The document provides a monitoring and evaluation report from AFEW Kenya Ltd on several schools that received funding for environmental sustainability projects. The report summarizes the objectives, activities, findings and recommendations from site visits to 7 funded schools and assessments of 5 potential schools. Key findings include varying levels of project implementation success, with some schools excelling in areas like tree planting but struggling with challenges such as water access, pest control and record keeping. Recommendations focus on improving sustainability, stakeholder involvement, and setting realistic targets.

1. AFEW KENYA LTD – GIRAFFE CENTRE
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
2017EASTERN M&E REPORT
INTRODUCTION
Since the year 2009, AFEW has trained approximately 60 schools inYatta Sub-county of
Machakos County and 15 Schools in Tharaka Nithi County. During the same period, AFEW has
also funded 5 schools and 1 ESD network inYatta Sub-County and 3 schools to implement
sustainable school micro-projects in the same regions respectively. As part of the follow up
activities, the Education Department undertook a one week Monitoring and Evaluation exercise
for funded Schools in the same region. This exercise was undertaken by Madam Judy Sembe and
Mr. Stanley Kosgey from the Education Department from January 22nd
-28th
, 2017. During the
exercise, they were able to evaluate 7 funded schools, conducted a pre-funding assessment for 5
schools and met with officials of two regional ESD networks.
The set objectives for this exercise were as follows:
• To find out the level of ESD implementation in funded schools
• To find out sustainability of AFEW’s funded projects in the funded schools
• To determine the challenges faced by schools while implementing ESD
• To collectively agree on the way forward with the schools’/ project management
• To assess of viability of some of the proposed school projects in the target regions
For the schools who have been beneficiaries of the school micro-projects, the exercise involved;
assessment of project site, review of records, reports and meetings with the school environment
committees and brief environmental awareness lectures to students. While for schools who were
seeking funding in the current financial year, the activities included assessment of the proposed
project site and clarification of inputs and expected outputs and outcomes. The meetings of
network officials presented an opportunity to understand the objectives of respective networks,
their operations and explain AFEW’s expectations.
The findings of the M&E exercise for the funded schools shall be used to determine the winners
of the 2017 AFEW’s Green School Award. Below is a description of findings from individual
schools, conclusion and acknowledgement.
1. KILANGO PRIMARY
This school is located in Yatta sub-county, Machakos County; it was trained in 2014 and has
been implementing school greening and horticulture activities. The school is a member of Yatta
ESD network with the school’s head teacher being is the secretary of the network. It submitted a
project progress report in 2015 together with a proposal requesting for financial support towards
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2. their horticulture project. The objectives of this project were to provide an opportunity for
students, teachers and parents to learn about sustainable agriculture methods viable in this semi-
arid region, provide food to be used in school diet and provide income to be used in school
greening.
Agreed Inputs and Outputs
1) The school has adequate supply of water and it is well fenced to enhance security. They
would need two drip irrigation systems, a small water tank besides the farm that would
serve as water, seeds and fertilizer.
2) The parents and pupils would provide labour in the farm with the teachers supervising the
project activity implementation process.
3) The project expected outputs would be the quantity and amount of harvested crop, the
quantity of harvest utilized within the school and the number of tree seedlings bought and
planted from income. The agreed outcome is increased tree cover hence cooler
temperatures and improved food security amongst parents or farmers in the
neighborhood.
Evaluation Remarks
Based on the strengths of this school it qualifies to receive funding from AFEW. Some of these
strengths include availability of school perimeter fence that would limit chances of stray animals
and intruders getting into the school farm. Secondly, the school has a reliable source of water
supply which is an important input in this project.
AFEW would supply high quality drip lines to ensure the lines would serve the project for a long
duration of time. To ensure success of the project, the school stakeholders were briefly taken
through the process of a whole school approach. They were also advised to embark on land
preparation and consult with agricultural extension officers within the county.
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3. School farm tree nursery
2. INYANZAANI PRIMARY
This school is located in Yatta Sub-county, Machakos County. The school was funded in
February 2014 to a tune of KShs. 92,170 for water connection and horticulture. The contract
signed between AFEW and the school does not stipulate the SMART outputs and outcomes but
they included the quantity of harvests realized from irrigated farm and number of planted trees
per year. The expected outcome was improved food security and increased number of trees in the
school. This was the second evaluation after the first one which was undertaken in November
2015. The school submitted its project financial report was submitted in 2015.
Achieved outputs and outcomes
1. There are still seven water connection points but five were working and two vandalized
by December 2015.
