to play, at the Bushey Hall Golf Club in South Hertfordshire, close to Junction 5 of the M1 Motorway or Junction 19 of the M25/A41 South. There are railway stations nearby. The date is Tuesday 19th September and timings are 9.50 am for 10 on the 1st tee for golfers, 2.30 pm for non-golfers, 3pm sit down meal, conclusion by 6 pm. Some tee-off places are still available and non-Kirk House members are invited to attend and become honorary Kirkites for the day. Both Nigel and I shall be attending so we hope to see you there. Robin’s e-mail address is robin.crosher@ntlworld.com.

Before closing I would like to repeat my request that some of you recipients of this Barua step up to the mark, in your local geographic area and arrange Old Yorkist, House or Class reunions, with or without golf, with or without other friends, but certainly with food and wine and/or beer, in order to enjoy the company and conversation of your fellow alumni and perhaps, in the process, raise a few bob for our worthy cause.

To conclude, if there is news I shall distribute an OKT/MKT Charity update more often, once every 3 or 6 months perhaps. The next one will appear therefore before year end at the latest. In the meantime, if you know the e-mail address and location of any alumni that you know and who do not receive these updates, please send me their co-ordinates so that I can add them to the distribution list.

And really to conclude; please, if you can, donate to the cause by giving a little, or a lot, back. http://www.optimumkenyatrust.org/take-action/

NIHIL PRAETER OPTIMUM
Salaams to you all.
John/JOG

OKT and MKT July 2016 Newsletter

Dear Old Yorkist/Laibon

We are up. We are running. Perhaps only at a moderate speed for now, but the good news is, there are quite a few others now running with us and alongside us.

We seek to achieve two major goals; to help high performing but financially challenged Lenana students with our annual bursaries and to re-create some, if not all of the school’s once outstanding facilities and infrastructure that have fallen into disuse and decay. Our objectives have been facilitated by the conduct of the new Principal Mr Mwangi and also because more and more alumni of the school, both older and younger, are taking an interest and becoming involved in returning the school to its former prominence.

This is our third Newsletter since we established the Optimum Kenya Trust with the Charity Commission in the UK and the Msaada Kenya Trust which is registered with the Government in Kenya. If you did not receive those earlier Newsletters, or the original announcement of our Trusts’ formation, sent out back in July 2015, you can read those documents and more on our website http://www.optimumkenyatrust.org

Foremost amongst the other entities now actively engaged with the school is the Laibon Society, headed up by David Kabeberi and ably assisted by Johnstone Gikandi and Marvin Sissey, among others. The Laibon Society have recently announced that they have taken on a major project; to completely renew the school swimming pool, pool facilities and filtration system. The pool we all remember having had the use of, has been, amazing to say, unusable since 2008. Shock. Horror. The new pool, with a new uniform depth and new metric measurements will not only please all the pupils who will use it, but will also permit inter-school swimming competitions once more. Here are a couple of photos to show you how the pool is now.

The cost of creating the new pool and facilities has been quoted as KS 15,000,000. That is around £113,000 at today’s rather sad Sterling exchange rate. This is an enormous sum and the Laibon Society are to be applauded for taking on the task. All the different year groups within the Society are now competing with each other to donate to the cause and doing some very interesting things to raise the required funds. The Optimum Kenya Trust, on behalf of the ’49 to ’69 year group, has donated KS 500,000 to the project already and we certainly hope that we shall be able to donate some more. Scheduled completion, if all goes well, is the end of the year.

We should recall that Lenana has a very rich infrastructure, both sporting and otherwise, but the Ministry of Education does not have the funds to maintain this infrastructure. I suggest that it is we, the alumni, who enjoyed its benefits need to step up to the plate and ensure that current and future generations of pupils get the opportunity to enjoy renewed facilities and infrastructure too. In the past it was perhaps understandable to be sceptical about helping, but in today’s new circumstances it is not. The Laibon society, amongst others, are now showing their commitment. So should we.
 
