Kimilili is a small market town in Western Province, Kenya in the highlands around Mount Elgon close to the Ugandan border. The town itself has a population of slightly over 10,000 although some 67,000 people live on tiny farms and small-holdings within 5 km of the town centre. Most of the population are subsistence farmers – they grow enough to eat but have little by way of cash crops. There are normally two rainy seasons a year and starvation is not a problem but the majority are very poor. In common with most of sub-Saharan Africa there is a major problem with HIV+ and AIDS and deaths are frequent. Many children are orphaned at a young age and live with foster parents, grandparents or distant relatives. It is not unusual to speak to an adult and for them to say that they have,say, five or six children of their own but that they are caring for a total of,say, twelve or thirteen. This places enormous burdens on families that are already close to the poverty line.

Many schools in the area were founded by a church or missionary group but over time the contact with this original group may have become tenuous. However sometimes the contact is still maintained and the original founding group or church does still offer support to a school in the form of pastoral care or by making proposals for membership of a board of governors or similar body. Teachers are government employees and are liable to be transferred sometimes at short notice, and with scant regard for the religious affiliation of the sponsoring body.