Hamish Grant’s grandfather first came to Gogar Farm in Rongai in 1912. In 1946 Gogar Farm started a primary school for children of employees which was taken over by the Kenyan government in 1963. Emily Dudgeon, Hamish’s missionary aunt, took great interest in the primary school and alongside started the ‘Small Home’, a school for physically handicapped children. When this was subsequently relocated to Menengai, Naomi Ndungu (the founder Head of the Vanessa Grant School), started a unit for mentally-handicapped children within Gogar Primary School in the empty building. This was in such a dilapidated state in 1997 when Hamish’s wife, Vanessa, saw it that she declared “we must do something”. She died shortly after this and so Hamish honoured her wish by founding the Vanessa Grant Trusts (VGT) in 1998 in her memory.
Vanessa and Alexander
The Vanessa Grant School for children with special needs was officially opened on 28th June 2001, built from scratch with funds donated by friends and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), and was handed over to the Kenyan Ministry of Education. With its status as a “sponsored public school” the teachers are appointed by the Teachers’ Services Commission and the school is subject to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and run by a Board of Governors. Staff salaries and some other costs are met by the Kenyan Government, but the Board has to raise funds to meet the remaining costs, including most of the costs associated with boarding.
As the Vanessa Grant School has become established, the Vanessa Grant Trusts have moved on to raise funds for other educational projects within the Rongai area to support the ever-increasing population.
What inspires us?
- The Vanessa Grant Trusts are committed to providing the capital required to enable the projects to be self-sufficient in their day-to-day running and to develop their infrastructures and staff skills
- A little money goes a long way in Kenya and it gives immense satisfaction to see how it can be spent and the impact it makes on people’s lives
- Children are Kenya’s future and education is the most important thing that we can provide for them