2. The fuel for pumping water is still provided by the Mully Children Family (MCF) who is
a sponsor of the school am not sure as the catholic church is the main sponsor. Therefore
the school has a reliable water supply. Consider revising the sentence
3. In 2014, the project activities included land and seed bed preparation. Tomatoes and
kales were planted in the green house and 300 tree seedlings raised in nursery.
4. In 2015, the school harvested tomatoes worth KShs. 60,000 in first term, the kales were
eaten by stray animals, and trees planted. The school didn’t go into the second phase of
planting because the drip pipe holes were clogged. This was caused by high salinity of
the borehole water.
5. The school planted kales outside the green house which were all eaten by stray animals
before harvesting. The stray animals also destroyed planted trees and there was a 50%
success. They raised another tree seed bed whose seedlings were planted in 2016.
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4. 6. In 2016, the school planted kales which were still destroyed by stray animals. They
planted 300 tree seedlings mainly gapping in what was destroyed in 2015, and planted a
row in the school farm. Most of the tree seedlings are surviving and tree cover has
increased.
7. Children were involved in all tree planting sessions therefore able to learn the process and
importance of planting trees. Parents are only informed about the activities and
challenges but not involved actively. Most of the teaching staff have no role in the project
activities.
8. The water is available for domestic use and it’s utilized in the school kitchen and
classrooms by children.
Challenges
1. Vandalism
2. Blockage of drips
3. Stray animals
4. Conflicts with neighboring high school on water use
5. High illiteracy levels in community
Evaluation Remarks
This school is in a harsh climatic environment and highly illiterate community. These two threats
are a big hindrance to the funded project. Despite this, the school administration is not innovative
in dealing with the challenges. This is because the challenges have continuously recurred since
2015 evaluation. For instance they planted kales in three rounds and never harvested. They
should have revised their implementation plan in the second and third rounds. Continuous failure
has led to teachers giving up on school horticulture activities. The school does not include
technical expertise in project implementation as advised by AFEW. For instance the blockage of
drip pipe holes is a common phenomenon as experienced with other funded schools which can
be resolved
There are still conflicts within the school concerning project implementation and with
neighboring school. Even after recommendations in 2015, the school administration is not able to
use a whole school approach in solving these conflicts. They did not form the school
environment committee and they also failed to submit the 2016 project report to AFEW. While
the school is performing poorly in horticulture, they have excelled in school greening project.
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5. As a way forward, it was agreed that the school should act fast to solve all the highlighted
challenges. They should give dialogue and consultation a chance. They were advised to include
the high school’s administration and MCF in the School Environment Committee. The formed
committee should then agree on an implementation plan. It was also agreed that the school
should submit a project status report to AFEW before end of first term.
AFEW staff talking to parents a photo showing the trees planted in 2016
3. KWOSAU PRIMARY
This school is located inYatta Sub-county of Machakos County. The school was 1st
funded in
2015 with KShs. 80,000 to purchase a water pump that was to distribute water from a manmade
water pan to the school’s farm and classroom section. The increased water accessibility would
lead to improved food security and increased tree cover in the school. This project was
successfully implemented based on the 2015 evaluation report which indicated good results.
Water from the tanks is used by learners for drinking and is also used in school kitchen for
cooking. Trees were planted and water was sold to community members too.
This school was funded in 2016 with KShs. 100,000 to purchase drip kits, seeds and pesticides to
upscale their horticulture and school greening activities. This was necessary to increase
sustainability of the project. The expected outputs and outcomes were;
1) 1 acre of school land under horticulture farming.
2) 40 drip lines bought and used for horticulture
3) 150 Gms of kales, 100 Gms of tomatoes, 100 Gms of melons and 50 Gms of capsicum
seeds planted
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6. 4) 80 bags of Sukuma, 40 crates of tomatoes, 1000 pcs of melons and 30 crates of capsicum
is harvested per planting season
5) The harvests should be used in the school diet and also sold to earn income.