The Laibon Society have also now begun to provide bursaries to financially challenged but high performing students. Currently they have awarded 6 bursaries and hope that by next year that number will increase to 16. We, the OKT and the MKT have again donated our bursaries, each worth KS 100,000, to 5 new 2nd year pupils at the school. Below is a photo of the 5 new 2016 bursary winners accompanied by Mrs C Kasambeli who is the new person in charge of student counselling.

From the left; Mrs Kasambeli, Stephen Hayo, Abdulaziz Shemaka, Alex Magoba, Lennox Kahati and Aswa Philip Katiechi.

And now to the only bad news in this Newsletter. The 5 pupils to whom we awarded our bursaries in 2015 performed very poorly during the year. The reasons for this are numerous. As their right to receive the bursaries was conditional upon them maintaining their previous high performance level, it was decided to withdraw our funding to them after the end of the first term 2016. They have however been informed that, if during the rest of 2016 - during terms 2 and 3 - their performance returns to a high level, as before, we shall fund them once more during 2017. We hope that they do so and that we shall therefore be funding a minimum of 15 pupils during 2017.

I am pleased to say that our OKT income during calendar 2015, as expected, surpassed £10,000 which means that the annual return we filed with the UK Charity Commission website, is now in the public domain and our financial affairs are transparent. Let me again thank all of the OKT and MKT Trustees for once again absorbing all of their personal costs to date, associated with their Trustee responsibilities.

There are lots of things currently going on at the school, most of them will be news to you, so I am going to let Ronnie Andrews, who is after all at the sharp end of it all, tell you about all those things in his own words;

QUOTE
Status Report for Activities of the Laibon and Old Yorkists to John O’Grady from Ronnie Andrews.
June/July 2016

This may be a long one…

Way back then; in fact in the Yorkist Magazine of 1970, there were several interviews and commentaries from the new Headmaster, Mr Kamunge, and two members of the Board (m/s Slade and Gecau) on the future of the school. In their speeches there was complete acknowledgement of the role of “Elite” schools in Kenya but similarly comment about the needs of the schools such as the Duke of York (only recently re-named Lenana) in the face of growing demand for funding from the education sector across the country. Lenana remained a National School and therefore among the Elite class of establishments in Kenya but as years went by, the commitment to the higher levels was forgotten and increasing demonization of the “Colonial” nature of the school was heard. Successive Heads made excuses for their own inadequacies by blaming the past, despite the fact that the pupils were increasingly proud of the heritage and history of the place.

To cut a long story short, a combination of tight budgets at a National level, inconsistencies and inadequacies in leadership in the school and a lack of commitment from the Old Boys, through despair, lack of interest and lack of coordination, led to the deterioration and in some cases complete destruction of the facilities at the school. However, a new era is upon us now and responsible leadership at the school, Board and Old Boy level as well as communication between all parties has led to a resurgence and a real feeling that Lenana is headed towards the top of the rankings again. And through all of this the one consistent piece of good news is….. the Boys. They are committed and proud and they honestly feel that they are part of something special. We must try to reinforce that feeling and return the school, its facilities and its history to a truly Elite position.

And so,
Since last writing for the February Newsletter, there has been a marked stepping up of activities and a growth in interest and commitment on the part of Old Boys who had up to now been rather slow to respond to efforts to assist. I believe this new enthusiasm is due to the new cycle which we have put in place and which follows the model of the Alliance High School, probably the most successful Kenyan ’National’ school in terms of enjoying the commitment of its old boys. We have had extensive discussions with the members of their Board of Management and their Chairman over the past years, exploring how we can meet the needs and provide possible responses for Lenana School.

The “Alliance Cycle” is as follows:

1. The Old Boys are active, successful, influential and responsible members of society and have the best interests of the school at heart. They engage with the school and take pride in ensuring that the students aspire to the same high academic standards and to become similarly well-placed in Kenyan society. They also wish the best for the school, donate generously and use their influence to ensure continuation of the high standards through teacher placement and facility renewal.
2. The Old Boys influence the placement of people on the Board of Management of the school, control the majority of places therein and also appoint the Chair from among themselves.
3. The Board of Management then assists in appointing or is instrumental in approving the Head/Principal (who shares their vision) and they work closely with him to ensure the continuation of the standards expected and enforce diligence in the control of funds.
4. The Head is therefore naturally inclined to work closely with the Old Boys and there is a complete understanding at all levels as to what is expected in academic and non-academic development.
5. The whole group have strong links to government and thereby influence the lobbying process and then (hopefully) the disbursement of ministry funds and the continuation of ascendency for- in our case- Lenana School.

