NYARIGA DOONE WOMEN ASSOCIATION - click for home page
file:///C:/0page2016/doonewomen2016/doonewomenhome.htm SCHOOL

Nyariga-Doone Girls School was founded in September 1998 by Nyariga-Doone Women Association. The association was mainly involved in basket weaving and other communal activities of interest such as mobilizing the women in the community for mass education, health and other social and economic activities to improve upon their livelihoods.

WHY A GIRLS SCHOOL? THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
At one of the public gathering at Nyariga the organizers Rural Help Integrated (RHI) A Health NGO demanded for a female literate from the group to be trained as a community-based distributor of Reproductive Health Supplies. The entire community (Women Association) could not get even a JSS graduate from among them for the training. But for a literate Dagati woman, who had married into the village volunteered to undertake the training to salvage the entire community from loosing this great opportunity. This was one of the major sources of inspiration for the Women Association to start the Girls School. Another disappointment, shame and embarrassment that slapped the Women Association, and they decided from then on to mobilized resources on their own to start a school for Girls and produce their own role models was, when the group had contributed money to open a Bank account for IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) assistance and the Bank officials rejected their application simply because all the executives were illiterates. This compelled the group to appoint a male secretary, which is against their legitimate right and wish.
At one of the initial planning meetings of the group in August 1998 the leader of the group Madam Adombila Aweligya made a decisive statement before the Assemblyman. She said "we know that it is too late for us to benefit from any female education that we are wishing for now, because we already have one of our legs in the grave, however we will not allow the other leg (being our daughters) to suffer".
Their resolution was therefore not to allow their daughters to suffer the embarrassment, shame and pain that they are going through. They need to add value to the Girl Child of today to become a future woman of value added.
With an acclamation of the women they chanted! Educating the Girl Child is NOW! and all the women responded NOW! NOW! NOW! Saying that whether Teacher or no teacher, classroom or no classroom, Money or no money Educating the Girl Child is NOW they added that they can no longer wait for any body elsewhere. With a slogan "Poka Nde Yire" (literally meaning A woman is the House) without a woman no family no community no nation.

The Coordinator/Secretary DOWAN

Moved by the conviction, commitment, vision and the genuine ambitious mission of the women, the Assemblyman (Coordinator) of the group Hon. John Akaribo shed tears and declared, "With God all things are possible"
He further emphasized that the Bible says "for lack of knowledge my people perish" and the Chinese saying that a journey of thousand miles starts with a step is still as valid as NOW. Looking vividly to the Women wearing faces of no hope breathe a sigh of relief and shouted the slogan of the Women Association poka nde yire three times and declared, support or no support we are going to open a Girls school come 8th September 1998 academic year.
House-to-house registration of Girls of school going age would start tomorrow. He also promised to liaise with MOH to establish a supplementary feeding center for the malnourished children and this center, would serve as a day nursery that would in future feed the Girls school all year round.
With all these declarations and pledges a resolution was moved by the Women that the school shall be known and called NYARIGA-DOONE GIRLS SCHOOL and its motto shall be "EDUCATION IS KEY TO DEVELOPMENT" and the slogan shall be "THE SKY IS OUR LIMIT"

This is a brief background of Nyariga-Doone Women Association Girls School Project.
Even though the association is an all women affair the coordinator is a man Hon. John Akaribo. As the association identified illiteracy as counter productive, the coordinator, who is a Gender Advocate, Civic Educator and Development Worker shared the plight of the women and marshaled the Women to undertake the project and started the Girls school. The coordinator acts as the spokesman, the facilitator and the interpreter of the school project.
Together with the chairperson we move from place to place-soliciting assistance to realize our vision and mission. The coordinator together with the association is the driving force behind the Nyariga-Doone Girls School.