6) The project should enable curriculum integration of the curriculum.
Achieved Results in 2016
1) The school planted tomatoes and watermelons. They planted 75 Gms of kales, 100 Gms
of melons, 75 Gms of tomatoes in first planting season. The input yielded 50 bags of
Kales, water melons and 15 buckets of tomatoes.
2) The school was still compiling records for the second harvests but the harvest was low.
3) They also planted 80 grafted mangoes in August 2016.
4) On the onset of rains in October, they set up vegetable nursery and before schools closed
the seedlings were transplanted.
5) The school shamba currently has about 1 acre under kales at different growth stages and
approximately ¼ acre under mangoes.
6) Mature kales and tomatoes are currently being harvested.
7) The school generated approximately KShs. 43,000 from horticultural product sales in
2016 was. This was ploughed back and also used to repair a classroom.
8) The Ksh. 50000/- has been directed into the project. The money was used to dig 200
holes to plant banana suckers in early 2017. The money for the suckers is still held by
school.
Challenges
1) The second harvest was affected by poor rainfall. The level of water in pan could not
sustain this phase.
2) The school now utilizes sprinkler irrigation since drip irrigation kit couldn’t function
effectively due to pores blockage a result of saline water. Also rodents destroyed the
drips.
Evaluation Remarks
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7. In 2016, the school was able to achieve the intended results but not satisfactorily. It was realized
that the targets in outputs were exaggerated that is did not match the inputs. For example 100gms
of tomato seeds cannot yield 40 crates. With regard to their inputs, we therefore concluded that
the project performed well. This means that project implementation and monitoring was planned
and conducted well. They were told to use these results to set up realistic targets in 2017.
The success could also be contributed by the whole-school-approach employed by the school’s
administration. They were reminded to consider greening the school in 2017 as this was one of
AFEW’s major objective of funding in 2015 and 2016. The school administration indicated that
there is a plan to set up a live fence around the school compound. They should also actively use
the projects for learning.
The projects in the school are highly sustainable.There’s good accountability. Records are well
kept but shortcomings were identified and addressed. For instance it was agreed that they need to
also keep proper records of harvests to help in judging success.
They were advised to set their farming levels at a rate the water pan could sustain. They should
stop overdrawing the water. The school also won the Total Eco-Challenge for their efforts in
school greening, environmental conservation and supplementary food supplies efforts in 2016.
(this sentence is misplaced)
Kales in the school farm a plantation of tomatoes
4. AIC KASOONI PRIMARY
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8. This school is located at Ikombe division(This is a ward within Yatta sub-county) of Machakos
County. The objective of visiting this school was to conduct a pre-funding assessment. The
school was trained under Yatta ESD and are members of Ikombe ESD network. The
administration explained that they have been planting trees and flowers for conservation. The
school has a greenhouse too which was without crop by the time of our visit due to lack of funds.
They have a permanent borehole at the school fence which is shared with the community. There
is good security and it is well fenced.Consider revising!
The AFEW officers explained the criteria and objectives of AFEW funding. That the project
should be able to promote environment conservation and be used as a teaching aid. The school
was advised to promote sustainability of the project through ensuring income generation and
involvement of different stakeholders. We explained how this can be achieved.
We therefore discussed the proposal that the school had submitted to AFEW. They would like to
carry out horticulture and school greening. We agreed on the implementation plan and the budget
adjustments after visiting the school compound. We realized that the available space for farming
would fit 1 drip kit instead of two as proposed. The school would also need to work with
technical expertise in the field of agriculture.
AFEW can consider to fund the school for horticulture because they have a reliable water supply
and good security. This are factors that pose challenge to project implementation in most funded
schools and therefore AFEW should expect good results in this school. .
School farm Protected planted trees
5. MYUMBUNI PRIMARY
This school is also a member of Ikombe ESD Network. It is located at Ikombe Division in
Machakos County. The purpose of visiting this school was to carry out a pre funding survey. The
current Head Teacher in the school is the secretary of Ikombe ESD Network.
The school has an active environment club of which we met its member students. There are two
patrons working with the administration to implement conservation matters. The club plants
trees every year. The tree planting project was initiated was by the current head teacher who has
experience and passion in environment conservation after working with other conservation
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9. organizations in his former school. They also have a school farm where they plant food crops.
