Acute Poverty - Schools in Crisis

Passing through the village of Masaga, I saw a little girl looking through a fence surrounding one of the oldest public schools in the District of Kakamega. Masaga PS was operating in 1952 when CES Kenya Treasurer Chrispus Odito attended there. Standing barefoot and alone in the mid morning sun, this child could not take her eyes off the children playing inside the compound. Life circumstances prevented her from attending school. If only school fees were available for her. If only her parents or guardian could provide a way. That is if she had parents or a guardian. In this area of Kenya that is not always a given. If only a bright new blue and white school uniform could be made to cover her little body. If only she had a chance. If only…

All children should have the right to attend school, no matter what their circumstance. That is why CES Canada exists. That’s what hope through education is all about. Poverty and disease can be reduced when all children are given equal opportunities to learn, grow and develop.

We were nearing Sivilie SS in the late morning. It was already starting to get hot. A thunder storm was threatening from the north west. A sudden downpour would make it very difficult to drive on these rural roads. The red clay prevents quick runoff and the roads become very slippery and the potholes invisible because of the water covering them. No matter, we were at the gates.

We arrived to a delegation, Deputy Principal Abraham Mango and Senior Master Teacher Job Mukhwana. They approached us, hands outstretched. That’s how we were greeted everywhere. In this remote area there was a Society of Friends school that was thriving. With its motto: “Strive to Excel”, we learned that Sivilie SS had placed second in all the Kakamega District. A mixed (male/female) day school, it had many orphaned students among an enrolment of 183. Strong guidance and counseling programs were making a difference in these young lives.

Diane Nafula – Form 4 stands 5th in a class of 37 students. She placed third in the National Science Fair.

Elizabeth Baraza– Form 3 stands 13 of 40 students in her class. She is a partial orphan.

Bernard Makhaplia– Form 2 stands 1^st in his class of 48 students.

Asha Mohammed Namwira – Form 1 stands 1^st in her class of 54 students.

There is a crisis in education that is beginning to affect the schools CES Canada is involved in. Parents may soon have to dig deeper into their pockets to keep their children in school. Head teachers are under pressure from increased operational and food costs. Additional funding from parents is the only way out of a crisis brought about by inflation that has recently peaked at the 27% mark. This will particularly be problematic for parents with children in boarding schools.

The government subsidy of KSh 10, 265 ($170Cdn) does not cover other fees like development fees, registration fees, feeding programs, school resources, text books, student writing exercise books, pens, pencils, lab fees, school uniforms and medical fees.. Skyrocketing prices of food, electricity and fuel are also problematic. Clearly, there are insufficient funds to keep schools running. Parents are still forced to pay more than half the fees required.

Schools have been asked to cut down operational costs. If tuition fees are raised the results will be tragic. Students will be forced to drop out of school. The level of poverty in this region is acute. The average family may scrape together a hundred shillings on a good day. That would not buy a cup of coffee in Canada. Beans now cost 7000KSh ($110Cdn) up from 4000KSh per bag, while maize has doubled in price. Meat (chicken or goat) isout of reach. In some schools lights are not used and eggs have been scrapped from the menu to reign in the cost of food. Besides that, not all schools have received the per pupil disbursement owed to them.

Teacher salaries are low. Some are being paid as little as 3000KSh or $50 per month. The teachers unions are agitating for higher wages, understandably so. In other areas of Kenya there have been incidents of student unrest. Thankfully, there is peace and good discipline in the schools CES Canada supports.

People suffer from acute poverty. Those who have nothing and who have been orphaned have no other prospect of education than through outside support. There is hope for some through CES Canada. The tragedy is that others are left behind in a world where there is enough for all. “Live simply so that others may simply live” is a phrase that continues to burn in my heart.