The Wicks Group (TWG) is proud to highlight the important work of The Nambale Magnet School in Busia County, Kenya. The mission of The Nambale Magnet School is to break the cycle of poverty by opening its doors to orphaned and vulnerable children who would not otherwise be able to obtain a quality education. A residential primary school founded in 2009, The Nambale Magnet School has seen incredible growth and currently educates over 300 students from a three-year-old preschool class through eighth grade. Alumni have gone on to pursue college degrees in some of Kenya’s most prestigious institutions.
The Nambale Magnet School’s three-pronged holistic approach to education centers around encouraging students to develop cognitive skills (Head), character formation (Heart), and work ethic (Hands). At The Nambale Magnet School, students embrace formal and informal learning to develop into well-rounded citizens. In addition to academic excellence, students are provided with a wide range of extracurricular activities and facilities, including art and music programs with dedicated rooms, football, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) labs, sewing, and farming.
The Nambale Magnet School’s farming program is an excellent example of this holistic approach. Through farming activities such as dairy farming, pig rearing, rabbit keeping, raising chickens, and cultivating crops, students learn vocation options and experimental science, as well as economics. The school’s farming activities serve to subsidize the kitchen budget, with extra products being sold to fundraise for other programs within the school. The sewing unit is another example of The Nambale Magnet School’s well-rounded and resourceful approach to learning. Students who participate in the sewing program produce uniforms for students and staff.
The Nambale Magnet School is further unique in that it allows an opportunity for students to learn side-by-side regardless of socioeconomic differences. The school is funded in part by the families of students with the ability to afford tuition fees, though roughly 45% of the students are full scholarship recipients. Additionally, the school generates income from its farming program, as well as private donors.
TWG is honored to support The Nambale Magnet School’s mission. TWG’s history in Kenya began in 2003-2004, when we were contracted by the FAA to work in Kenya on behalf of the Safe Skies for Africa program. Our work in Kenya, as well as the assistance TWG has provided to Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) in Angola, Rwanda, and Cabo Verde, has reinforced our goal of making positive contributions to emerging nations in Africa. Investing in the students of The Nambale Magnet School is an investment in the future social, economic, and political leaders of Kenya.
Established in 1999 and based in Washington, DC, The Wicks Group has a lengthy record of providing technical assistance to civil aviation authorities (CAAs) worldwide, including but not limited to the CAAs of India, Panama, Cabo Verde, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Trinidad and Tobago. In all, ten FAA Category 1 ratings have been issued to TWG IASA technical assistance clients to date – a 100% track record. TWG also regularly assists foreign air carriers with obtaining the US government approvals needed for US air carrier operations and foreign repair stations with securing FAA certification required to maintain US-registered aircraft.