Our Story & Impact
Past Impact & Story
From 100 children in mud classrooms to a growing school and Gospel ministry
Hademu Village · Kaloleni Constituency · Kilifi County, Kenya
Big picture
Solace Education Centre was founded to confront high illiteracy and early marriage of girls as young as 13 in Hademu Village and surrounding areas. What began with 100 children in January 2015 has grown into a school and congregation known for both classroom care and Gospel outreach.
Public partner materials cite roughly 350–450 children served in recent years (the partnership proposal uses ~350; Equity Foundation’s public page cites ~450 students, 14 teachers, and 8 support staff). We present both carefully rather than invent a single figure.
0 Children at founding (2015)
0 Permanent stone classrooms Ipsos Foundation funder
0 Pairs of shoes (Ahadi)
0 Years of ministry
Challenges in this region
Hademu Village and the wider Kaloleni Constituency sit in Kilifi County on Kenya’s coast — a place of beauty and of hard limits for many children. County and partner materials describe Kilifi as facing deeper poverty than the national average (monetary poverty around 46% vs roughly 36% nationally in recent CIDP figures) and persistent multidimensional need. Ipsos Foundation’s Solace write-up likewise placed Kilifi among Kenya’s poorer counties, noting low secondary attainment (~13%) and a large share with no formal education (~36%), and that Solace’s school population has tripled since founding.
Against that backdrop, children and families here often face:
- Education barriers and limited opportunity — few clear paths forward for many boys and girls
- Hopelessness and low motivation when futures feel closed
- Early marriage and illiteracy pressures — public reporting on Solace’s founding cites girls married as young as 13 in Hademu/Kaloleni; broader Kilifi studies have also placed the county among areas with high child-marriage prevalence
- Classes that are full and exceed building capacity — mud classrooms remain in use; new children arrive every term, and the Mashas will not turn them away
- Immediate infrastructure needs: reliable food, clean water, electricity, and connectivity to the outside world (digital and communications access)
We name these challenges honestly — without sensationalism — because they are why Solace exists: a school that feeds and teaches, a congregation that disciples, and a Gospel hope that meets children where they are.
Impact timeline
January 2015
Founding in Hademu Village
George and Priscilla Masha founded Solace Education Centre with 100 children in Hademu Village, Kaloleni Constituency, Kilifi County — responding to high illiteracy and early marriage of girls as young as 13.
Public materials also spell the founders’ names George & Priscilla / Priscillah Masha; Partnership materials present leaders as Rev. George Yohana & Priscillah Masha.
Growth years
Demand outpaces mud classrooms
Enrollment grew quickly. Mud classrooms remained in use because demand stayed high — new children arrived every term, and the Mashas would not turn them away.
2018 · Ipsos Foundation
Catalytic grant builds the permanent school
The Ipsos Foundation was a major funder, awarding €150,000 (~Ksh 17.5 million) — its highest single charity award at the time. That funding enabled permanent school construction: four permanent stone classrooms, a dining hall, a kitchen, and pit latrines.
By the Ipsos announcement, about 300 underprivileged children were being educated.
Ahadi Trust partnership
Shoes against jigger infestation
Ipsos partnered with the Ahadi Trust Fund to provide 280 pairs of shoes to help prevent jigger infestation among students.
Gospel fruit
Bible distribution & children coming to Christ
Through evangelism, discipleship, and Scripture outreach, hundreds of children have come to faith in Christ. Bible distribution remains a signature outreach of the ministry — what partners know George and Priscillah for in the community.
These Gospel outcomes are shared from ministry / partner testimony; they are not claimed as published web statistics.
Today · An invitation to churches
School + congregation, looking ahead
Solace continues to provide primary education and spiritual nourishment. The congregation meets on Sundays in the school dining hall, with a vision for a permanent church home. Churches are invited to walk with Rev. George Yohana & Priscillah Masha as missionary partners — through prayer, child sponsorship ($65/child/month), the immediate need (~$2,470), and longer-term facility support.
