Ikirwa is an independent school and runs on fees. One place in five is held for an Ikirwa Scholar: a child chosen on need and merit from Midawe and the villages around it, whose family could not otherwise afford to send them. Their places are paid for by sponsors.
What sponsorship provides
A new scholar costs $41 a month, or $508 for the year including transfer fees; a continuing scholar $35 a month or $421 a year. That covers tuition, textbooks and exercise books, two uniforms, breakfast and a hot lunch every school day, and the bus. No administration fee is deducted.
What you receive
Sponsors are given a login to a private page on this site. There you will find your scholar’s profile, a termly report from their teacher, letters and artwork, and a place to write back. Letters are read with the child by a teacher, who helps with the reply. Sponsors are warmly welcome to visit, and several have followed a child from Nursery to Class 7.
We take the children’s privacy seriously. Profiles use first names only and photographs appear only with a parent’s written consent.
Friend of Ikirwa
$10 a month
A small monthly gift that adds up. Ten friends together keep a child in school.
- Goes to the general fund: books, food, repairs
- Quarterly email update from the school
- 50 bricks every month, if you like to think of it that way
Sponsor an Ikirwa Scholar
$41 a month
Pays the full cost of one child from a family that cannot afford fees. One in five of our pupils is here because of a sponsor.
- Tuition for a full school year
- Textbooks, exercise books and school supplies
- Two uniforms and shoes
- Breakfast porridge and hot lunch every school day
- A profile of your pupil, letters and artwork, end-of-year report
Sponsor a scholar for a year
$508 a year
The same sponsorship paid once a year, which saves transfer fees and lets us plan the year with confidence.
- Everything in monthly sponsorship
- One payment, one invoice, one thank-you
- Continuing pupils cost $421 a year
Build something
$15,000 one-off
For a family, a company or a climbing team that wants to leave a building behind. A classroom costs about $15,000 and carries your name.
- $800 fills a classroom with desks and chairs
- $100 buys a window, $10 buys 50 bricks
- $15,000 builds and furnishes a classroom
- Photos at every stage and a plaque when it opens
How to pay
Sponsors in the United States give through the Ikirwa School Project, a registered 501(c)(3), so gifts are tax-deductible. Sponsors in Europe give through Midawe Hope e.V. in Germany. Anyone may give by card through GlobalGiving. Tell us where you are and we will send the right link, an invoice and your scholar’s profile.