This was a revelation when we spoke about it some years ago with their then Chairman of the Alliance Old Boys and whilst we had up to then concentrated on building the Old Boys as a credible society of like-minded people with common background, it was clear that a step change was required to ensure deeper engagement with the Government of Kenya. The selection of David Kabeberi as the Chairman of the Laibon Society, the establishment of the Optimum Kenya Trust and its sister Trust in Kenya, the Msaada Kenya Trust, and the appointment of Mr. William Mwangi as Chief Principal all came together at a great time for the school and for its stabilisation and reconstruction. The progress in the last few years has been astounding and although there is a long way to go, there are certainly signs that we shall see Lenana School become one of, if not THE premier academic institution(s) in Eastern Africa.

Principal Mwangi managed the expectations and performance of the teachers and students to see the school finish with an aggregate A- in the Kenya Certificate of secondary education (KCSE) exams for the year 2015. This is the first time we have managed that since the start of the KCSE exams back in the 1990’s! There were some outstanding results individually too and many ex-pupils have now gone on to international universities as well as to tertiary education in Kenya.

Between the BoM, the Old Boys and the Principal the school has also been successful in securing development funds from the Kenya Government totalling over one million U.S. Dollars and the work on a new library and tuition block (at the back of Thompson House) is nearly completed. See the photo below;

The school now has about 1400 pupils and classes have been crowded with 50 or more pupils, so these new facilities are essential! The BoM has just discussed the disbursement of the second tranche of those Government funds and will decide upon how they will be applied to the school’s needs soon. Old Boys now have a significant number of representatives on the Lenana BoM, so that is encouraging.

The funds provided by the Kenya Government have to be used for new development and so refurbishment does not receive the desired levels of attention. Although to be fair, the Principal has re-roofed the main block, painted it and re-done the hall and the paving in the quads. But maintenance and refurbishment are still insufficiently done – it is the overall look of the school that most dismays visitors and that look is now receiving the attention of the Old Boys.

Without unduly hampering this with narrative therefore, here are the main ongoing efforts and more detail can be obtained by contacting John O’Grady or myself for chapter and verse:

• Block 6 started with the building of Mandela House – now about one year old
• New tuition Block and Library nearly completed (see above photo) at the back of former Thomson House
• ‘Banks and Braes’ hockey pitches ‘skimmed’, cleaned of grass, drained, marked, new goals.
• Pool now “destroyed” to make way for a new 25m pool of constant depth. Funds being raised by Old Boys of all generations and the fund raising and work are now progressing well.
• Plan in place and funds committed by Kenya Bunduki Ltd. for the re-establishment of the rifle range. Also to be used by the Nairobi Gun Club.
• Donations and pro bono tutoring in the use of musical instruments has been provided and a new school band has been formed and is giving concerts, starting 30th July.
• The squash court is being refurbished, funds committed by Old Boys who are heading up the KSRA. Msaada Trust may be assisting and donating towards this together with the owner of Kenya Bunduki, Renzo Bernardi.
• Proposal in place for the refurbishment of the tennis courts and to put in place an all-weather surface.
• The currently unusable Golf Course is being turned into a Golf Academy with 18 holes, compared to the previous 9, funded by the Ministries of Sport and Education following a request from HE the President to establish such a facility.
• Kenya Rugby union (KRU) are using the school pitches for training of Kenya national teams and hope to make more use of them for internationals.
• New Catholic Chapel is now in final stages of completion using the old Gym building as a base.
• The Obuya Academy has installed and is using an all-weather wicket for the development programme for cricket in National Schools.
• A recent Inspection has been carried out of the Sanatorium by MKT Trustees with a view to full restoration.

