Please reply to: Colonel HE Vialou Clark MBE Folly CottagePenton Mewsey ANDOVER SP11 0RQTel +44 (0)1264 773674

Patron: The Earl of Carnarvon Vice Patrons: The RT Hon Lord Luce KG GCVO PC DL The Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford PC The Rt Hon Sir George Young Bt CH PC

LANGALANGA SCHOLARSHIP FUND Registered charity no. 1076360

Annual Newsletter 2015Meeting our scholars at Nyandarua High School

Dear Reader,

Reports of the death of the charity are greatly exaggerated! Geoff Nield is fully involved and, although not yet ready to assume the chairmanship, is deeply involved in finding solutions to the various challenges. Andrew Leitch (Item 2 overleaf) is the first of the new trustee brains and others will follow as years go by. We are all acutely aware that we must see all our scholars through tertiary education. 2023 seems a long way ahead but the need for contingency plans is constantly in the trustees’ minds.

David Ashwanden, our invaluable Treasurer, wishes to retire on his 80th birthday in December this year after fourteen years of remarkable devotion to his task. We will miss him dreadfully. The hunt for his successor remains a high priority.

The Langalanga Scholars Association has appointed a new team and I am glad to report that they are as highly organised and motivated as their predecessors. I never fail to be amazed by the spirit and enthusiasm and willingness to help me and the membership while, at the same time, devoting themselves to their tertiary studies.

There are some indications that the Scholarship Professionals Association is still alive and that the idea of ‘Kenyans Helping Kenyans’ is still a possibility. More news of this gigantic leap into uncharted waters will be reported, warts and all, in next year’s Newsletter.

‘But how’s Kenya going?’ I am constantly asked. There seem to be two answers depending on the real meaning of the question! 284 scholarships have been awarded, 106 are off our books, many of whom have degrees or diplomas and most have jobs and are climbing the greasy pole. Kariandusi School Trust (www.kariandusi.co.uk) this year completed the magnificent Woodard Langalanga Secondary School and three nursery schools. ‘Yep, but how’s Kenya going?’ Well....security remains a problem and the tourist industry is suffering greatly. The Kenya shilling is weaker than it has ever been. ‘Nuf said?

With very best wishes and many thanks for your interest and support,

Item 1 Results Day

Early in March, our scholars were eagerly awaiting the results of their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations and we met them all at Langalanga Primary School with a great sense of anticipation - on all sides! It was pleasing to find that all our scholars had gained at least a C+ but Maths again proved a problem for a few and,

sadly, we had to say goodbye to three of them. However, we had 5 scholars with A- and 5 more with B+ so we expect most of these be allocated a government university place. Others will choose recognised diplomas and several are keen to become nurses. Our scholars’ success continues to be a good indicator of the charity’s effectiveness. Determination to do well is tangible, both academically and in making a difference within their communities.

Item 3 Fundraising

A second very successful and thoroughly enjoyable dinner was held in November at the White Hart Hotel in Salisbury. It was a fantastic ‘fun’ evening with a delicious

meal, an excellent auction and several light-hearted games which added to the convivial atmosphere. Geoff Nield did a wonderful job of organising the event which raised almost £5000 for the charity. A huge thank you to

all who came and supported us and to those who donated raffle

prizes and auction lots.

Enthusiastic riders line up for the horse

race!

Item 4 Christmas cards

Alison will be selling Christmas cards again this year and we are awaiting a selection of designs from David Thuku, our very successful artist, who is making a name for himself in the Kenyan art world.

Each year our Christmas card sales help a young Kenyan to access tertiary education so a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who buys our cards.

Supporters enjoy a delicious meal and

good company

Please see more about

fundraising in Item 7

Sharing good news!

Item 2 Trustee news

We are delighted to tell you that Professor Andrew Leitch has become a trustee of the Langalanga Scholarship Fund. Andrew, who was born in Kenya, has been a keen supporter for some time - those of you who attended the fundraising dinner in Salisbury in November may remember his winning run in the horse race - and we look forward to having both his enthusiasm and his expertise on the trustee body. Andrew works in post graduate education at Queen Mary, University of London, with renowned research expertise in plant ecology and crops.

Nicholas fills in his results form

Professor Andrew Leitch

Our website: www.langalanga.org.uk See our website for details of our ‘Project: Wildest Dreams’

Item 6 Founders Day

The annual Founder’s Day meeting was held, for the first time, in the magnificent new Derby High Hall at our Woodard Secondary School. Many scholars attended, those in careers,those in their final year in secondary school and those in tertiary education. There were inspirational talks from Dr George Kariithi, an eminent Kenyan scientist and entrepreneur, and James Foster, a valued sponsor and supporter. The meeting also played host to four visitors from the UK who had come to Gilgil to find out more about our work. Reverend Rachel Barrett, the chaplain of Derby High School, and David, Jo and Andrea from TTS Ltd, our wonderfully supportive company, had a packed but exciting four days with us. The meeting is always an opportunity for the scholars to catch up with old

friends, to pass on valuable information to the younger scholars and to network. This

year several small babies attended too! After the meeting a delicious lunch was served to everyone and, for the first time, the lunch was sponsored by one of our own scholars. Hosea Ndungu, our first scholar, is now, literally, travelling the world as an electrical engineer working for Kenya Power and he provided a wonderful lunch which was enjoyed by all. A memorable day!

