100% of your donations go directly toward creating long-term change for impoverished children and communities.

When PEI was founded, things fell quickly into place. Thanks to the Clay family, PEI was able to open its first school within three months.

Debra Akre went to Kenya as a volunteer, to open a College of Business Administration with another organization. While there, Jeana King, her husband and son, and Debra's husband came to visit. Everyone fell in love with Kenya and the people of Kenya. When Debra returned to the US she and Jeana talked about what they could do to really make a difference in the lives of the people of Kenya. Since many students are not able to afford to attend secondary school, they decided this would be a good place to start.

When Debra was living in Kenya she visited the village of Ngomano. The extreme poverty and complete lack of any type of aid made this a perfect location for Project Education Inc. to start and be able to meet the organizations mission.

The village was skeptical. They had received many promises that had not been kept. Hope was in very short supply and no one really believed what we proposed to do was possible. They wanted it to work and were willing to put their time and effort towards building a future for their children.

When Project Education Inc. first started Debra and Jeana met with Andy Clay. She and her husband believed in the vision shared by Jeana and Debra and became partners in PEI. The Clay Family Foundation has provided the majority of the funding for the operation and construction of the school campus. Fundraisers provide the remaining funds required to operate the school.

Teachers for Clay International Secondary School are Kenyan. Teachers are selected based on qualifications and their philosophy of education.

It is very difficult to hire staff in Kenya that you can trust to carry out PEI's vision in an ethical manner. The Kenyan staff we currently have, other than the teachers, are people Debra met while working in Kenya.

Donald Mergens
p: 360-354-0425
c: 360-319-7311
f: 360-354-8010
e: ddmergens@aol.com

The staff in Kenya is responsible for selecting students who are qualified to attend Clay International Secondary School. The criteria for entering our school is as follows:

• Parents have no means of paying secondary school fees.
• Student has a score of 300 or higher on the state administered examination.
• Attended Ngomano Primary School

All students are responsible for performing to the best of their ability. In addition to our academic expectation all students are responsible for working in the gardens, hauling water, taking care of the chickens and cleaning the campus.

To maintain the quality of education the maximum number of students has been set at 120 students.

Our buildings are designed to reflect the traditional structure of a Kenyan village. They are round thus allowing for the best air circulation and are built of local materials not harming the environment.

The village of Ngomano provided all of the unskilled labor required to build Clay Internation Secondary School. All of the bricks used in the construction of our school were hand made by members of the village. All work is done by hand without the luxury of any machinery or power tools.

The growth of PEI has been phenomenal to say the least. We have grown from using 2 community buildings to having our own campus with 20 buildings in 4.5 years. We are a recognized entity in Kenya and are known for quality education and our attention to detail.

The long-term plan involves replicating our project in other locations in Kenya and someday the rest of Africa.

Our goal is to create an environment in which sustainable change will occur through a holistic approach to healing. Our undertaking addresses the needs of an individual child by creating an environment of hope. This is done by providing education, medical needs, food, counseling, developing self-worth and a sense of community. In addition, we work with developing economic stability and growth.

PEI has identified two additional locations and has plans to open schools in these areas within the next five years. The locations are in the Rift Valley and on the western border of Kenya.

There are future plans for…

• library
• technical college
• acquiring a bus
• crop development
• funding for additional schools
• economic endeavors

All students who attend the school receive…

• a quality education
• all textbooks
• all school supplies
• a nurturing environment
• medical care
• meals and snacks
• personal toiletries
• uniforms
• sporting supplies
• field trips

Our accomplishments to date from the day we opened the school include…

• 100% graduation rate
• 28 in first graduating class
• 18 graduates going to College or University
• #1 School in district on National Graduation exam
• No new cases of HIV/AIDS
• 131 students (boys and girls)
• Eight teachers (one principal, one deputy principal; three women, three men)
• Day school
• Adult Education program with 37 participants
• 20 buildings
• Dispensary
• Science Lab
• 25 acres for the school campus
• Chickens
• Crops