Learners and management at Kisumu Special School decry the poor state of the center

A student walks into Joyland Special School in Kisumu. [Denish Ochieng, Standard] More than 250 learners and school management at Joyland Special School in Kisumu have decried poor sanitation, dilapidated structures, insecurity, and inadequate staff. The institution was established in 1974 by the Salvation Army church as a rehabilitation Centre. The school handles learners with physical and mental impairments. It is a boarding school with five dormitories and five caregivers. Susan Liyai the head teacher of the school said the school has enough buildings but they are all dilapidated and require renovations. Ms Liyai said the school also has a big challenge with sanitation because the drainage is blocked and all the manhole covers have been stolen due to insecurity as a result of poor fencing. "Some of the buildings still have asbestos on their roofs which should be changed now. There is need to improve on the sanitation which is a very big deal for our learners' here. Normally during heavy rainfalls the manholes block which is a danger because some learners break their legs while others fall inside the manholes," she noted. She noted that with the national government funding decreasing the challenges have become even bigger. Ms Liyai said that out of 260 learners in the institution, only 170 are funded by the government and this has forced the school to strain to take care of the remaining learners. "Not all of them are on the NEMIS and the reason is because most of the parents are yet to register their children for birth certificates. We have tried to work on this through mobilization and giving important information on the same to organize birth certificates for our learners but it is still a challenge. This is because those parents are not willing to give information," she explained. Yesterday, CPA David Okumu who is the chairman of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) Nyanza branch said they visited the school following a request from school management to donate some things they urgently needed for the learners. Mr Okumu said among the things needed by the learners and the school is urgent rehabilitation of the dilapidated structures. ICPAK Nyanza branch managed to donate a lawn mower, manhole covers, and assorted foodstuff to the school. "We are appealing to the larger public to help this school. We brought in a lawn mower because of the challenges of the long grass that has been breeding snakes and mosquitos which is dangerous for the learners. We believe that the manhole covers we brought will reduce the frequent accidents reported by learners to the school management. This is among the concerns raised to us by the school administration," he said. Okumu appealed to more corporations or organizations to look for such schools and make frequent donations to help learners stay in school. The chairman said they will also ensure they do a proper fence for the school to avoid any insecurity issues that may arise as a result of that. "This school needs urgent attention. We hope that both the county and national government can look into their plight. We have also established that a majority of learners need wheelchairs and the school fence is equally in a bad shape and is able to put the lives of the learners at a security risk," he noted.

Learners and management at Kisumu Special School decry the poor state of the center

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Learners and management at Kisumu Special School decry the poor state of the center

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