A JERSEY travel agency has been sponsoring a school in Kenya in order to help build much-needed new classrooms.
After its previous classrooms became unusable, the Unity School in the southeastern Kenyan city of Mombasa received support and financial assistance from Wayte Travel Management in St Helier, with chairman Chris Morris and managing director Garry Lloyd volunteering at the school and seeing first-hand the “excellent work” the Unity School team do in providing a curriculum for children in difficult circumstances.
The Unity School is home to hundreds of children – many homeless or without parents – and relies heavily on the support of a charity called Friends of the Children of Mombasa. However, funding for the school has decreased year on year since the Covid-19 pandemic, and all involved are constantly looking for other options to ensure both the school and local community are supported.
Discussing how Wayte Travel – formally Executive and Business Travel – first came to be involved with the school, Garry Lloyd says: “Chris [Morris] visited the school in 2023 with his partner and immediately vowed to help. Almost all of the children who attend the school live in abject poverty, and some even live on-site in a makeshift orphanage.
“I visited in January of this year for the first time and immediately fell in love with the school – their happiness, against adversity, was humbling. And it made me realise how lucky we are to have the life we do.
“The school urgently needed help and, to date, we have donated over £25,000, which we have done via staff donations, Christmas raffles and from our own pockets. We are now hoping the Jersey community can help us to raise even more.”
In addition to providing the children with an education (the school teaches grades one to nine), the Unity School also provides two meals per day to the orphans, while every child who attends the school receives a lunch. The building is based in a poverty-stricken area of Mombasa, with many of the children having to travel as far as 10km to attend, often on foot.
“A lot of the teachers are paid a low salary, and yet they work their hardest to provide a great education to over 400 children,” says Garry. “The school has a headmistress, Madame Mary, who leads the children, the teachers and the school so well. She is a shining beacon for all the children, especially the girls, that anything is possible, even in tough circumstances.”
During his visit to the Unity School, Garry – who is married with two children – spent much time teaching and playing sports with the schoolchildren: “I took a full well of sports for all the children, from Years 4 to 9. They loved it and I hope that, after I left, they were able to take the skills they had learned on the field into their chosen sport. We did everything, from rounders to football, and, although the heat and playing surfaces were not conducive to learning, we made the most of it.
“On return, I asked the kind people of Grouville FC and Essential Dance to donate kit, footwear and anything they could to allow the children to compete in Mombasa against other schools. We were lucky enough to get over 40 pairs of football boots, full dance kit and two match kits for the school. Needless to say, they were very happy and sent some lovely photographs.”
To further aid the children and teachers of the Unity School, Chris, Garry and the Wayte Travel team will be holding a fundraising event on Friday 19 September.
Held at the Pomme d’Or Hotel, the “dinner/networking/fundraising event” will include a three-course meal featuring authentic African food, alongside a raffle, an auction and a special dance show put together by Essential Dance, with all proceeds from the evening going to the school.
“Islanders can expect a fabulous evening of entertainment, fundraising and networking,” says Garry. “This is an opportunity for the Jersey community – whether that be corporate or a group of friends – to come together and be a force for good, and show the Unity School that people really do care. When I left in January, I told the school we wouldn’t forget them and I intend to fulfil that promise.
“The night will have everything: raffles, auctions, African cuisine, speeches, dance performances and more – it’s a good old-fashioned fun night out and we hope that people will support us in helping the Unity School.”
It is certainly an event to mark on the calendar. Has Garry any plans to add a return visit to the Unity School to his own diary?
“Oh, I would love to return,” he says with a smile. “I would urge anyone that wants to help to contact the school. During my visit, they also had a group of French students who took lessons, helped with my sports week and built incredible relationships with the children and teachers.
“It is an incredibly humbling but rewarding experience, and it is one that will live long in my own memory.”

*For more details on the Unity School fundraising dinner at the Pomme d’Or Hotel on Friday 19 September, or to book tickets for the event, email Wayte Travel managing director Garry Lloyd at Garry.Lloyd@waytetravel.co.uk