Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya and home to over 340,000 people. It is also home to one of Saint Basil Coffee’s partner missions, Our Lady of Grace School which provides education opportunities for students in need in the community.
“Our Lady of Grace is in essence a St. Basil Coffee sponsored program given the magnitude of funding you have put to it. Thank you so much from all the hearts of the little ones and mine,” Maria Casiraghi, Head of School, said.
A major project this past year with Our Lady of Grace School was the renovation and expansion of their classrooms. Children are now able to learn in large, well lit, clean rooms. This has a tremendously positive impact on students’ learning experience. More recently, we were able to donate over $8,000 to purchase and install playground equipment, so students can enrich their lives outside the classroom as well.
The value of education is often taken for granted in our lives but to the children of the Our Lady of Grace community, it is a gift and a source of refuge. Not only are students able to learn, but Our Lady of Grace School also provides meals to children who would otherwise have gone without. During the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Saint Basil Coffee’s continued contributions ensured that these daily meals would not have to be sacrificed.
“Your support brought spring and the warmth to us, the sound of little ones laughing in clean classrooms, eating in clean environment, playing with ease without care of tomorrow, the joy of a child… is a sight to behold,” Casiraghi said.