For a decade, Pound Gates, together with our sister businesses Sevatas and Contior, and our wider community, proudly supported The Soma Leo Foundation, a charity founded in 2015 to provide education to children in Nyiera, a remote community in Western Kenya.
What began as a deserted piece of land grew into a thriving primary school that, at its peak, supported almost 200 children with access to learning, nourishment, safety, routine and hope.
Our involvement began in 2013, when our staff supported the Kenyan School Fund, which was running a school in Mombasa and planning to build a new one in Nyiera. Through two fundraising events, we helped raise funds for the construction of a new school, with building commencing in November 2014.
This responded to a community where education opportunities were scarce and access to basic schooling was far from guaranteed.
The Soma Leo Foundation was subsequently established, by Pound Gates, to take responsibility for raising the funds needed to complete the school, The Soma Leo Academy, and support further phases of development and meet the school’s ongoing running costs.
Over the years, the school provided not only education but also nourishment, IT access, clothing, safe facilities and daily stability. The school received no government funding and relied entirely on support from the Foundation.
The school is also a wider community resource used to host village meetings and community events.
The school also provided employment opportunities for teachers and support staff in Nyiera, strengthening the local economy and expanding pathways into education for families who may not otherwise have had access.
The Foundation supported other schools in the area with teacher support and in donating books, IT equipment and other learning materials.
None of this would have been possible without the enthusiasm, commitment and generosity of our community here in Suffolk. Our fundraising events – from our Quiz nights to Golf Days and sporting challenges – brought together our staff, clients, partners and local businesses, raising the funds needed to sustain the Academy and widen its impact.
In addition, when we shipped a container of books, IT equipment and other materials to Kenya in 2016 much of what was sent was donated by schools and businesses based in Suffolk.
The Soma Leo Academy is now an established part of the Nyiera community. After ten years of funding and supporting the school through The Soma Leo Foundation, Pound Gates has now concluded its direct role in its operation.
Built through a decade of sustained support, the foundations remain in place, and the school continues to serve the children and families it was created for. It is a flexible asset for the local community.
We are proud of what was achieved through The Soma Leo Foundation and grateful to everyone who played a part in creating a place of learning, care and opportunity for the children of Nyiera.
“On behalf of The Soma Leo Academy community, I would like to thank everyone involved in the Foundation for the support over the years. We have come a long way together, and the school is now firmly established within the community.”
Samwel Manda, Principal of The Soma Leo Academy and donator of the land upon which the school was built
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