LG Electronics has opened the LG Hope School in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide the local children with a better learning environment, according to a company statement.

This is the first time the electronics maker has built a school in Africa.

More than 100 people attended the opening ceremony on Aug. 12, including Kenyan Education Ministry director Richard Belio Kipsang, the United Nations World Food Program’s Kenyan office vice head Paul Turnbull and LG Electronics’ Kenyan office branch head Kim Jung-jin.

LG initiated the project in Kibera, Africa’s biggest urban slum, in partnership with the U.N. WFP and the Kenyan government last February. Its aim is to provide a better learning environment for local students who were studying in poor conditions in a building with a collapsed roof and no lighting.

The school will accommodate 480 students with diverse amenities including computer labs, water storage and a kitchen. Learning materials such as computers and monitors were also provided by the company.

“We will continue our corporate social responsibility activities to give hope to local children, and to help youths’ dreams come true,” said LG’s Kim Jung-jin.

“LG Hope School is a program to improve children’s education and health, a main policy goal of the Kenyan government,” said Kipsang. “It is meaningful in that this does not simply provide funds but gives real help to children.”

LG Electronics has carried out diverse CSR activities in Kenya including free artificial limbs surgeries for 150 children, building playgrounds and wells at 29 schools, and financing surgeries for eyesight recovery for 30 children.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)