Update on the Iruri School Project

Catherine Survillis was welcomed to our first hybrid “in person” meeting for almost all of 2020 and 2021. Catherine is no stranger to our Club because she has given 3 presentations over the last few years. She has the interesting history in that she has been a teacher and lived in Nairobi, Kenya for a number of years. She became very interested in the Kenyan people. She moved to Gold River, but Catherine continued her interest in Africa and became a Tour Guide and while leading tours in Kenya, she came upon the establishment of the Iruri school in Keratina, Kenya. The government gave the school a shell of a building with no floor, roof, or windows. Thanks to Catherine’s persistence and to her Rotary Club (the Rotary Club of Elk Grove and others), funds were donated which allowed a floor for the classrooms, windows, a roof, new bathrooms, and now they even have wi-fi. On top of that, scholarships have been donated to top students which allow them to go to high school (a big deal) and qualify for college! Mark and Terri Urban, Phil and Katha Danz, Dana Newell and David Thorman visited the school in 2019 and gave a report to the Club. What a wonderful trip it was and the children and teachers  were very grateful for our visit. Catherine’s presentation was quite detailed and extensive. I have some screen shots of her slides which better explain about all the wonderful things Rotary has done for the school