Acorn Special Tutorial A Classroom Built with Purpose
This project began by chance and became a calling. While stopping for a drink at a gas station, I ran into a former high school friend. He invited me to a men’s group meeting where I met a father of a child with Down Syndrome. He shared the story of Acorn Special Tutorial, a small center for children with special needs that had been trying to build new classrooms.
They had raised funds with the support of the First Lady, but the contractor vanished after pouring only the slab. For two years, the project sat unfinished. Many had visited, made promises, and never returned.
How It Started
We promised to visit the site and though it was hard to find at first (the only sign was on a piece of A4 paper!), that visit changed everything.
We donated a proper sign, offered design and construction labor at zero profit, and got to work. A new fundraising campaign followed, and we broke ground.
We designed and built a 4-classroom block, working closely with the school to make the space functional, safe, and welcoming for children with various needs.
What We Did
When the classrooms opened, enrolment jumped from 25 to over 125 students.
Mothers who once had no choice but to stay home or entrust children to unsafe care could now bring their kids to a safe, structured learning environment. It freed them to go to work with fear of any abuse.
The Impact
Why It Matters
This wasn’t just a construction project. It was a turning point for the children, for their families, and for us. It marked the beginning of a deeper mission: to build classrooms across Kenya for students with special needs and underserved communities
“For children often overlooked, this building became a place of inclusion, growth, and hope.”
