#BeBoldforChange – Catherine Kauria, Headmistress of Kagasik School
Among the Dig Deep Team, Catherine’s reputation is legendary.
All of us that have had the privilege of visiting Kagasik School have been consistently impressed with her hardworking and inspiring approach. She is relentlessly ambitious about creating a better environment for the girls in her school. In fact, when we first met her 4 years ago, she handed us a booklet outlining exactly what she was wanting for the school - classrooms, clean water tanks and toilets.
When Catherine first came to work at Kagasik, the school was in really poor repair and there were only 12 girls at the school, all coming from very disadvantaged backgrounds. Because of the challenges many of these girls faced at home, Catherine decided it was better for these girls if there was an option for them to board at the school, and so every night the girls slept on the mud floor of one of the classrooms.
Because of the option to board and Catherine’s strong leadership, by the time Dig Deep started working at the school in 2013 there were 50 girls. Now there are over 200.
Catherine has continued to campaign for better facilities for the girls. As well as the clean water tank and new toilet block that Dig Deep has provided, Catherine successfully secured local government funding for a new dormitory block 2 years ago and she also purchased an extra water tank for the school to help them manage with the increased number of students.
Kagasik is an inspiring school to visit. The students are talented and ambitious, and have the confidence and support they need to work towards university and beyond. The school is doing all it can to make sure that no girl’s potential is limited by her background or difficulties. Catherine remains as hard working and committed to her students. While she has already achieved most of the things in the booklet she gave us all those years ago, she continues to work hard to make sure that these girls to achieve change, in their own lives, and the wider community.
Dig Deep are proud to partner with Kagasik School and Catherine to play our part in that change. See Catherine describing the impact of the project in her own words in the video below