There is a big water pan which has increased availability of water in the school. There is
challenge of monkeys who destroy their produce even before harvesting.
A tour around the school informed us that the school would need a water tank to store water from
the pan and be used in drip irrigation. They have a big land but it was agreed that they start with
two drip kits. They were encouraged to practice rain fed agriculture in remaining section of land.
They should curb the challenge of monkeys through planting pepper or crops not eaten by
monkeys. They would then sell the crop to buy cereals and tree seedlings.
6. MAKUTANO DAY AND BOARDING
This school is located at Yatta sub-county in Machakos County. It was funded with Kshs100,
000 for horticulture project and school greening. The expected outputs and outcomes were; 1,000
trees planted from the harvested income in the school compound per year, purchase 1 drip
irrigation kit, harvested 50 bags of Sukuma, 1,500 pcs of capsicum, 46 crates of tomatoes and
1,000 water melon fruits and three ESD classes per term.
Achieved Results in 2016
1) The school planted tomatoes in March but they were affected by cold. They replanted
most crops in May and harvested in September?? Of which year.
2) The school planted 3 Kg of maize which yielded 10 Kg
3) They planted 2 kgs beans and harvested 20 Kgs
4) Planted 500 gms of Sukuma and harvested 3 bags
5) Planted 200 gms of tomatoes and harvested 2 buckets
6) Planted 100 gms of onions and harvested I bucket
7) 30% of each harvested crop was used in the school kitchen while 70% was sold. There is
proper record of sales but was not compiled. Its approximated at Kshs 8,000
8) There were out door classes carried out in the project site at least one a week.
Challenges
The school faced various challenges which included inadequate supply of water, inadequate
fertilizer, inadequate time and pests mainly birds. The problem of water shortage set in in
September when the school was planning to embark on the third planting season. The project
relied on students to supply fertilizer which was not enough. There were too many project
activities being done which led to inadequate time. It was difficult for pupils and teachers to
balance class work and project activities. The water pump also failed. Why did it fail?
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10. Evaluation Remarks
All the major inputs were bought. This were drip kit, water pump, seeds and fertilizer. The
school over invested in farm input and reduced budget for seeds and fertilizer thereby yielding
low yield. This is likely to affect the sustainability of the project in the coming years. The BOM
was advised to consider boosting year two of project or the school to apply for second funding
from AFEW. But second funding should be based on success of the 1st
phase!
The performance of individual crops and general project compared to expected outputs is not
good. This we realized was due to an over investment in some aspects for instance purchasing
unnecessary tools and equipment and also the school planted a wide variety of crop which they
did neither have adequate skills to implement nor prepared for the challenges. It could also be
due to setting unrealistic outputs. The school was advised to plant all crops in the main school
farm for resource efficiency and easy monitoring. And also consider specializing in two or three
crop varieties. They should also not overstrain the existing dam for sustainability.
There is a whole school approach but it seemed the implementation of project activities was not
coordinated well amongst the stakeholders. The BOM was involved actively in monitoring of the
project. Pupils were involved through supply of fertilizer and doing light jobs in the farm. The
project was also affected by poor management. At closure of third term, the grounds man was
left in charge of the project which he mismanaged. They need to improve on recording and were
reminded to always reflect on the monitoring results to decide on way forward.
Despite of these challenges, the project yielded an income that would allow the school to
implement year two of project. The project has increased a positive attitude amongst the learners
towards school conservation activities. Most parents also visited the school to learn. The school
has also initiated a biomass waste recycling project whereby they are making briquettes. The
project also boosted the school’s feeding program which provided a great relieve to parents. The
AFEW evaluation officers reminded the school to keep their spirit high. In year one of project
implementation, performance can be low, average or high. For this case, they should learn from
the low performance and draw an improved action plan for 2017.
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11. Section of farm in school area Main school farm
7. MBITINI GIRLS
The school is located in the semi-arid land of Kitui County and it was funded in 2016 with KShs.
