Mago Polytechnic School

The school that teaches underprivileged young people in and around Mago a trade and gives them a future.

Welcome to Mago Polytechnic

Students on the grounds of Mago Polytechnic

Kenya has more than 55 million inhabitants and lies on the east coast of Africa. Those who look beyond the safari parks and the white beaches of Mombasa discover a country with much more to offer. The road to Kisumu winds through a beautiful landscape where coffee and tea are grown on vast fields and Lake Victoria stretches out between the hills.

Yet the beautiful scenery offers no comfort against the poverty, crime and prostitution that are part of daily life in this part of Kenya too. Incomes are low and AIDS and malaria claim many victims.

Many families around Mago live without running water or electricity

To provide for themselves, young people need to learn a trade. But more than half of the children cannot continue after primary school: primary education is free, further education is not. For children who lost their parents to AIDS or malaria it is out of reach anyway. And many parents earn just enough to put food on the table each day.

The Mago Polytechnic School was set up to give these children in and around Mago, a small town north of Kisumu, a future after all.

Who we are here for

The Mago Polytechnic School offers opportunities to the very poorest: children from families with little or no income, living in dire conditions. Almost always without running water or electricity, in simple huts. By offering these young people an affordable education, they get a chance at a future.

The school does more

In Kenya, HIV/AIDS and hunger are a fixed part of daily life. That is why the Mago Polytechnic School also pays plenty of attention to these topics alongside its vocational training.

More than 300 students on their way to a better future

The Mago Polytechnic School currently has around 300 students. They can follow some twenty courses at various levels and complete them with a state examination. With a diploma in hand, they have a chance at a job and a good future.

300+
Students: 99%
Pass rate: 90%
Find a job afterwards: 9
Courses

Our courses

The masonry classroom

Our school offers several vocational courses that complement each other:

Automotive engineering, combined with welding and metalwork
Masonry, combined with carpentry and painting
Hairdressing, combined with tailoring and fashion design
Agriculture, our newest course
Computer classes: the computer room has 24 computers where students learn the basics
Catering & Hospitality at our own hotel school

The hotel school

Sewing class in the tailoring course

At our hotel school, students learn the hospitality trade in the broadest sense: from housekeeping to serving guests. They also learn to prepare meals from our chef.

They gain their practical experience at the Mago Guesthouse, where all income flows back to the school.

Sponsor a student

Students of Mago Polytechnic

Our students pay a school fee of about € 200 per year. After all, what comes for free is worth nothing. Each student pays 20 percent of that fee themselves. The school fee pays the teachers’ salaries and buys the materials for lessons and exams.

Students who live far from school, sometimes four to five hours on foot, can stay in one of our hostels: the boys’ hostel in the middle of the village, built in 2015, and the girls’ hostel on the school grounds, opened in 2024. The hostel also costs about € 200 per year.

With a diploma in hand there is a chance of work

For € 19 per month you make it possible for a student to follow a course and get a better future. For that amount again, he or she can also stay in the hostel.

Within our board, Ronald Klomp takes care of the sponsorships. He keeps you informed and passes on the results of your student. You can reach him at rklomp@stichtingmago.nl. We hope you will help us work towards a better future for our students.