DGS News 2012
Christmas Lunch and Gifts - 24th of December 2012
Destiny Garden School held a Christmas lunch for all its students. The students were treated to a rare meal of pilau (Spiced rice) and goat meat. They were also handed gift packs which were funded by the Destiny Charity Christmas kitty. The students were very grateful as most of them would not have otherwise received presents during Christmas.
KG3 Graduation - 23 November 2012
As the school year at Destiny Garden School comes to a close, the graduation of the pupils from KG3 to Primary Class 1, together with the End of Year prize giving, was celebrated.
'The Graduation ceremony was attended by Hassan Omar Hassan who is the former Kenya Commissioner for human rights. He awarded certificates to the students and urged them to work hard in school as education is the best way for them to succeed in life.
The other top students from other classes who performed well were also given stationary as a reward for there efforts this term.
The event was a great success with parents and guardians attending, and entertainment by the children which included music and dance shows. The graduates were then later treated with cakes and sodas together with their parents who were in attendance. The school will resume in January.'
Global Hand Washing Day – 15 October 2012
Monday 15 October was global hand washing day for schools in Kenya and DGS also took part in this event. The students were taught on a better way to wash hands by 4 other students who had previously attended the hand washing seminar last week. Namely Jennifer (Class 6), Cynthia (Class 3), Jacob (Class 4) & Lucas (Cls 5).
These 4 students first showed the whole school how to wash hands at the assembly under the guidance of the teachers, and then later proceeded to guide them one by one as they washed their hands by the water tanks. They were each handed out comic books with a hand washing theme in them – these were provided by Ministry of health.
See this link for more photos – DGS October 2012 photos.
Birthday Cake for Class One - 12 October 2012
One of DGS's Sponsors sent funds to DGS to buy Belinda a birthday cake to share with her class. This brought great excitement and joy to the children as having a cake for a birthday is rare and therefore a very special occasion!
See this link for more photos - DGS photos October 2012
An Interview with Jacob - 24 August 2012
Simon and Michelle, both keen supporters of Destiny Garden School, visited the school in August and filmed the children and staff.
Simon operated the camera whilst Michelle interviewed Jacob, the School Director.
Read Simon's report and see his photos on this link - Simon's Report
For a clip of the film please see this link to YouTube
Volunteer Anne’s Memories – August 2012
Anne Nightingale, a volunteer from the Republic of Ireland, spent 2 months doing voluntary work at Destiny Garden School. Anne says: 
“I had a wonderful time at Destiny Garden School - a great experience and education for me. Jacob and all the staff are doing great work there, and the children are a delight. Living in Jacob’s house and having my meals cooked by his two house girls, Happy and Phoebe, was a wonderful experience of real Kenyan food and hospitality. Jacob and his family were very kind to me.”
See entry below, July 2012, for some of Anne’s experiences and read her memories on this link – Anne Nightingale’s Memories.
Kenyan Music Festival – 10th August 2012
DGS children who represented Destiny Garden School at the Kenya National Music Festival arrived back in Mombasa early yesterday morning. Please see the news article below.
They did very well indeed as they emerged 8th out of 21 in the 'Own creative' category with 82% and 15th out of 28 in the 'western style' with 80%. We are very grateful for everyone's support which enabled us to get this far in the competition. Thank you very much.
For more photos please see this link to the
2012 Music Festival Photos.
To hear the traditional dance students see this link to their YouTube clip.
The 2012 Kenyan Music Festival – 6th July 2012
DGS has done exceptionally well in this year’s competitions; 8 Divisional groups qualified for the District competitions, and of those 4 successfully went on to the Provincial level.
To everyone's delight, the nursery group have secured a place in the National Finals in Meru later next month – we wish them well!
After 4 months of hard work and toil, however, DGS’s dreams of having more than 2 teams represent DGS in the National 
finals were dealt a severe blow yesterday as the primary school children bowed out of the competition, but with their heads held up high. The Traditional Dance crew finished in a creditable 5th position from a total of 42 schools, with only a small margin separating them from the top positions. Bakari, the drummer, also did well, considering that he has only just learnt to play the drums, as he emerged 4th in the Province from 22 finalists. The Folk song team also did not let anyone down as they finished 14th in a competitive pool of 42 schools.