It is hoped that we can generate funds through closer cooperation with the KRU, the Kenya Golf Union, the KSRA, the Cricket governing body, etc., etc. The fact is that with such a large area of land to safeguard from those who may wish to grab it (and there have been several efforts to do so in the past ), we have to assist the school to make better use of it and what better use can there be than as a series of sporting academies which benefit the pupils and extend their learning facilities whilst also benefitting the surrounding communities.

The problem has been and continues to be ‘maintenance’ and our first few forays into assisting the school have proven that a partnership is required giving donors some say over the ongoing management and maintenance of the facilities. This all needs funding and it is certain that the Govt. of Kenya doesn’t have the funds or the inclination to be involved in that side of things! So Memoranda of Understanding are being drawn up for each project and we as Laibon or Yorkists are going to be involved on an ongoing basis and will then only have ourselves to blame if the facilities start to deteriorate once more. MoUs are also going to help protect our investments in the face of any new appointees who may not be as perceptive, balanced or helpful as Mr Mwangi has undoubtedly been. The Principal is fully in support of this form of Public/Private partnership and it is likely that there will be more about all of this in Newsletters to come.

And so… onto other things.

Old Yorkists held a meeting and curry lunch at the Kenya Regiment Club House sometime early in March this year and it was attended by nearly thirty people. Here is a photo of the occasion with the names of those who attended;

From left to right:
Back row; Gayling May, Mike Andrews, Charlie Fraser, Peter Low
3rd row; Tony Massey-Blomfield, Johnny Havelock, Arnie Mitchell, Dudley Stannah
Front row; Jock Anderson, Phil Leakey, Mike Odera, Jonathan Savage, Bill Okwirry, Peter Patterson, Henry West, Roy Carr-Hartley, Paul Young, Sam Mwaura, Joe Okwach, Chacha Odera, Ronnie Andrews, Jeremy Mott.

There is a scant list of local OY’s and we need all the contacts we can get and please also let us know if you are visiting because there are more lunches planned for Old Yorkists and you could tie in and enjoy Jock’s curry and a beer or three. There is also a regular Laibon Tuesday lunch once a month at Nairobi Club attended usually by about 40 Old Boys.

Richard Leakey (Chairman) and Kitili Mbathi (CEO) of the Kenya Wild life services burned Kenya’s stockpile of ivory last month – about 120 Tons. They are both Old Yorkists. The two who made the fires and set up the special effects for the whole event were Charlie Fraser and Robin Hollister – also Old Yorkists, both of Grogan House.

The school is doing better. It needs our assistance and efforts and we as old Yorkists must remain engaged and increase our engagement for only by doing so will we understand the issues, work to resolve them, ensure continuity of academic, sports and personal development standards. You cannot but be impressed by the boys and the teaching staff and especially by the Principal, William Mwangi who has re-ignited pride in the school at all levels. He is keen to meet you all but please do avoid disappointment by calling Ronnie Andrews or one of the Laibon Society personnel in advance to set up your visit with advance notice. Security is a very different issue now to that of the 50s and 60s and this has resulted in people being turned away at the gate, to their chagrin.

Please keep engaged. Engagement doesn’t need money, but money does also certainly help.

UNQUOTE

Here a few more photos;
This is where the new golf course will be. It is in the valley in front of the San and going upwards towards the athletics and cricket area;

Here are a couple of less than perfect photos of some of the attendees at a recently very successful Delamere House reunion, held in York, UK, and hosted by Mike Wilson to which a few non-Delamere intruders, such as myself, were invited.

The tide has turned. The older and younger alumni of the school are both demonstrating their interest and commitment to help current pupils enjoy the “all round” education that they themselves once did there. There is still a huge amount to do in order to return the school to its past prominence, but we can do it. We just need your help and donations. http://www.optimumkenyatrust.org/take-action/ Thank you.

With my very best wishes to you and yours,

John O’Grady

February 2016 Newsletter

Dear Laibon/Old Yorkist

This is our second Newsletter since we established the Optimum Kenya Trust with the Charity Commission in the UK and the Msaada Kenya Trust which is registered with the Government in Kenya. If you did not receive our first newsletter, or the announcement of our formation sent out in July 2015, you can read both documents in the “News” section, and more, on our website http://www.optimumkenyatrust.org

We are up and we are running, but we are certainly not yet at full speed.

