Lamu Special School
Our first collaboration in Lamu
Lamu Special School was the first school with which Be Social Project began to collaborate. Until the second half of 2025, it was the only unit in the entire county dedicated to the education of children with disabilities.
Located in Mokowe, the administrative center of Lamu County, it is a private boarding school with around 130 students enrolled, who come from different parts of the county. The children live at the school throughout the academic year.
Be Social Project’s collaboration focuses on covering essential aspects of their development—nutrition, materials, therapies, and daily well-being—areas that public funding is unable to fully support.
Facilities and
Staff
In 2020, the school had an unreformed dining hall and kitchen, one dormitory for girls and two for boys, and eight classrooms, of which only five were in use. There was also a teachers’ room and a large courtyard shaded by a neem tree, where on many days the children play and dance beneath its branches.
The school has a team of six Special Education professionals, including the school’s principal and a social worker. In addition, they are supported by kitchen and maintenance staff, as well as a caregiver who assists students in their daily activities, promoting their independence.
Education and balanced nutrition
Gradually, and through the development of the different projects launched in collaboration with Be Social Project, the school’s facilities have been expanded and improved. The kitchen was renovated to make it possible to implement the first project that helped improve children’s nutrition. More than 30% of children in Lamu County suffer from malnutrition.
Because we believe that education cannot exist without nutritious food that allows students to fully develop their abilities, we began working with Loles Silvestre, Head of the Faculty of Health Sciences at CEU-UCH Valencia. Through a study, she confirmed that students at Lamu Special School were malnourished.
As a result, with Loles’ support, we launched a nutrition program at the end of 2020, adapted to local foods and recipes, with the goal of ensuring that meals provided at least 70% of the minimum daily nutrients recommended by the WHO. By 2023, we were able to confirm that these objectives had been successfully achieved.
Multisensory classroom for students with ASD
The Physiotherapy Project is an initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) who attend Lamu Special School.
To achieve this, in addition to the gym, we have created a sensory classroom where students can develop their motor, cognitive, and emotional skills. The gym is equipped with sensory materials that stimulate the children’s senses, such as balls, mats, cushions, tunnels, and more. The multisensory classroom is a calm and welcoming space where students can relax and focus, supported by a projector and a speaker that play soothing images and sounds.
In addition, Mr. Abdallah, the teacher of the ASD classroom, has worked alongside physiotherapists, neurologists, and other professionals who collaborate with Be Social Project. They have provided training and guidance to help him use more effective strategies and resources to meet students’ specific needs.
Physiotherapy, rehabilitation and prosthetics
In the summer of 2022, we began transforming an unused classroom at the school into a suitable space for a gym and rehabilitation room. By February 2023, our gym was fully operational, equipped with materials purchased both in Spain and in Kenya.
With the support of local physiotherapists and neurologists, as well as Spanish professionals who have come to collaborate, we have been able to implement a range of therapies aimed at strengthening balance, psychomotor skills, strength, and fine motor abilities. Today, it is James, a member of the Be Social team, who carries out daily group and individual exercises.
Several children required prosthetics or orthotics, including Hamesha, Sebastian, Said, Suleiman, Juma, and Damaris. All of them have received their prosthetics in Kenya, made by Joseph, the orthopaedic specialist we collaborate with, who is also responsible for follow-up appointments and for making new prosthetics as the children grow.
Art Project
Art is a tool for expression, self-esteem, and freedom; however, the current curriculum in Kenya does not include art as a compulsory subject.
At Be Social Project, we chose to invest in art, and since early 2024, students at Lamu Special School have been receiving three art classes per week. For this, we could not have wished for a better teacher than Shindo, who has won over every single student from the very first moment.
The classes are designed as adapted workshops where students can explore their creativity and, in many cases, art has become a powerful tool for fostering communication.
Art may not fill the stomach, but it nourishes the soul. For these children, art is a way to express what they cannot put into words. Through the project, they gain confidence and freedom in a unique and powerful way.
The launch and continuation of this project have been made possible thanks to the support of CRA El Valle de Soria and the Tervalis Foundation, which organized an exhibition in Teruel in December 2024 featuring the artworks created by the students of Lamu.
With your help, we can continue caring for the students of Lamu Special School
.