Perhaps our youngest scholar?

Item 5 A Scholar’s Personal View :

“A STAR SHINES MOST DURING VERY DARK NIGHTS”

“I was brought up in the remote village of Kahiga within Gilgil. In this humble village basic needs seemed luxuries but what of education? Beyond reach and the preserve of the able few! A rumour spread throughout my village that Langalanga Scholarships were awarded to bright but needy pupils; I, being one of them, worked hard and scooped one that saw me through secondary education and tertiary too where I studied accountancy. It unlocked my life and turned what little I had into enough. It transformed my feeling of denial into acceptance, chaos and struggle to order and the extreme confusion in my life to clarity. Who else can turn such a mere meal into a feast? Langalanga Scholarship Fund did it!   The scholarship managed to instil in me an air of prosperity and a scorching thirst for success and, hence, I never stopped in the search for more in life. Currently I am working as a Company Credit Controller as I pursue a bachelor’s degree in Law which I will complete in 2017 after a judicial court attachment. I am now a husband (married to Julia, another LLSF scholar) and a father of one daughter and no longer the naïve boy I was before the scholarship found its way into my very dark life. I have been turned into a responsible Kenyan who lives on an undying spirit of togetherness and helping the needy which has been engraved on me by the Langalanga Scholarship Fund fraternity.   Thank you LLSF! You made sense of my past, brought peace for today, and created a vision for tomorrow.”

Peter N. Ngatia - Langalanga scholar

Peter Ngatia who exemplifies all that we hope for in a

Langalanga scholar

Retiring LLSA Chairman, Peter Njoroge, presents his final report

to the meeting

Item 7 Project: ‘WILDEST DREAMS’ Our greatest challenge remains fulfilling the dream of every scholar that they will be educated to a level that enables them to reach their full potential. A small, regular donation will ensure that no scholar’s dream is shattered for want of funds. A direct debit form is attached. Please help if you can. Thank you so much.

TRUSTEES Col HE Vialou Clark MBE Mr DN Ashwanden Mrs AM Smyth Mr RR Murdoch

Mr C Anderson Mr JE Neale Brig GA Nield OBE Professor AR Leitch

Item 8 Geoff Nield’s visit In March this year Rachel and I travelled to Kenya for 4 days to see the scholar who we support and to call on a few of the Langalanga feeder schools to familiarise ourselves more with the work of the charity.

We flew into Nairobi, met up with an old Kenyan friend for breakfast, and travelled together north up the Rift Valley to Jomo Kenyatta High School (JKHS) to collect our scholar, Pauline, and take her out for 2 days. JKHS is 10 miles north of Nakuru along a tired tarmac road but the secondary school was a pleasant surprise – entering through a gate and up a drive we parked outside a set of neat administrative buildings. The school estate spread over a large area (as I suppose it should for over a 1000 students) and seemed well ordered and clean. After a brief introduction with the Deputy Principal and being given clear instructions for Pauline’s return so that she could sit a further exam on Sunday afternoon we left as excited surrogate parents taking out our child for a weekend exeat. Following ice-cream and a soda at the Sunbird Hotel overlooking Elementaita we came to know Pauline a little better;

initially a little shy, she did not take too long to share with us a little of the tough life that she has led, her huge commitment to do well, her ambitions for the future and gratitude for the support of the charity without which she could never have prospered.

The following day we visited Langalanga Primary School to see progress with the construction of a nursery school, funded through the Kariandusi Trust. Hosted by Mr Anam, a truly honourable and caring headteacher, we were treated to an inspection of classrooms, perfectly disciplined children, big smiles and lots of high-fives. We were then treated to a remarkably enthusiastic musical performance by the nursery children, using musical instruments kindly donated by TTS Ltd. This took place in their current classroom, a poorly-lit, dirt floored room which had in the distant past been used as accommodation for Italian POWs in the WWII .

We then moved directly to the Woodard Secondary School which has been built in recent years through the wonderful donations made through the Woodard Corporation and is a real success story and an extraordinary testament to Harry Vialou Clark’s energy and capacity to drive through ambitious charitable projects. I had visited it three years previously, as the first classrooms were being built, but it is now an extraordinary beacon of hope with its new multipurpose hall, providing education for 480 children in the Langalanga district.

As part of our journey to better understand Pauline’s past we then travelled with her a little distance to her primary school. Murindati Primary School lies several miles south of Gilgil in a very arid area – a dusty road, a half-collapsed bridge, cactus and little grass were the key features. Sadly, the school looked little better and the small collection of stone buildings looked tired and unkempt and too much litter lay uncollected. It was staggering that Pauline, bright, hard-working, with her obvious ambition and commitment, had emerged from this environment – but she had, and the Langalanga Scholarship Fund (LLSF) is providing her with the opportunity to flourish.

A visit to my old Prep School, Pembroke House, and an emotional farewell to Pauline before returning to Nairobi and our departure to South Africa brought our short trip to an end. Thanks go to all those we met who helped us and “hurrah” for the LLSF and its sponsors who make such a difference to some of the most impoverished children in the Rift Valley of Kenya.

Pauline and Rachel

Langalanga Nursery get ready to entertain