Campaign by Story
In the remote village of Marafa, Kenya, children gather each day beneath the trees or inside crumbling mud huts, eager to learn despite the heat, dust, and noise around them.
When the sun beats down, the air becomes heavy. Sweat drips, concentration fades, and lessons stall. When it rains, classes stop completely. Yet still, they come, because they know education is their path to a better future.
At Kadunguni School in Marafa pupils from Grades 1–4 currently share a small, temporary mud, stick and metal structure. Some take lessons under the trees for shade. Teachers shout to be heard over the wind. Desks are made from planks of wood balanced on stones. Books are a rare treasure.
We’ve already helped the school build one stone classroom and a small office block for the headteacher, spaces that have transformed teaching and learning for everyone inside. Now, we want to do it again.
The next classroom will be built from solid stone, following the Kenyan Government’s blueprint. It will be a safe, durable building with cool white-painted roofs that lower the temperature inside by up to six degrees Celsius, a small detail that makes a world of difference.
Inside, students will have desks, chairs, and books. Teachers will be able to speak, not shout.
And beyond the classroom walls, a forest of 6,000 fruit and nut trees will grow. Mango, cashew, neem, and moringa, planted by the children, their families, and their teachers. The trees will feed them, shade them, clean the air, and protect their community from floods.
Over the next 20 years, at least 600 students will learn and grow within these walls and countless more will benefit from the trees that surround them.
This isn’t just about building classrooms. It’s about growing futures. Stronger, greener, and full of possibility.
Why It Matters
Education changes everything.
But in rural Kenya, many children still learn in unsafe, overcrowded spaces, or no classroom at all. When the sun scorches the earth or rain floods the ground, lessons stop. Dreams are paused.
A solid classroom means safety, shelter, and stability. A place where learning can continue every day, no matter the weather.
Each classroom we build also grows a forest, thousands of fruit and nut trees that will feed families, restore the land, create shade and livelihoods, and absorb thousands of tonnes of CO₂.
Together, these classrooms and trees bring education and restoration, for the people of Garashi, and for the planet we all share.
We’re not just building classrooms. We’re growing hope.
Our Goal
One Classroom — Funded by Christmas.
This Christmas, we’re raising £20,000 to build a new stone classroom in Marafa, Kenya.
It will be a bright, safe space where children can learn, laugh, and dream of the future they deserve. Every single donation helps bring that dream closer:
£10 could buy a chair
£25 could help plaster a wall
£100 could help put a roof over their heads
Together, we can open the doors to a new classroom — and a brighter future for hundreds of children.
How You Can Help
✨ Donate whatever you can - every pound makes a difference.
Share this campaign with your friends and family
Be Workplace Heroes - look at our fundraising ideas for the office.
Tag us on social media: @WordForestOrg using #AClassroomForChristmas.
When you give, you’re not just funding bricks and mortar. You’re building confidence, opportunity, and hope.