On seeing the YouTube link below of the Traditional Dance team, our UK supporter said "their energy and co-ordination are amazing; the children, and their teachers, obviously worked extremely hard".
This has been a superb opportunity and experience for the DGS children, and it is wonderful that one of the groups has reached the Nationals. Many of the children were involved in some way, not just the performers and it will be something they will remember for a long time.
For more photos please see this link to the 2012 Music Festival Photos.
To see and hear the traditional dance students see this link to their YouTube clip.
Visitors to the School - July 2012
On Friday 22nd Jing Cheng (Jessica) a business lady from china and her colleague June Waithera Mwangi visited the school. They were on a fact finding mission in the south coast but decided to come and see the project for themselves and even spared their precious time to go and watch our school perform during the Likoni zonal Kenya music festival trials.
June was the DGS Manager, Victor’s colleague in University and during his A-levels in Uganda.
June and Jessica with the Judges at the Kenyan Music Festival trials.
Jessica and June have promised to come to the school another time to volunteer even
for a day.
Volunteer ANNE from Dublin - July 2012
Anne Nightingale, a volunteer from the republic of Ireland, has been at Destiny Garden School since the beginning of the month of June. As a fromer teacher, she has been assisting the nursery class students in their work at school, having a keen interest in child welfare.
Anne also uses her spare time storytelling to the older kids who like her narrator skills which she developed working with children in Ireland.
Anne is enthusiastic about gardening and has also left her mark on the school by planting paw paw trees around the school fence with the students. She hopes this will make them learn how to be more responsible for their environment.
Soalr Panels installed at DGS - June 2012
A grant from a UK Trust has enabled the school to install solar panels which generate enough electricity to run fans, lighting and two computers in Classroom 6, together with 2 security lights and a water pump. DGS hope to introduce a few adult education classes in the evenings to give something back to the local community.
Closing Day Ceremony - April 20112
On thursday 12th of April 2012, Destiny Garden School had it's end of term ceremony where the top students from each class were honoured.
It is a traditional to give the top 3 performing students awards each term in order to encourage them to keep on doing better in class.
The students were awarded with various gifts including mathematical sets, storybooks, stationary, assorted toys.
Regina Builds a Kitchen for DGS - March 2012
Regina Schack, from Germany, and a former volunteer at the School, came back again this year together with her friend Bernd Zwatschek who also hails from Germany. Together they were able to raise funds for the construction of a Modern kitchen unit for the school as the old one was not deemed fit for food preparation by the local authorities. The construction of the kitchen could not have come at a better time as without it the authorities would have closed the school due to the Kitchen's poor health and safety standards. The construction is still ongoing and due to finish by May, before the new term starts.
Regina and Bernd were also able to purchase mangoes and fruit for the children at Destiny Garden School as a treat for them during their lunch break on their final day at the school in March. This was a wonderful gesture as most of the children are unable to get healthy fruits to take along with their meals at home due to poverty.
See this link for Regina's review of her visit.
Pennsylvania Law students visit DGS - March 2012
Four Law students from Pennsylvania University in America visited the school during the month of March. Namely Geneva Campbell, Tiffany Belle, Kyla and Dale. They came with stationery and footballs which they kindly donated to the school.
The students came as part of the ‘Pennsylvania Black Law Students Association’ which normally sends out students to other countries in order to help them understand their constitution and empower them in the process. This initiative has already been happening in South Africa but started taking place in Kenya last year and is set to go on for the next 10 years.
Judy's Visit to DGS - February 2012
Judy Roper, Chairperson of Destiny Children, visited Destiny Garden School for 3 weeks during February 2012. Her principle job whilst there was to update the Charity's records and the School Business Plan, and also to review the information of all the 300 children now at the school in connection with the sponsorship programme. 
Judy says "The visit was hard work but very rewarding. It was great to see all the children again and they are so appreciative of all the school does for them. The staff are dedicated and work well together as a team.
The school continues to develop but still has some way to go. Jacob, the School Director, works hard to ensure the school's success and is very well respected by the people in the local community. Victor, the School Manager who joined in June last year, has been a great help to the Charity. He helped take the photos of all the children and update their profiles for the sponsorship programme."
January 2012 - Class 6 Children Move into their new Classroom
The new classroom 6, which was built from a generous grant given by the Kitchen Table Charities Trust, has nearly been kitted out thanks to the funds raised in the UK.
