Our vision is to achieve long-term financial sustainability in the next 10 years.

We aim to do this, in large part, by transitioning gradually to a model where a portion of the student body pays tuition and boarding fees in order to offset the expenses of our orphaned and vulnerable children. We believe this model is achievable because: (a) We now have a ten-year track record as one of the best schools in the area and already have parents with means coming to us requesting to admit their children to our school on a fee-paying basis.(b) There is compelling precedent for such a model within Kenya; two elite high schools in Nairobi, the Starehe Boys and Starehe Girls schools, operate according to a similar model. They were founded to serve high performing vulnerable children but also serve paying students in order to secure reliable funding. (c) We have already begun admitting a small number of day students who pay tuition fees as a pilot effort and it has so far proven successful. (d) When we look at the market for boarding schools in our region, we believe we could offset the vast majority of our operating expenses by transitioning to a model where no more than 50% of our students pay tuition.

We are still sorting out the details of a multi-year transition, including issues like: What is the right balance of paid vs. unpaid students? What is the right size of our future student body to continue serving the greatest number of orphaned and vulnerable children possible while maintaining both a quality education and the warm familial environment we’ve fostered on campus? How should we phase the transition? What are the various challenges and risks and how can we mitigate them? From a practical standpoint, we also know we will have to upgrade our infrastructure before the transition to this more self-sustaining model is feasible. Currently, our classrooms for children in grades 2 through 8 are made of corrugated iron sheets. We will need to build a permanent classroom block in order to effectively compete with leading schools in our region and charge market rates. We also need an updated boys’ dormitory with greater capacity.

Along with a few other improvements and a couple of staff hires to support the transition, we estimate we will need to inject approximately $400,000 into the school above and beyond our annual operating expenses. This will be our largest capital campaign to date, and we are just beginning to plan around it. To that end, we’ve rebuilt our board in Kenya, formed a couple of fundraising committees in Kenya, and are also reenergizing our US board, including plans to introduce new members in 2020. Still, this will be a significant, and challenging, undertaking for us. While the task ahead of us is great, we are excited to take it on because we sincerely believe it will position MOCF for long-term sustainability and enable us to serve the community as a leading educational institution for many years, hopefully decades, into the future.

If you are interested in learning more about contributing to our capital campaign please contact us and we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have and discuss how you can help us reach long term financial sustainability!