Advertisement

Aussie college grad, Kyle De Souzza, builds first night school in East Africa

Massai men in Africa who have to spend their days herding cattle can now go to school at night thanks to an Australian engineering graduate.

Kyle De Souza, who just graduated with a degree in mining engineering, started his work in Kenya by building a new classroom at the Shade Riruta orphanage in Nairobi. It is a place children go after their parents have died of AIDS or starvation.

After a month at the orphanage, community members started requesting his skills to help build and complete a school "in the Maasai Land where people still live a traditional farming life," the Good News Network reports.

De Souza, from Perth, and a graduate of the Curtin University Western Australian School of Mines, took on the ambitious project. He spent seven months creating solar and wind infrastructure that could power lights at night for villagers who spend their daylight hours working in the fields.

"We started the first Maasai men's education program which allows men who herd cattle during the day to get an education at night," said De Souza to One Perth. "We run classes for them during the day, and night classes between 6 and 10 p.m., and currently have more than 40 students enrolled in the program."

De Souza said he didn't find the leap from mining to school-building all that daunting.

"Mining engineering is the broadest engineering discipline of all. The technical and practical knowledge I gained from labouring underground for two years and working as an engineer for that time gave me the tools to undertake building a school and managing the project work associated with it," he said to One Perth.

De Souza's school is already in session, with two full-time teachers and 45 students. The school is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

He has also launched a women's program, which teaches them to sew and sell their goods. They are working to start a website to market the products internationally.