100,000 for a horticulture project through greenhouse farming. The total cost of the project was
Kshs 217,050 and therefore the school was to top up the balance. The expected outputs were; a
30m by 8m green house installed, planted 1,000 seedlings of tomatoes to fetch an income of
Kshs 375,000. They were to use the income to establish one tree nursery and plant trees in
school.
Achieved Results
1) A greenhouse of 15m by 8m was established and drip lines connected.
2) 1,000 tree seedlings of tomatoes were planted. It was later realized that they were
overcrowded. The school pruned 100 seedlings
3) The tomato seedbed was established in April 2016 and transplanted in June 2016. The
crop was harvested from October to December 2016
4) They harvested 1,724 kilos by November. This translated to an income of KShs 41,245.
5) In October, the school planted a seedbed of onions. The seedlings are ready to transplant
but the quantity is less compared to green house.
6) The project has been beneficial in curriculum integration and used for Biology,
Geography and Agriculture
7) The school planted 100 cassia seedlings.
8) The school has a fish pond project initiated in 2013 and active to date.
Challenges
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12. 1) Crops in greenhouse were overcrowded leading to competition
2) The yield was affected by bacteria wilt and caterpillar attack.
3) After school closed, the ground man was left in charge and did not record or account for
the remaining sales.
4) By the time of the harvest the local market was Flooded with tomatoes hence low prices.
Evaluation Remarks
All the intended outputs were achieved. The size of green house was reduced due to
unavailability of space. The school compound is small and being restructured. This is also why
they planted few trees. They would need to sustain their activities to achieve outcomes of helping
needy children and becoming a resource center.
In project implementation, all relevant stakeholders were involved. For example the students
prepared the seedbed, offered security and established a tree nursery. There are two patrons who
supervised the project with the administration. The school administration also did the market
analysis to determine the selling price. The PTA and BOM supported the project through
providing the co funding amount and bought tomatoes from the school. Most parents are also are
eager to replicate the project. There were good records kept by the patron and the club members.
In overall, there was a whole school approach, proper monitoring and record keeping. The low
output was caused by a flooded market with tomatoes which offered low prices. The school was
encouraged to learn the cycle of tomato production and do proper timing for next season. By the
time of the M&E exercise the school was preparing to plant onions in 2017. They were reminded
to reflect on 2016 results and set proper targets for 2017.
Records analysis Funded green house with onion seedlings
8. IRERENI PRIMARY
This school is located at TharakaNithi County and it was funded in 2016. The funding included
Kshs30, 000 and 1 10,000 liters tank for rain water harvesting and school greening. The expected
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13. outputs were increased amount of water to be used for domestic purposes and planting of trees.
However, the head teacher who was at the school by the time of funding was transferred to Ura
gate primary in third term of 2016. The current head teacher was brought in from Kaaragankuru
Primary. The trained patron is still in the school.
Achieved results in 2016
1) In the handing over, the former head teacher briefed the incumbent about the proposed
project but without handing over the file. He later came across the AFEW ESD project
file and was able to learn about the project.
2) The school did not harvest enough water. They harvested approximately 7,000 liters
during the long rain season in 2016 as the short rains in this region failed.
3) The harvested water was mainly used for domestic purposes and watering trees
4) They school did not plant more trees in 2016 but continued to take care of over 1,000
trees planted in 2015. Most of these trees are still growing but about 10% of seedlings
withered.
5) The school set up a trial farm for tomatoes in May 2016.
6) They bought 200gms of tomato seeds and harvested tomatoes worth Kshs. 600.
7) The school gave at least 2 seedlings to each parent
Challenges
1) The school is located in harsh climatic zone. The rainfall pattern here is very unreliable
for instance the short rain season failed in 2016 yet availability of rainfall is a key factor
to success of the funded school greening or horticulture projects.
2) There is a natural spring about 4 kms away and this distance limits accessibility of water.
3) Most teachers are disinterested to participate in school’s conservation activities. The
commitment level of patron is average too.
4) There was disconnection between the patron and administration during implementation.
They did not cooperate after the cheque collection at AFEW.
5) The school is in a remote area therefore difficulty in accessing communication means.
They were not able to send the 2016 project report.
