 Team Reports |
Education in KenyaSue Orr - Stratford, ON
Since most of our distributions happened at schools we made an interesting observation: if a woman was in charge of a school the distribution was well on its way to being organized before we arrived. This was not always the case when a man was in charge. That being said, the school leadership always greeted us with open arms and were very thankful for what we were doing for the kids. We also noted that classrooms were overcrowded and in need of supplies. Most schools require students to wear a uniform costing about 2,000 Kenyan Shillings (about $33 CDN). Children wore handed down uniforms and many were torn and ill-fitting. The other significant observation was class size. One school with 1,782 students had forty-two teachers. Another with 1,400 students had twenty-five teachers. A Rotary members informed us that when the government changed the system to free education for all primary, the schools that were on top of the list for performance suddenly had children show up on their doorstep with parents demanding that they attend there. They could not say no and due to overcrowding the schools that rated the best education now struggle to keep up.
On day two of the distribution we went to the Drive-In Primary School on Thika road in Nairobi. We spent a bit of time afterwards with the head mistress, who showed us all around and told of the living conditions of these children. They live in 10' x 12' rooms with sometimes eight people in a family. A gang who has a very serious reputation for violence is located near this school we found out later. I asked the head mistress what would be on her wish list for the school. The first thing was a fence. This way they could apply for more resources, such a stove. They had been recently given two large water tanks that kept water for the kids on the days that the city did not give water. They only get water twice a week … if they’re lucky. The bathrooms were in an awful state and again … if they had a fence they could get taps put in but recently they were given a set of taps and after a football game the taps were gone. Teachers here work for 20,000 Shillings a month (about $330 CDN) and teach with limited resources and sometimes with difficult kids. The government outlawed the practice of caning but you can still see signs on the playground that those in charge carry a small whip. We also found evidence on some of the children. Schools try to provide a safe and nurturing place for kids. Each day they cook for them. Lunches are made up of corn, maize, and beans cooked in large pots on firewood stoves. Schools that do not have running water will send older students with wheelbarrows to the nearest water supply. A local newspaper noted that going to school starts for some children with an hour-long walk at 5 am. When they get home, they might have chores to do and if they are lucky enough to bring a book home they may find time to study in the evening, perhaps by candlelight. Teaching basics such as what is appropriate to wipe with after you go to the bathroom is common. The problem is that the families are so poor that keeping toilet paper around would not likely happen. Not one school we visited ever had toilet paper. Once kids have finished Grade Eight, they have to pay to move on to high school. Many cannot afford it but have hopefully been trained in some way for manual labour to go and work in the work force. Girls are sometimes forced to marry at age twelve. We were informed later that some of our bedkits may indeed have gone to girls that were already mothers. Yet we also noticed such well-educated Kenyans as our Rotaractors, who continue to educate themselves. There is still hope in Nairobi. |
Good news: education is free in Kenya up to grade eight. Bad news: schools are overcrowded and in need of teachers.
Teachers do teach English, and all the schools knew the ABC's and basic phrases in English. Some children tried to have a conversation with us but we soon realized that they had only memorized sentences and did not understand. “How are you?” and “Fine” were very common.