ODFL's first project in 2006-2007 was to construct a classroom for the Naro Moru Secondary School in the village of Naro Moru in Kenya.
The classroom cost US$9,000 to build. It is a 25'x25' (7.62x7.62 meter) room furnished with 45 desks to provide facilities for some of the 320 secondary school students who are now attending classes in a horse barn. The building began in April, 2007 and was finished at the end of June, 2007.
To build the project, ODFL partnered with SEANet, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) registered in Kenya and working in the area of sustainable education and agriculture. SEANet and its officers have been involved in managing projects under grants from the World Bank and the European Union.
The Naromoru project illustrates the power of the ODFL model. The $9,000 cost is very small by U.S. standards. Many high school students have their own cars that cost much more than this. But U.S. dollars go much further in the developing world. We could never hope to accomplish so much with so little in the U.S. but by using local labor and materials, we can bring a wonderful educational opportunity to hundreds of students who would never have had the chance to ever see a white board, desks, and a room with lights.
