Aumund Foundation – Education and Training

Starehe Boys’ Centre and School

Starehe Boys’ Centre and School, Kenya

Project location: Kenya

Internet: www.stareheboyscentre.ac.ke

Funding since 2020

Project: Round Square scholarships for boys from vulnerable backgrounds

Starehe was founded in 1959, not as a school but as a “place of safety”. Street children came to eat and receive medical help there. It was also street children who became the first pupils at the boarding school. The school started mainly as a trade workshop for carpentry, bricklaying and roofing, before a grammar school was established in 1967 and a technical college was added in 1977. Today it is still the objective of the school to offer children from difficult backgrounds a good education. At the same time the school leaders focus on character building with their exclusively male students. About 80% of the pupils are reliant on a scholarship, and they learn to give back to society in return. Social commitment in the community is a matter of course for the Staherians. Even long after they have graduated the alumni are committed to the next generations at their school. Starehe Boys’ Centre and School is considered the epitome of excellent education in Kenya.

Meeting our scholarship recipients in person in Nairobi in October 2023 inspired us to extend our support of the Round Square students beyond the end of school. Although they were very thankful for our support during their school years, they were very unsure and anxious about their future, as they didn’t know how they would be able to afford their vocational training or university studies. Speaking to the headmaster afterwards sealed the deal. Whenever possible we also want to support “our” scholarship recipients on their way to a profession.