Early in 2015 we awarded our first 5 bursaries to 5 financially stretched but academically high performing 2nd year pupils at the school. Thanks to the donations received during 2015, we have now been able to commit to continue to support those 5 during their 3rd year at the school and we have also committed to support another 5 pupils, at least, who have just started their 2nd year at the school from January 2016. You may recall from previous correspondence that pupils are sent to Lenana by the Ministry of Education because they are top performers at their primary school and also performed very well in their KCPE exam, but without any regard for whether the pupil’s family or relatives can afford the school fees at Lenana, currently set at around KS 100,000 per year (£700, $980, oz$1365). There are therefore quite a few pupils at Lenana whose parents, relatives or guardians do not have the income necessary to pay the school fees. Hence the real value of our bursaries and our hope, over time, to increase the number awarded each year.

Besides the above, I am happy to say that there are now quite a few entities besides ourselves who are looking to restore the school to its former prominence. The arrival of the new, organised and more open Principal Mr William Mwangi in January 2014 has been instrumental in setting this process in motion. To inform you on where we are currently, I think I cannot do better than quote from an e-mail I recently received from Ronnie Andrews in Nairobi which demonstrates just how many entities are now at work besides ourselves, including, thankfully, the Principal, the Laibon Society and the Kenya Government.

Dear John,
Please take from the following what you may require for your upcoming newsletter. In the course of my membership of the Laibon Committee, being its Chairman and then working with the Msaada Trust I have a fair idea of the challenges and the victories so here goes – I’ll try to keep it short! But there is a lot to cover.

The Msaada Kenya Trust set up was completed in 2015 and started activities right away by implementing the desire of the parent Optimum Kenya Trust to start by helping the boys, as opposed to diving straight into the requirement for maintenance of school facilities – a formidable challenge! The intention was to make an impact immediately rather than set sights too high and too far out. Five very impressive boys have benefited this last year and they and another five will benefit further this year.

A note on realities: the Kenya Ministry of Education does not have the funds to support any school with complex and sophisticated infrastructure such as Lenana. Whilst it is considered to be one of the elite schools of Kenya it does not merit special treatment except in respect of development funding. The school now houses and feeds about 1200 boarding pupils – twice the size it was in the 70’s and three times the boarding pupils of the 60’s. Conversely the rebuild boarding houses Kinyanjui (formerly Delamere) and the newly built Mandela (on the vlei between Kirk and Grogan) and the refurbished Kenyatta House (formerly Lugard) following a fire which destroyed the building, were all funded by the Government. So too is the current ongoing project; building some new class rooms and a new library on the ground behind the former Thomson House.

The funding for this is from the Kenya Government but it must be remembered that the Principal Secretary in the Treasury is an Old Boy (Laibon) and he has assisted greatly in acting as a bridge between the respective entities.

From internally generated funds the Principal has now re-roofed the tuition block (the top classes were flooding in the rains!), the same for the San, refurbished his own house (allowing him to remove the buckets from all the rooms during the rains!), replaced the tarmac in the main quad with a concrete block walkway, painted the tuition block, replaced broken windows in the classrooms, and various other smaller refurb jobs which were required. 

 But the list of laudable causes goes on and on and, as can be seen from the above, relies upon external benefactors and/or some form of regular support. The school has been a National School for nearly 50 years and the deterioration has been huge. And help can come in many ways: the Optimum Kenya Trust and the Msaada Kenya Trust have embarked upon a programme of refurbishment of the IMMEDIATELY VIEWABLE items; the hockey pitches, the golf course and the Sanatorium. We forwarded some pics of the hockey pitches and they will be in top order from the end of February. (It should be noted that the Lenana team are the regional hockey champions and runners up in the regional rugby championship.) The effort to refurbish the pitches and that of the golf course has received pro bono support from the Karen Club Management who have given us free use of their weed killer mobile sprayer and who have committed to provide grass cutters and mowing for the golf course, an effort which is being supported by the Kenya Golf Union and the Junior Golf Foundation – both headed by Old boys! 

