Primary Education – 'Schools for Life'
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Strengthening primary education is a key element in Basecamp’s efforts to support the local communities around our camps. The Talek Community Education Program is one such initiative.
When you visit Basecamp Masai Mara we highly recommend that you drop by the local school. There you will find skilled and inspiring teachers and motivated Maasai children. Basecamp is pleased with the developments this school has seen, and honoured to have been able to contribute to the improved learning conditions. However, as you will also clearly see, there is still much room for improvement, both in terms of facilities and tools, the capacities of the teachers, and the gender composition of the classes. If you visit a first grade classroom it will likely consist of roughly 50% boys and 50% girls. But now peek into the 8th grade class. Here you will likely find a small class with roughly 90% boys and 10% girls.
To address this, Basecamp has developed an education program specifically focussing on the needs of young women. Our goal is to improve their chances of completing school, for example by offering various forms of scholarships. We are also preparing to provide educational support to a neighbouring school in the area - the Irbaan Primary School.
We encourage our guests to learn about the local communities near our destinations, and to engage in and support our community development initiatives. We offer information on the educational situation for marginalized communities, and the importance of education in the preservation and strengthening of the local cultural heritage. Together with local schools we offer an arena from which Basecamp guests, in a hands-on way, can take part in our educational programs, and through this can support the local community in a simple and affordable, but very important way.
Basecamp also runs a visitor-driven funding scheme that financially supports the Talek primary school. When you go to sleep in your tent, you can do so with a good smile, not only because you hear the hyenas laughing and the lions roaring nearby, but because for every night you spend at Basecamp Maasai Mara , ksh 25 (EUR 0.30) are donated to the educational program - a so-called ‘bed-night’ fee. In 2006 this scheme generated approximately ksh 140,000 (EUR 1,700). With some additional funding from the Basecamp Explorer Foundation this money has enabled the building of girls’ dormitories at the school.
As part of this initiative, Basecamp last year hosted a private fund-raising event in Sweden, that raised more than EUR 2.500,- in support our education program for Maasai girls.
Partners:
Basecamp Explorer Kenya
Talek Primary School - Headmaster
Community School Board - Chairman
A Better World, NGO Canada
Funding partners:
Basecamp Foundation
Confex Norway AS (developer of courses, conferences and events)
Private donations
Visiting Guests at Basecamp Masai Mara
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