Joy as school for the deaf gets mobile laboratory

A teacher at Ngala School for the Deaf in Nakuru receives a mobile laboratory donated by Echo Network Africa Foundation on April 30, 2026. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Ngala School for the Deaf in Nakuru County has a reason to celebrate after it received a mobile laboratory to facilitate science practicals for Grade 7, 8, and 9 learners.

Caroline Nyansikera, a teacher in the school located in Nakuru said the more than 220 learners with disability-hearing impairment and dumbness, had longed for practical materials.

“We have done so much theory but at times we feel forgotten and neglected. However, the lab material donation will be beneficial in science subjects,” she said.

The teacher described the lab as one of a kind because it is portable and can be moved from one classroom to another or even outside, where learners can do practicals.

She said that with the mobile lab, other institutions will visit the school to benchmark.

“This would have cost us a fortune because we do not have support from the community. The learners rely on sight because they cannot hear or speak and the equipment will resonate with them,” she said.

As one of Humanity and Inclusion institutions in Nakuru County, Nyansikera said they had been forced to fight for resources and at times depended on Ngala Secondary School facility.

She said that when STEM was introduced for Grade 7 and above, they had to share a laboratory with the secondary school.

“We depended on a lab that was not well equipped and fought for equipment. At times it is not convenient, especially when senior learners are using it,” she said.

Learners and teachers at Ngala School for the Deaf in Nakuru after receiving a mobile laboratory donated by Echo Network Africa Foundation, on April 30, 2026. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The teacher was amazed by the thought that the learners would be touching laboratory equipment, including a Bunsen burner, microscope, among others.

The school complained of teachers shortage and lack of tools for the few teachers who strive to equip learners with skills and knowledge to compete against equipped schools.

Nyansireka said that the STEM subject was very demanding and appealed for more laboratories the government and well-wishers.

Echo Network Africa Foundation, among other organisations, donated the laboratory.

Jennifer Riria, the Foundation President, said they saw the need to equip the school, because they felt it had been left out.

Dr Riria said that under the new curriculum in the country, learners needed more equipment for practicals.

“They need to practically see and learn what they are supposed to do in science subjects because they have to compete against learners in well equipped schools,” she said.

She said the learners with disabilities were happy and had potential, but theY needed a boost from the government and well-wishers to survive and thrive.

She noted that most schools in rural areas and poor urban areas do not have laboratories, yet they are supposed to do examinations, a matter of life and death in the country.

Further, the organisation also donated health kits, including sanitary towels for the girls, saying that most of them miss almost a quarter of school time, during the menstrual cycle.

“They are not well equipped and they are forced to stay at home for three to seven days, once every month. The same is not ideal and some of them drop out and end up in the streets, begging for favors,” she said.

Science clubs were also introduced in the school to help learners get the concepts.

Riria urged the government to recruit more teachers who are well trained to engage learners.