The annual intake to PP1 at St Bernadette Mary School is always oversubscribed, so many parents vie for the available places and as a result we have to carry out checks on every child who meets the criteria. The children have to live in the surrounding area, have their birth certificate & come from a poor family. We have had parents placing the children with friends just to say they live in the area as having a good quality free education is unheard of in Kenya and they will try any trick in the book to get their children a place.

As a result of past experiences every child who applies and makes the final numbers has to have a home visit by our Social Worker and a member of the school board. These visits give us a great insight into the child’s background and home environment, and in the majority of cases confirm what we have been told in the first instance. The children receive their school uniform, a PE Kit, pumps, jumper, schoolbag and all their books along with a cup of porridge daily so it’s understandable that the places are much sought after.

Domi was on-hand to assist with the distribution of the uniforms and the new PP1 pupils were very happy to pose with their new kit. For these children having access to an education at SBM School is a dream come true and with past pupils graduating from university they can see that the impossible is now possible.