Church helps expand school for visually impaired students in Kenya

The donation is a message of Christ’s love, says Kisumu Kenya District president

29 Jan 2026, 3:15 p.m. MST

Martin Evans — second counselor in the Kisumu Kenya District presidency, center — cuts the ribbon to the new learning center for Kibos Special Secondary School with other community leaders in Kisumu, Kenya, Jan. 16, 2026. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated a new learning center to Kibos Special Secondary School in Kisumu, Kenya, which serves students who are blind and visually impaired. The donation was made in collaboration with the Kenya Ministry of Education and the nonprofit organization Riziki Foundation, reported the Church’s Africa newsroom.

“Our message to the community and to the students is that we should share the love of Christ with one another and with those around us,” Kisumu Kenya District President Peter Akal said at the Jan. 16 donation ceremony. “This spirit of Christlike love strengthens our unity as a community.”

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A new learning center for the Kibos Special Secondary School, which serves students who are blind and visually impaired, stands in Kisumu, Kenya, after being donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other community organizations, Jan. 16, 2026. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The new learning center features 12 classrooms — each capable of accommodating about 50 students — 18 lavatories with running water and 150 desks. The donation also included 20 Braille Bibles, 300 Braille storybooks and a new dormitory building.

“We want learners with visual impairments to access modern facilities,” said Joshua Ombayo, principal of the school. “When they learn in such a complex, their self-esteem is enhanced, they become confident and their performance improves.”

A student demonstrates how an orbit reader, a digital braille tool, works, on Jan. 16, 2026, in Kisumu, Kenya. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other community organizations donated 87 orbit readers to the Kibos Special Secondary School, a school for students who are blind and visually impaired in Kisumu. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Ombayo said the school is growing and will likely have 800 students enrolled within the next two years — quadruple the number of students the school currently serves.

President Akal told Church News that he was filled with joy as he saw excitement and confidence on the students’ faces during the donation ceremony.

“One thing that stood out for me was that Heavenly Father loves each one of us equally, and we are all created in His own image,” he said.

Fredrick Haga — Kenyan national director of special needs education, left — receives the key to officially open the first classroom of the new learning center for Kibos Special Secondary School from Major Omuse, chaplain of the Kibos Special Secondary School. Cosmas Onywera — special needs education coordinator for Kisumu County, second from left — and school principal Joshua Ombayo, second from right, look on at the presentation in Kisumu, Kenya, Jan. 16, 2026. — Fredrick Haga — Kenyan national director of special needs education, left — receives the key to officially open the first classroom of the new learning center for Kibos Special Secondary School from Major Omuse, chaplain of the Kibos Special Secondary School. Cosmas Onywera — special needs education coordinator for Kisumu County, second from left — and school principal Joshua Ombayo look on at the presentation in Kisumu, Kenya, Jan. 16, 2026. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Martin Evans, second counselor in the Kisumu Kenya District presidency, also attended the ceremony and was invited to plant a tree and help cut the ribbon to the center.

Prior to this donation, the Church helped the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa establish an information and communication technology hub at the Kibos school, complete with digital braille learning devices and training to strengthen access to STEM subjects.

President Akal said continued humanitarian efforts are important because compassion can bring about equity, “eradicate poverty, restore dignity and improve moral standards in the society.”

Joshua Ombayo — principal of Kibos Special Secondary School in Kisumu, Kenya — explains that the school, which serves students who are blind and visually impaired, will grow exponentially after the donation of a new learning center from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other community organizations, in Kisumu, Kenya, Jan. 16, 2026. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints