our roots

Daystar moves a notch higher in
infrastructural growth
By Jean Murungi
“All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or
intellectually without effort, and effort means, work.”
- Calvin Coolidge (ex-US President).
With the proliferation of
institutions of higher
learning in the country,
and the recent debate
about the quality of
education they offer today, any parent
would be interested to find out if their
children are being adequately prepared
for the job market. It is for this reason that
Daystar University has embarked on several
developmental activities in a bid to maintain
the quality of its programmes, and to
provide a conducive learning environment
for students. The university has continued to
review its curricula and introduce marketdriven
programmes to meet industry
demands. It has also maintained sustained
development of its physical infrastructure,
as well as providing state-of-the-art facilities
to give students hands-on experience.
Just last year, the university launched
an ultra-modern building at the Nairobi
Campus, the Daystar Academic Centre
(DAC). The building, which houses over
2,500 students, was constructed with the
aim of providing more and spacious lecture
halls for students and offices for faculty.
It has a 400-sitter auditorium, 44 lecture
rooms, 5 meeting rooms, 28 offices and
84 washrooms. It also has a well-equipped
Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) laboratory, among other facilities.
The university had earlier on launched
the Science Complex, in preparation to
introduce new programmes in science and
technology. It is because of this that the
School of Science, Engineering and Health
has been able to comfortably introduce new
majors in the department of Science and
Engineering.
In the same vein, the university
is planning to expand its programs to
include a medical school. In view of this,
discussions are underway to construct a
200-bed teaching hospital at the Athi River
Campus. According to the Deputy Vicechancellor,
Finance and Administration, Mr.
Jomo Gatundu, the hospital will provide a
centre for specialization in specific medical
areas, with the aim of providing affordable
health care for Kenyans, who over the years
have had to travel abroad for specialized
treatment. The University is seeking to
collaborate with hospitals abroad to provide
human resource, and funding both locally
and abroad.
Also, in the past few years, the
Athi River campus has had to cope with
increased water shortage. The current
daily water demand for the University is
204,000 liters (53,890 gallons) supporting a
population of about 2,500 (2,200 students
and 300 employees). The current water
supply to the University is an average of
123,000 liters per day (32,480 gallons),
which is inadequate to meet the daily water
requirements for the University. Also with
plans to expand its programs to include a
medical school and hospital, more water
will be needed to cater for the needs of the
community as well as the hospital.
It is for this reason that the university
is planning to construct a water reservoir
at the Athi River campus. According to
Mr. Gatundu, the dam, which will have
a capacity of 8.6 million litres, will cost
approximately $1 million. The dam, which
will be constructed between the two existing
dams within the campus, will hold sufficient
water to meet current university needs, and
for future needs up to 10 years. The water
will be harvested from rainwater during the
rainy season. Also, as part of the university’s
corporate social responsibility (CSR), the
dam will provide water to the surrounding
community for domestic use and fish
farming.
The main stages of the project will
involve; rehabilitation of the existing two
dams, construction of new dam and water
harvesting channels, construction of
water treatment plant, reticulation system,
abstraction from sources from the dam,
transmission of treatment plant by gravity
or pumping, treatment process at the
treatment works, transmission of storage
tanks by pumping, and distribution to the
water supply network. With this project, it is
hoped that the problem of water shortage
at the Athi River campus will be a thing of
the past.
Also over the years the university has
used contracted transport companies to
transport staff and students to and from
Athi River campus. In March 2015, the
university dedicated a fleet of four new
buses owned by Daystar Enterprises Ltd
(DEL). The buses, which began operation
on March 2, 2015, are being used for staff
transport, students sporting activities and
other functions, and for occasional hire by
reputable organizations, especially over the
weekends.
Daystar Enterprises Ltd is an
entrepreneurial company formed by the
University Council and managed by an
autonomous board from the university
16 • DaystarConnect 2015