Local couple want Albany people to dig deep for Kenyan school at this month’s garden fundraiser

Local philanthropists Don and Lorraine Pink are preparing for their next drive to raise money for a life-changing school in Kenya.

The couple will host a fundraiser at Birchwood Gardens this month, with all proceeds donated to the Schield Centre Kindergarten and Primary School near the town of Isinya, about 50km south of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Earlier this year, enrolment at the school increased from 95 students in November to 147 from kindergarten to Year 5.

Mr Pink said the COVID-19 pandemic had forced the school to shut and it was just in the process of re-opening.

Since 2012, Mr Pink has gone shop-to-shop and door- to-door, raising money for the school. Last year, $26,000 was raised.

With this year’s event set to take place over two days from November 14-15, Mr Pink is calling on the Albany community to dig deep once again for an important cause.

At the Birchwood Gardens fundraiser, people can enjoy a stroll through 2ha of gardens, seeing more then 270 roses and other plant species in full bloom.

The gardens will be open from 10am-5pm, with entry for adults costing $6.

Three classrooms have already been built for the school, with another three in the pipeline, according to Mr Pink.

“Our aim is to have nine classrooms so it takes us through the situation where children go through this school then on to high school,” he said.

“It’s a standard education. We follow the Kenyan curriculum concentrating on health.”

The Pinks’ daughter Trina Mboya is the school’s administrator, who led from the front to get the school up and running after she married her Kenyan husband.

Mr Pink said the school’s existence would not be possible without the support of the Albany community.

“Between Albany and Carnarvon, two towns built this school,” he said.

“We have a few sponsors around the nation but you could say without Albany, this school wouldn’t be going.”

Last Wednesday Mr Pink collected $520 in two hours from people in the community.

“You have to be grateful for that,” he said.

The school was started by an American woman in 2004, who helped lay the foundations for the first three classrooms.

After she died from breast cancer in 2008, Ms Mboya made it her mission to continue her legacy.