Model Ajuma donates books to underprivileged learners in Mombasa

Kenyan international fashion model Ajuma Nasenyana on Tuesday donated exercise books to Mwakirunge primary school, in Mombasa County.

Speaking during the event, Ajuma said lifting the burden of buying books from parents is one way she can help keep children in school.

The model through her Ajuma Foundation donated 3,200 exercise books to the school.

“I felt it was important for me to keep these children in school by taking the burden off their parents and provide exercise books to the children,” she said. 

“Even before Covid-19, children in my community were sitting at home because their parents could not afford simple things like exercise books. With Covid-19, I knew even more children were going to sit out of school and this is very detrimental to our communities because already we are so behind in literacy.”

In addition to donating books, she also distributes sanitary pads and does mentorship for young girls.

Ajuma said the exercise books are customised to reflect Kenyan communities and their cultures and that this will mould young children into responsible citizens who appreciate all cultures.

“We have been having tension amongst our own communities which means we do not know each other as communities to appreciate each other and live in harmony,” she added.

Her initiative provides the opportunity for young learners to get to know different cultures so they can appreciate and learn to live with one another in harmony.

The Turkana-born model has partnered with cross-border money transfer firm Chipper Cash to help support education for underprivileged learners across the country, by distributing exercise books to public schools in rural areas where poverty levels are high.

Ajuma Foundation has so far distributed about 37,000 exercise books to learners in 13 counties since January 2021.

Chipper Cash country director Leon Kiptum who was also present said many parents in rural and poverty-stricken areas cannot afford basic tools of education – exercise books, pens and pencils.

He added that food is also a major challenge that denies learners in such areas a chance to get good education.

“You notice that most of these children will go hungry pretty much the whole day if the school does not provide lunch for them,” Kiptum said.

“What we are trying to do is participate giving the children in these communities an equal chance with the kids in urban areas because those ones have pretty much everything they need."

He added that more still needs to be done by education stakeholders with more focus on the basic provisions.