Micato - For Every Safari, One Child Gets An Education

A staggering 62,000 children in the Mukuru slum, ranging in age from six to sixteen, cannot attend school on a consistent basis. In principle, primary education is free in Kenya, but in reality there are burdensome fees involved. Families are expected to pay for their child’s desk, uniforms, books, supplies, and term exams, as well as help cover the costs of firewood and salaries for lunch cooks. In short, much more than families living in extreme poverty could ever hope to afford. So children stay home.
During the summer of 2009, Dennis and Joy Pinto, the creators of Micato Safari, were visiting Mukuru’s Kwa Njenga government primary school, which resulted in their commitment to revitalize the school’s barren library as well as completely build another library for the people of Mukuru. But they knew that they wanted to do more. The question of how to structure an educational initiative for government schools was pondered.
A few months later the Pintos heard Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes present his company’s One for One programme, which gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased. Mycoskie so inspired the Pintos that by lunchtime they were mapping out the concept, and the Micato One for One education commitment was born.

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