There is a requirement for refurbishment or replacement of the boarding blocks – they were built in 1949 and were expected to last just 25 years! The swimming pool, unusable for years, is receiving attention right now and is the principal current project of the Laibon Society. The squash court requires massive attention. The tennis courts are being worked on currently by us with the hockey pitches. The chapel requires new cork tiles. The Catholic Chapel (formerly the gym) is being developed. The San requires equipment. And that is just what one can see immediately. The school also needs personnel; specialist teachers, nursing staff, other.

In the end what comes from the school differs little, from any year of its existence. In the course of the interviews for bursaries last year we were impressed by the boys themselves and one cannot but be so. They are well turned out, developing a healthy respect for the traditions of the school and taking pride in their uniform and their ascendancy. The discipline is improving, and clarity over the boundaries of the school are being introduced more effectively.

And so it goes. Msaada’s Trustees are committed to helping and the Principal and school body know us and look up to us for guidance and support. Old Boys, both young and old, are definitely coming to the aid of the school and there is a good feeling that the Old Boys of the Laibon era are communicating, gathering, assisting. There are regular monthly lunches featuring our own era as well as more recent presenters, talking about issues of interest. The Laibon Chairman and Committee are working with the school, several of us are on the Board of Management of the school and we are hopeful that we shall soon have more alumni on the Board.

Lenana School is a leader in Kenya and should be a centre for learning in Eastern Africa as a whole. This can only be done if the school, the admin, the Old Boys of all generations and even the Kenya Government are joined up in their thinking. This linkage is better than it ever was, but is not yet ideal. The fact is that the Old Boys cannot be a separate and disjointed grouping of onlookers. Too much is at stake for the current pupils and for Kenya and however small the contribution, it will make a difference. Just communicating will make a difference. But the school is definitely on its way back up. It may never be again the way any particular generation remembers it, but it can still be the best in East Africa.

The current state of the school pool and squash courts

Mr William Mwangi and we have been successful in kick starting the regeneration process, but it is only a start. As Ronnie says, there is still a great deal that needs to be done.

We expect in the coming weeks to distribute a further newsletter which will identify the five, minimum, recipients of our OKT/MKT bursaries for 2016 and confirm the renewal of last year’s five fortunate recipients. We shall expect to report on the completion of the re-establishment of the Murram hockey pitches and the tennis courts. I hope that we shall also be able to confirm the start date for the golf course renewal and the refurbishment of the Sanatorium.

This shows the state of both hockey pitches last year

This is the Braes pitch a few weeks ago: work in progress

For your information, the only OKT expenditure so far has been the 5 bursaries that were awarded. All of the Trustees have personally paid all of the expenses they have incurred in fulfilling their roles, duties and travel thus far. The same is true of the MKT Trustees. Donations received to date, to both OKT and MKT now exceed £17,000. Our grateful thanks go to all those who have donated thus far.

Also for your information, there is a Delamere House reunion taking place on the evening of Saturday the 27th February at the ASK Italian restaurant in York, England at 7pm, organised by Mike Wilson. And another OY 1949-1968 reunion with a curry lunch prepared by Jock Anderson and Ronnie Andrews will be enjoyed at the Kenya Regiment H/Q in Nairobi at 12.30pm on the 2nd March.  

Besides your deciding perhaps to attend either of these reunions, I would like to encourage you to do two things;
1.    Help us to expand our contact list by letting me have any e-mail addresses of any OY’s/Laibon that you know to be currently valid.
2.    And please donate to the cause, if you can afford to do so. The various ways you can do so are explained on our website http://www.optimumkenyatrust.org/take-action/

With my best wishes to you and yours.

John O’Grady

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September 2015 Newsletter

In September we sent our first newsletter to those who received and opened the initial announcement. This is the contents of that newsletter.