Evaluation Remarks
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14. The school did not perform well in 2016 project implementation. Despite the achievements, they
were not adaptive and innovative to respond to the challenges. They used the whole green house
for demonstration instead of setting up in a section. The administration was advised to identify
another teacher who would assist the patron. The school greening project is relevant in this
school, to be able to improve the local climate. It was agreed that AFEW could consider donating
a second water tank to increase water harvesting and storage. The school should submit a 2016
financial and project report and improve on project implementation through embracing a whole
school approach.
The AFEW-Kerrigan’s Waves donated tank The greenhouse in background
9. UCWENI PRIMARY
The school is about 10km from Irereni Primary school. This school was funded with KShs.
94,110 to initiate a fish pond project. The expected output was 1,000 fish harvested at least once
per year. Part of the harvest should be used in the school feeding program and part sold to
generate income for plough back and other conservation activities. The expected outcome was
increased food security in the school and community, increased vegetation in school and
increased diversity of conservation projects in the school. The school had utilized KShs 88,220
of the project money to dig a pond, buy the pond liner, fingerlings and feeds.
Achieved results
1) The parents dug one fish pond of 9m by 10m. The pond is well dug and protected from
birds and stray animals.
2) Stocked 770 mono sex mud fish in June 2016.
3) They harvested about 170 mid-size fish in September 2016 after they noticed the fish
were preying on each other. The pond had approximately 150 fish at time of evaluation
which will be harvested in February 2017.
Challenges
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15. 1) The fingerlings supplied were not of same size, therefore the big ones preyed on young
ones.
2) The soils in pond area were muddy which caused a delay during the excavation phase.
3) The fish matured slowly. By November 2016 they were not ready for market.
Evaluation Remarks
The discussion between the school and AFEW staff led to the realization that the supplier of
fingerlings could have supplied less than 770. This is because 450 fish could not have been
preyed in a span of three months. The school worked with the fisheries department in project set
up phase. The decision to stock mud fish was advised by one of fisheries officer. Students and
parents were involved in project implementation. There was active monitoring at all stages of the
project implementation and records were well kept. The project is beneficial as a teaching aid for
science and social studies subjects. The school did the market survey and there is ready market
for the remaining stock.
At the time of evaluation, the school was fed up with the challenges and was considering
changing the project type to sheep rearing. This idea was discussed at length considering the pros
and cons. It was agreed that it’s early for the school to give up on the fish pond project. The
challenge of cannibalism can be solved by stocking tilapia species which doesn’t prey on each
other. They were encouraged to complete the project and sell the harvested fish to use the
income to plough back as they observe year two of project. The school was reminded to use
AFEW’s group communication channels to share and solve challenges for example there are
several schools who implemented the similar projects successfully. Finally this school was
congratulated as it is the first primary school to be supported by AFEW for fish rearing.
School fish pond Mud fish being fed
10. GACIONGO SECONDARY
The school is located oppositeUcweni Primary school. It was first funded in 2014 with KShs.
50,000 to set up a school agroforestry farm. Mangoes and trees were planted in this farm but
there was a challenge of water availability. This led to AFEW donating a10,000 liters tank in
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16. 2016 and KShs. 22,000 for rain water harvesting.The funding was intended to boost the agro
forestry activities in the school. The expected outputs were increased availability of water and
increased sustainability of the mango farm.
Achieved Results
1) The water tank was delivered but not installed. This was due to big distance between two
buildings whose water should be harvested and the agro forestry farm.
2) Most of the available mango seedlings were grazed in April and August. There are less
than 10 mangoes available.
3) The wildlife club planted pawpaw seedlings in November. The seedlings are growing
well.
4) The wildlife club also planted green grams and sorghum in April and harvested 2 bags in
July. They sold off at Kshs 110 per kg.
Challenges
1) The prolonged drought affected performance of food crop. The mango seedlings have
stunted growth too.
2) The transfer of wildlife club patron affected project supervision. The incumbent also fell
sick and has been out of duty for a long time. There was no handover
3) Lack of stability of the schools administration also affected the project. The
administration focused on stabilizing the academic sections. There was minimal
administrative support toward the ESD project.
Evaluation Remarks
The school did not perform very well in project implementation. It was hopeful that the second
funding would sustain the project but performance is poorer. Most of the 2014 planted mangoes
and trees were destroyed. The project was not implemented through a whole school approach
and that’s why the transfer of patron affected the project negatively. There was active monitoring
and records were well kept until December 2015. No records were updated after the trained
patron transferred in January 2016.
