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Broughty Ferry woman’s bid to raise funds for computers for primary school in Kenya

Sheila Mcluckie with boards showing the No Charge parking and a photoboard of the children she wants to help,
Shelia Mcluckie is fundraising for computers for Kenya primary school.

A Broughty Ferry woman has made it her mission to raise enough funds for five computers for a primary school in Kenya.

Sheila Mcluckie, former assistant head of Grove Academy, is raising money for Limbene Primary School, in Meru, near Mount Kenya.

She has arranged for Grove Academy to open its car park on Saturday (July 9) for members of the public to park there for free.

In return, Sheila hopes people will donate to her cause at a stall within the car park, which will also have small crafts and artwork for sale and a raffle.

The 70-year-old, of Camphill Road, Broughty Ferry, has been raising funds for the school since she visited it in 2008 and was shocked by the conditions.

A classroom in Limbene Primary School, near Mount Kenya, in 2008.
A classroom in Limbene Primary School, near Mount Kenya, in 2008.

She said: “It was totally arid, there was red earth on the ground, some of the kids had no shoes on and they were sitting gathered together in the sun.

“The building was made from corrugated iron and had dirt floors. There were holes in the walls – it was not watertight and they get floods there as well as droughts.

“It had quite an effect on me – it’s a sight that’s never left me.”

On her return she was desperate to help the school and asked primary schools in Dundee if they could help with fundraising. Staff at St Mary’s Primary School agreed and they raised money for desks in 2012.

But when she visited that same year, Sheila was saddened to see ‘not much had changed’ since her first trip.

Sheila Mcluckie sits at a desk inscribed with the words 'donated by St Mary's Primary School, Scotland'
Sheila Mcluckie sits at a desk inscribed with the words ‘donated by St Mary’s Primary School, Scotland’

She then set about raising funds for the school’s first proper classroom, along with toilets and handwashing facilities, which were completed by her next visit in 2018.

Government officials in Kenya built more classrooms soon after, matching the standard of the new one Sheila had funded.

Since then she has sent money to the school twice every year through a local pastor and minister, funding a mini bus for the kindergarten and desks and furniture for classrooms.

Hand washing facilities in Limbene primary
Hand washing facilities in Limbene primary built with cash from Sheila Mcluckie fundraising.

Sheila said: “I’ve had great letters from the pupils, they appreciate what we are trying to do and say how great it is to have their own desk, their own chair and a locker.”

She now hopes to raise enough for five computers – which will be the first computers the school has, and successful former students have also pledged to fund five more.

As well as the car parking event, Sheila also sells painted stones and other small pieces of artwork from her home, and she recently swam 100 lengths a week for three weeks, raising £300 for the cause.

She also held a Christmas Fayre last year from a friend’s house and raised more than £1,200.

Kindergarten with minibus paid for with money donated through Sheila Mcluckie fundraising.
Kindergarten with minibus paid for with money donated through Sheila Mcluckie fundraising.

She added: “I felt it was a very unfair world when I met these very upbeat pupils and staff at Limbene in 2008, working in appalling conditions while Grove Academy was getting this state of the art school.

“I couldn’t get Limbene out of my head and I get a huge amount of satisfaction working in partnership with them.”

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