As Covid-19 persists globally, a school owner in Kirinyanga is beating all odds to survive and while at it, he turned his school’s playground into a farm to sustain his livelihood.
James Kung’u who owns Roka School in the county says he depended on the school fees paid by parents to cater for his needs.
It was also the sole means by which he would pay his employees’ salaries before the pandemic took effect according to NTV’s report.
But since the closure of learning institutions in the country upon the announcement of the first case of Covid-19, he had to rethink his source of income.
Since he could not wait until when schools would reopen, Kung’u decided to make a vegetable farm out of the playground.
A few of his staff such as one Moses Wekesa, the headteacher and Nancy Wambui, the school secretary stayed behind to facilitate e-learning.
“We have now been farming with the school headteacher Moses Wandera who did not go home because we wanted him to remain and continue with e-learning. Whenever he is not busy in the office, he joins us in the farm,” Kung’u stated.
They bought the idea when Kung’u brought it up and decided they were going to be a part of the project.
They set up the farm and planted a variety of vegetables including sukumawiki by mid-April.
Besides, they also started rearing chicken for both meat and eggs.
Wandera, the headteacher was put in charge of planting, irrigation and spraying the vegetables.
Nancy Wambui on the other hand, was in charge of marketing of the produce.
“Most of our customers are the school’s parents,” Wambui said.
Through this project, the team has succeeded at sustaining their livelihood and pay off whatever is owed as they await the reopening of schools in 2021.