ESD implementation in this school is low. It’s implemented mainly through the club activities.
The club members are self motivated and implement annual activities in the agro forestry farm.
The following was agreed as way forward;
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17. 1) The school should nominate at least two patrons to take over leadership of project. The
school should also form a school environment committee to constitute more students,
teachers and parents.
2) They should submit a project report and financial report to AFEW
3) Install the water tank in three months or AFEW could revoke the funding in guideline
with contract agreement form. The modality of tank installation and piping needed to the
agro forestry farm was agreed.
Donated AFEW tank Sorghum plant in farm
11. GATUNGA BOYS
This school is located at Gatunga Sub County, in Tharaka County. The wildlife club patron was
trained in 2016 at AFEW and submitted a proposal in 2016. The visit was important to conduct a
pre funding analysis. The school proposed to be funded for a tree nursery project and water tank
for water storage.
The project site is well chosen and there were tree seedlings present in the nursery. The need
assessment informed that the school does not need a water storage tank because they have a
reliable supply of water to the project site. They also do not need funding for tree nursery project
because they have a reliable source (KEFRI) of seedlings.
The project outputs were not clear for example the school intends to plant trees from the nursery
in another institution’s compound, a public university. It is not clear how the school would
benefit from the planted trees. The sustainability of the project would be high is there is a whole
school approach. The school was therefore advised to revise objective to make it SMART, revise
activities and select a tree planting area within the school compound before AFEW could
consider final decision for funding.
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18. Tree nursery Wildlife club members
12. P.C.E.A IKAWA PRIMARY
This school is located in ChukaSub County in TharakaNithi County. AFEW trained two teachers
from this school during the two Meru/ Embu/ Tharaka/ Isiolo ESD trainingsconducted in 2016.
The school had proposed to be funded Kshs 100,000 to dig a borehole. The objective is to
conserve a natural water spring in the school which is drying because of over consumption by
allowing the community and the school to use the borehole water for domestic purposes.
The school has an active environment club. The club has planted a lot for trees in a period of
three years. The administration has also constituted a school environment committee. At the time
of evaluation, this committee had a meeting in the school and therefore we had a chance to talk
to the parents. We also talked to club members and explained the importance of the project. We
visited the project site too and assessed the natural spring. The proposed budget details were
discussed and it was agreed that AFEW should fund the full amount if funds are available.
Tree nursery Water from natural spring
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19. 13. ESD NETWORK MEETINGS
The formation of Yatta ESD network was mobilized by Mr. Musila of Ndalani Primary. The
teacher was trained in 2013 by AFEW during the Lower Eastern TOT. After the training, he
went back and organized a training for 60 primary school head teachers from Yatta division
which was funded by AFEW. Mr. Musila also went further to mobilize the formation of Ikombe
ESD network; a group of schools in a neighboring division to Yatta and Matungulu ESD
network in Tala. He also referred to teachers from Ikombe and Matungulu to be trained by
AFEW in 2016.
After the 2014 Yatta ESD training, AFEW funded two schools in this regions. These are
Inyanzaani and Kwosau Primary. In 2016 AFEW funded an Ecology trip for 10 schools from the
same network. The output of the Ecology trip was that the schools agreed to register the Yatta
ESD network in order to run its operations officially. There were all officials in the meeting and
a representative from a member school totaling to six. There was an interim office elected and
they agreed that there main agenda was to implement ESD in member schools and improve
environment conservation. This is to be undertaken through exchange visits, tree nurseries and
tree planting. They would also like to train parents on sustainable agriculture methods in order to
increase food security in the dry region and carry out joint conservation activities.
This was followed by two meetings and it was realized that there is lack of understanding of
ESD by member schools. Most of the former trained teachers have been transferred. It was
agreed in this meeting that AFEW should train all the member schools in the two networks
through the 2017 school micro project funding program. AFEW should expect an agreed action
plan after the training.