Phase 2 campus vision
George reports that Solace has embarked on the second phase of school building. Below are materials he asked to include on this site: the official site plan prepared for government stamping, and a concept vision of how the expanded campus could look.
The campus image is a concept visualization (shared by George), not a finished construction photo. Download the site plan PDF for the stamped-drawing version.
Impact highlights
Ipsos Foundation school build
The Ipsos Foundation’s €150,000 award (highest single charity award at the time) was a major funding gift that enabled permanent construction: four stone classrooms, dining hall, kitchen, and pit latrines — while mud classrooms stayed in use because demand remained high.
Children served
Grown from 100 at founding; by the 2018 Ipsos announcement ~300 children; recent partner materials cite roughly 350–450 children. Partnership proposal materials use ~350 children, 28 teachers, and 5 support staff; Equity Foundation’s public page cites ~450 students, 14 teachers, and 8 support staff.
Spiritual impact
Partners know Solace for Bible distribution in the community and for Gospel work through which hundreds of children have come to faith in Christ — alongside daily Christian education and congregational life.
Community focus
Beyond classrooms, Solace’s public partner materials highlight clean water, e-learning, and agriculture / feeding sustainability as community priorities.
Testimonials
“
Testimonial from Nancy Gustafson
Pastor George Masha has been the trustworthy feet on the ground—providing detailed receipts for every gift. With about $14,000 raised through Prairie Edge CRC, partners helped put the Word into many hands: roughly 400 Bibles (print and audio) in English, Swahili, Giriama, and Luo, reaching churches across Kenya and into Tanzania, including underground congregations in a predominantly Muslim region. A church in Kilifi received a new roof and has grown since; Solace Education Center—founded by Priscillah Masha—grew from eight children to about 300, feeding students twice a day and helping keep girls in school rather than early marriage. A significant share of the gift is helping lay the foundation for a new junior and senior high. Nancy remains grateful—and still praying for more Bibles.
Nancy Gustafson Report to Prairie Edge Christian Reformed Church
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More voices welcome
Additional partner and visitor testimonials can be added here as cards — teachers, sponsors, short-term team members, and friends of the ministry.
Sources & footnotes
Web-sourced (public):
Miriam Musyoki, “Ipsos Donates Ksh18 Million to Solace Education Centre in Kilifi,” Kenyans.co.ke, 12 October 2018 — founding with 100 children (Jan 2015); Ipsos Foundation €150,000 (~Ksh 17.5M), highest single charity award at the time; four permanent stone classrooms, dining hall, kitchen; mud classrooms still in use; ~300 children at announcement; Ahadi Trust Fund 280 pairs of shoes.
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/33891-ipsos-donates-ksh18-million-solace-education-centre-kilifiEquity Foundation, “Project Solace Education Center” services page — primary education and spiritual nourishment; Directors Mr. George Masha / Principal Mrs. Priscillah Masha; ~450 students, 14 teachers, 8 support staff; community focus (water, e-learning, agriculture). Photos on this page credited to Equity Foundation / Solace Education Center.
https://www.equityfoundationinc.org/servicesKilifi County CIDP (abridged, 2024) — monetary poverty ~46% (above national ~36%); multidimensional poverty noted as high.
Ipsos Foundation Solace write-up / related materials — Kilifi among poorer areas; ~13% secondary education; ~36% no formal education; school population described as having tripled since founding.
Child marriage context — Ipsos/Kenyans.co.ke founding narrative (girls as young as 13 in Hademu/Kaloleni); separate KU-linked reporting has cited high prevalence in Kilifi (~47% of girls married before 18 in one study). Use as regional context, not a Solace enrollment statistic.
Ministry / partner testimony (not published web statistics): Bible distribution as signature outreach; hundreds of children brought to faith in Christ through evangelism and discipleship.
Proposal figures (partnership materials): ~350 children, 28 teachers, 5 support staff; sponsorship $65/child/month; immediate need ~$2,470.