An Italian investor in Watamu, Kilifi county, has handed over a newly built multimillion-shilling junior secondary school.
Jacaranda Primary School chairman Pasquale Tirito built the school over 10 years ago.
He has now built four new classrooms, a laboratory, an administration block, and an ablution block for boys, girls and teaching staff for the junior school.
The learners were also lucky as two other investors from Jumbo Beach Resort and Bravo Beach Resort donated desks, lockers and chairs.
Speaking during the handing over of the school, Tirito said it was important for the junior secondary learners to have a place separate from the primary section he built.
“I realised schools are open and the junior secondary is ready and I want to give it to the community immediately,” he said.
He said the school has over 500 students in the primary section and 100 others in the junior secondary section.
To enable the students to get to the new school he mobilised his hotel staff to clean the compound, which had bushes.
“Today, I am very proud because the community needed the school. I cannot do something that nobody will use. So far we have more than 500 kids at the primary, and now we have the junior secondary with another 100,” he said.
Before building the school, Tirito said children would walk long distance to Gede.
Rudy Gentile from Jumbo Beach Resort within the Jacaranda area said they donated 40 lockers and 40 chairs as part of giving back to the community.
“We are delighted to do this. It is part of a project we are giving back to the community. It's just the first step of what we are going to do. We are soon going to give an ultrasound machine for primary health care, which will be used for pregnant women free of charge,” he said.
Buonasera Giuseppe, the owner of Barracuda Beach Resort and now managing Bravo Beach Resort in the Jacaranda area, said they contributed desks for the children.
He said they aim to give hope for a better future for the community around them.
“We have to give our contribution to this school and this new generation,” he said.
Esther Kaingu, chairperson of Jacaranda Beach Primary and Junior Secondary School, said the project will help the children have better facilityies to study.
She thanked Tirito for initiating the school project and building it single-handedly and the other two investors for their contributions.
“We thank God for bringing Mr Chairman who is our donor, who brought other donors from Jumbo and Bravo to contribute lockers and desks,” she said.
Douglas Ruwa, the chairman Jigoka community project, said they expect the project would help transform the education standards in the area.