Both networks should consider high stakeholder participation in network activities. This
stakeholders include KWS, NEMA, WCK, NGOs and local banks. They should also encourage
individual schools to achieve high success in projects implemented. This would control wastage
of resources or inputs. The officials were also advised to develop a three to five years strategy to
guide implementation and used for fund raising. This document should outline the conservation
themes they want to address, actions and relevant stakeholders. Network official were reminded
to spare some of the cash awarded for monitoring visits and also network meetings. They would
need to organize for information sharing sessions and collect statistics for reporting as AFEW
expects comprehensive annual reports from the networks.
Challenges faced by ESD networks
1) It was noted that most schools especially new members lacked knowledge about ESD
thus the need for training.
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20. 2) There is also a challenge in communication due to vast area, poor roads and limited
resources
3) There is also lack of time due to the crowded curriculum
The network officials made a request to AFEW to organize for an exposure trip to existing
networks/project areas. They also recommended that the awareness posters needed to be
translated to Kiswahili.It was concluded that for the networks to thrive, good and inclusive
leadership is paramount.
Members of Yatta Network Members of Ikombe network
CONCLUSION
In the assessment of project performance, most schools in this region except Ucweni Primary did
not realize expected outputs. Only one school, Kwosau Primary performed exemplary. Ucweni
Primary had not completed phase one of project though the current stock of 187 fish was lower
than expected output of 1,000 fish. Mbitini girls and Makutano Day and boarding were hindered
by poor markets and limited resources respectively. Gaciongo Secondary did not implement the
project fully, perhaps if the water tank was connected to harvest rain water, there would be
increased yield.
Most evaluated projects in this region were either on year one or two therefore not really able to
access sustainability. However as it is, sustainability is high in all the schools except Gaciongo
Secondary and Inyanzaani Primary. These schools were able to make substantial income that
would allow implementation in year two. All schools should improve in implementation in order
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21. to increase income that would ensure implementation of conservation work apart from
horticulture. Sustainability at Kwosau Primary was rated high. There is consistency of activities
and income generation. This has been enhanced by proper leadership and high stakeholder
participation in school. There is also active monitoring. Sustainability for Inyanzaani Primary in
year three of implementation is rated low. The school does not budget for repair of vandalized
taps, no income from horticulture and there are conflicts in human resource. Upto date there are
still conflicts in resource utilization between the school and neighborhood.
AFEW’s objective of ESD implementation through School micro project funding has been
achieved to a great extent in this region. In both primary and secondary schools, parents and club
members were highly involved hence increased knowledge of sustainable horticulture practices
and tree planting. The schools should also improve in curriculum integration or using the project
as teaching aid. This is the greatest opportunity to infuse the project into the school’s curriculum
since most schools were complaining of lack of time for club activities. Schools were also
encouraged to keep track of students who were involved in projects and left institution. Their
performance and adaptation in secondary and tertiary institution would inform AFEW of the
impact of ESD implementation.
The pre funding analysis in this region helped on vetting of school’s to be funded. The baseline
data is important to determine impacts of school micro project funding. This is because there
would be data of before and after funding. In this particular trip, the prefunding analysis helped
to carry out need assessment, agree on inputs and project implementation whose results are as
stated in individual school’s section.
Schools in this region are facing similar challenges. The most common is harsh climatic
conditions. In 2016, this region only received long rains whose harvested water lasted for
maximum of two months. The region has limited natural springs. The 10,000 liters tank was not
enough in the schools that connected water. AFEW should therefore consider increasing the
capacity of water storage tanks. Schools were encouraged to remind parents that security is
important to increase success of funded projects.
All the schools’ administration highly appreciated the donations received from AFEW. They
were thankful for the evaluation visit through which they were encouraged and their challenges
addressed through the way forward.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On behalf of the Education Department I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the massive
support received from schools, teachers, pupils, Kerrigan Waves Trust, AFEW board and
Management. The support contributed to the smooth implementation of School Micro project
funding program and M&E in this region.
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22. PICTORIAL
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23. Kilango primary preparing to plant trees planted trees at Inyanzaani primary
Water pan at Kwosau primary Fish pond at Mbitini girls
Myumbuni Primary SEC meeting at Chuka Primary
Report Prepared By;
Judith Sembe and Stanley Kosgey
Education Department
AFEW (K) Ltd. – Giraffe Centre
March 2017.
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