News – find out what we’ve been up to
Michael’s story
Michael left Mundeku Primary School in western Kenya in 2013 with 372 points, an A- grade and was looking forward to secondary school. However, like many families locally, the school fees would present an impossible challenge to his family. The Red Rubber Ball...
James
James joined Sigalame High School in Busia, near to the border of Kenya with Uganda, having scored 369 in his primary school exams (the equivalent of a B+). A Red Rubber Ball Foundation scholarship allowed him to complete the four years at secondary school and James...
Kenya Finance Bill and demonstrations – what’s happening?
The Kenyan economy is in a very poor state. Meaningful employment is hard to come by even for graduates, let alone school leavers. Many people are driven to the informal sector, to set up ‘side hustles’ to earn enough income to survive. So many families still earn...
John L’s story
The story of John L is intrinsically linked with the story of The Red Rubber Ball Foundation. It was during a visit to Mundeku Primary School in 2010 that Neil became aware of the challenges faced by families trying to pay for their children to attend secondary...
Flooding in Kenya
Recent weeks have seen major flooding across Kenya. Many homes have been affected as rains have proved much heavier than usual due to the El Niṅo weather pattern. The rainy season began in early March and has continued almost every day since, with further impact from...
Julius’s story
Julius comes from a small village called Emarenyo, in Butere near to our farming project. He began his schooling at Emarenyo Primary School in the nursery and in 2012 he scored 292 out of 500 in the KCPE primary school exams. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to move on...
John’s story
John is the first born of nine children living in the village of Ebuyonga near Yala in western Kenya. He attended primary school and in 2006 scored 242 points. Unable to progress to secondary school as his family could not afford the fees, he returned to primary...
Onguko’s story
Onguko completed school in 2014 with an A grade in his final KCSE secondary school exams. This is extremely rare in Kenya, with less than 1% of students generally achieving an ‘A’ grade. It secured him a coveted place to study for a degree in Actuarial science at...
School grades
The school system in Kenya is undergoing change and we are closely watching how these changes are being implemented. One of the aspects is a shift from an exam-based system to assessment-based results. It will be a challenge to get right. The existing exam-based...