Dear Laibon/Old Yorkist
 
You are receiving this, the first OKT/MKT Newsletter, because you were one of the 165 ex-pupils of the DOY/Lenana school who received and opened our initial announcement e-mail, sent out last month, concerning the formation of the Optimum Kenya Trust and the Msaada Kenya Trust. We sent out 550 e-mails to what we hoped were valid e-mail addresses but only 160 were opened, a mere 30%. More on this topic later.
First of all, a correction. The UK Charity Commission has changed their website address from that which was mentioned in the initial announcement e-mail. The new address and the best place to start is www.charitycommission.gov.uk/find-charities. Our registration number is 1154051. There is not much information on there for the moment, as our income has yet to exceed £10,000 in any one year, but we sure hope to achieve that this year.
As of today’s date the Optimum Kenya Trust has received donations and pledges to donate amounting to £11,208.50 thanks, in the main, to a few very generous individuals. This Pound Sterling amount equates to 15,287 Euros, US$ 17,288, AUD 24,218 and KS 1,822,872. The only expenditure to date has been the cost of awarding the first 5 OKT/MKT bursaries, as mentioned in our initial announcement e-mail and on our website: www.optimumkenyatrust.org. Our grateful thanks go to all those who have made donations which have successfully started us upon our way.
Besides ourselves, there are several other entities also pitching in to help the new Headmaster restore the school to its previous prominence. The Kenya Government, no less, has stepped up to the plate and the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Mr Belio Kipsang, as was reported in the Daily Nation on the 24th August, has committed over KS 50 million to build a new classroom block and a new library at the school. This will enable the school to both increase its student population but also reduce the number of pupils for some classes. Here is a photo of a model of the new block which will be located between Thomson/Kibaki House and Upper Junior/Tom Mboya House.

The Laibon Society are currently considering a proposal to repair and refurbish the school swimming pool. The East Africa Cricket Foundation is also refurbishing the school’s cricket facilities and has provided the school with the necessary equipment.
Some Msaada Trustees met with the Headmaster recently and agreed to fund an initial project which is to clear and make playable once more the 2 murram hockey pitches at the entrance to the school. You can see the current state of the pitches in these 2 photos.

Other possible projects were discussed with the Headmaster and cost estimates will be sought and priorities will be set. There will be an update in the next Newsletter.

Which brings me back to the subject of donations and e-mail addresses. I am confident that many of our fellow ex-pupils who did not receive and open our initial announcement e-mail will want to donate to the cause, but they did not get the opportunity as we had some out-of-date e-mail addresses and some of them may have had a spam filter turned on which rejected our e-mail. Whatever the reason, I would like to reach out further beyond ourselves. So, I therefore ask you, if you will, to kindly send us all the valid e-mail addresses for our fellow ex-pupils, of which you are aware. Over time, with the help of your feedback, we can extend our Newsletter distribution, perhaps re-connect with some old friends and also increase our financial commitment to the pupils and the school and eventually help Kenya to prosper. We appear to have our timing right. We have an opportunity to help with the redevelopment of the school. Let’s do it.

With my best wishes to you all.

First Bursaries Awarded by Optimum Kenya Trust and affiliated Msaada Kenya Trust

The first donation of 5 bursaries, each worth KS 100,000, were handed to the Lenana School Principal, Mr William Mwangi at a weekly roll call and assembly in front of the chapel and the school bell. Ronnie Andrews (pictured), representing the Optimum and Msaada Trustees delivered the good news to the lucky five students who had been selected by the Trustees to be the first recipients of the OKT/MKT Trust bursaries.

In handing over the cheque Ronnie re-stated the intentions of the Trusts to support high-perfoming but financially needy pupils, to contribute towards refurbishment of infrastructure at the school and perhaps, later, to assist outstanding performers with university scholarships. 

The Principal thanked the Optimum and Msaada Trusts and underlined the need for the Old Boys to be involved by assisting in the rebuilding of the school. He pointed out the on-going work in the refurbishment of the courtyards, boarding houses and dining halls and called for assistance in further development of the school.

Mr Mwangi also thanked the Laibon Society and particularly the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Kamau Thugge, himself an alumnus of the school, for his efforts in securing funds for the school's next phase of development.

Congratulations once more to our first five hard working students!

Ronnie with Mr. Boniface Ngure, old boy and member of the Laibon Society with the five recipients

Our photographer sneaks behind the scenes

From left to right: Isiah Kipngetich, Jack Muricho Kituyi, Kenneth Olendo, Oliver Wafula, Hosea Suter Kipkemoi

Tuck those shirts in!