WELCOME TO KOINONIA EDUCATION CENTRE
Koinonia Education Centre is a Christian mixed school dedicated to providing a comprehensive and holistic education for the children of Maai Mahiu and its surroundings.
Located 50 km northeast of Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley, Maai Mahiu is a growing town known to locals as a truck stop for major road cargo to the north and west of Kenya and merely a pass-through town to the millions of tourists on their way to the Masai Mara, Naivasha and Nakuru.
Our journey, however, began in the Kibagare slums, west of Nairobi. In this overcrowded area and similarly in many rural towns of Kenya, devoid of basic amenities, children face harsh realities like crime, abuse, and a lack of educational opportunities. Founded in 2003 as a kindergarten for underprivileged children in Kibagare, Koinonia Education Centre grew alongside its students, becoming what it is today. To accommodate the increasing demand for space and classrooms, we relocated to Maai Mahiu in 2020, continuing our mission to serve the community's children.
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO
The situation in Kenya
Despite the Kenyan government's provision of free primary education and significant investment in education reforms, the country continues to face challenges in delivering adequate, holistic education. According to recent studies by UNICEF, issues such as overcrowded classrooms (with up to 77 students per teacher in some areas), insufficient teacher training, a lack of teaching resources, and low transition rates from primary to secondary school persist.
Additionally, it is estimated that over 17 million children in Kenya missed more than six months of formal education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim is to help bridge the gap in education quality while supporting the recovery of Kenya's children from the pandemic's impact.
We need your help
For over 20 years, well-wishers around the world have placed their trust in us, continuing to believe in our dedication, mission, vision, and ongoing efforts. Our school relies on the generosity of contributors who support us in various ways: donating funds or in-kind contributions to maintain and operate the school, sponsoring individual students, and volunteering their skills and knowledge.
To continue offering free education to underprivileged children in Kenya, Koinonia seeks sponsorship for individual students. Sponsorship fees cover tuition, school uniforms, sports attire, extracurricular activities like music, sports, and drama, as well as at least one daily meal for day students. For senior school boarding students, sponsorship also includes three meals a day and full-time care in dormitory accommodation. A detailed breakdown of costs is available here.
We invite you to sponsor one or more students, either fully or partially, and make a meaningful impact on a child's future.
Our future & our promise
We recognize that sponsorship and donations alone cannot provide the stability needed for a long-term, sustainable future. To address this, we are transitioning to include up to 30% self-sponsored students while continuing to reserve places for children from underprivileged backgrounds. This approach will enable us to reach more children in the region who need a loving, nurturing environment to realize their potential. We are seeing evidence and feeling confident that fee paying students will come from across Kenya due to the quality and strong values we emphasize at Koinonia. Despite this shift, our core mission remains steadfast: to be a leading educational institution that fosters the holistic growth of every child. If you would like to support us, please see the various options here.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear friends of Koinonia,
I hope your visit to our website is insightful and inspires you to join us in making an impact on the lives of many Kenyan children!
The Koinonia Education Centre ethos is rooted in the spirit of Acts 2:42-46, embracing a community where love, care, and sharing flourish. We welcome children ranging from kindergarten to high school from all backgrounds to learn, play, and grow together as one family in a spacious, nurturing environment. We embrace all backgrounds, individual skills, abilities and personalities, for in God’s kingdom, we are all one body of Christ.
At Koinonia, our mission is to develop competent, transformational servant leaders who understand and live by their faith, applying biblical principles in every aspect of life. We offer practical servant leadership programs and lessons to bridge the gap of servant leadership in our society today. Our child-centered, individualized approach recognizes the unique potential in each learner, fostering a lifelong love for learning through exploration, experimentation, and discovery. We also value the role of parents as the first teachers and encourage their active involvement in their children's education.
Our holistic education focuses on the 5Cs: Character, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Competency, and Communication. We nurture students to embody the character of Christ, think critically, solve problems creatively, and communicate effectively. Beyond academics, we offer a wide range of extracurricular activities, including sports, music, dance, and pastoral care, ensuring a well-rounded experience – take a look at our daily program here. We pride ourselves in reaching county level competitions in sports and music and hope to continue growing in our achievements in the years to come.
We invite you to visit us and experience firsthand the warmth and inclusivity that makes every child feel at home here. Our learners thrive, growing their relationship with Christ and embracing life in all its fullness, living out our motto: “I still say yes to life.”
Warm regards,
Ms. Njambi Maina, School Principal