AN Italian Couple who have invested heavily in Watamu spent more than Sh36 million on a school and water project at an island which had been neglected for decades within the Mida creek.

Guido Bertoni and his wife Valentina Moscheni, who own a luxurious resort in Watamu, set up a modern primary and secondary school at Kadina Island to enable the locals access education. They also facilitated a water project to enable the locals get fresh water for the first time since independence.

Each year the couple spends over Sh8.4 million for operation costs which includes fuel for boats ferrying students and teachers who do not stay within the island daily. The project begun 12 years ago after the wife went for a tour of the Mida creek and 'rested' inside a Makuti thatched structure in the Island unknown to her that it was the only school in the Island.

Pupils were reportedly learning under harsh conditions under the open and leaking Makuti thatched roofs which prompted the couple to intervene and bring glory to the residents. During those times people were afraid of living in the island as there was no fresh water or any infrastructure developed for survival at the island which has a diameter of only 800 meters.