The photos above are the early days of Bluebells school in 2015.

 Jax’s Story - UK Co-Founder

My journey began in 2009. Together with my mother Anne, it was a modest attempt to help support the community and people we care about, as a third-generation East African mother and daughter team.

Sammy was a dear friend of ours - who we met through our respective childhood friends Gill and Susie (another dynamic mother-daughter team!) When Sammy was widowed with three children to support, we wanted to help him find more work. So, we harnessed his expertise as a tailor and took inspiration from the colourful Kenyan coast to sell kikoy clothing to our UK family and friends. Demand exceeded all expectations, and 'Bushbells' was born. We completed our first namesake school - Bushbells - in 2015, and started building our second and sister school, Bluebells, in 2016. Today, profits from all our sales fund our ongoing educational projects and ensure a secure livelihood for our small, magnificent team of tailors and Enoch, our bead worker.

So, Bluebells school started to be built in 2016, and year on year, we've slowly built more classrooms once we'd secured the necessary funding from the sales of our kikoy range of clothing (www.bushbells.com)  We were fortunate - as Mwana our principal, had been working at the first school we built (and namesake, Bushbells)  so she knew what hard work and perseverance was needed to 'grow' a school.

It's been a real privilege to watch this small school and its community grow.  It started off with basic chipboard walls and scant resources, but it always had a happy 'soul', with Mwana's tireless work behind the scenes.  She's always loved having her 'shamba' (vegetables' and plants) and it's wonderful to see that this is very much still part of life at Bluebells school today.  

I never thought it would become the established place of learning that it is NOW. Thanks to SO many friends and family along the way (you all know who you are) - and with all their support and kindness, it has become the thriving little school you see today, complete with two solar panels, 3 goats, a cow and 10 magnificent computers that were donated by my old prep school in Nairobi. Now that's what I call progress! But it's thanks to a huge joint effort from so many different parties who have made all this happen. Asante SANA I say!