Top School Fights Tough Odds

Rise and Shine!

Rising Bell at 5:30 am with Breakfast at 5:45 OK, I can handle that on a good day, except the part about the bell. As long as the coffee is there to kick in the day. But for Kenyan students at Mukhukuni SS that’s routine. 6:05 am seated in a classroom doing preps until Roll Call at 8 o’clock is the norm. Two hours of study…the sun is barely up. Cleaning dorms and washing clothes until 10…now some time to relax for a half hour…tea with my friends. Pretty good so far. Now two more hours of preps. Lunch is at 12:30 with more preps from 1:30 to 4 pm. Blasted preps…study, study and more study. Finally the fun begins. Games of football, roundball, dodgeball and volleyball; or, maybe just a brisk sit under a tree if it gets too hot. Supper is at 5:30 and preps begin again at 6:30…9:30 off to bed and at 10 pm lights are out. And that’s a typical Saturday for a boarder at Mukhakuni. It’s a little easier on Sunday because students can go to a church nearby. Most do. At least students get three meals and a couple of breaks for tea. That’s more than day school students who are lucky to get one daily meal of ugali, rice or ugi.

Mukhukuni SS is deprived of physical facilities. There is no electricity. A $2000 Cdn hydro hookup is out of the question, at least for the present. There is a strong emphasis on academics and our students here are doing well. The school is desperate for even one computer. That will have to wait until there is electricity available. At this Society of Friends (Quaker) School there are 360 students with 150 boarders. Principal Baring Kidiga’s office is tiny. The tin roof overhead takes on the heat of the sun and tiny pin holes let in streams of light from above. There are academic trophies in all corners of the room. And no wonder…Mukhukuni SS is Number 1 in the Lurambi District, ranked 18th in all of Western Province and 220th nationally. That is an outstanding record of achievement.

Mukhukuni SS is the furthest CES school away from Kakamega. Located in a remote area 40 km to the north it is understaffed by ten teachers. That’s because it is so isolated that many do not wish to teach there. There is no library and there is but one lab. As I entered a science class of 80 Form 2 students, I sensed that these youth were serious about their learning. Science resources were lacking and students were sitting two or three to one desk. A house designed for the Principal and his Deputy Josephat Nyongesa stood nearby. The dwelling was substandard, not worthy of professional educators who needed a place to rest at night. One was on duty every day of the week because of the supervision needed for boarders. In fact, the dwelling also doubled as a staff room. I declined a visit there. I felt very badly that these fine administrators had such poor facilities to work under.

Waiting for our students to arrive, Baring Kidiga told us that “all of the District has heard about CES Canada and the generosity of the Canadian people…it is God that has brought you to us.”

Titus Uchoka – Form 4 stands 2nd out of 58 in his class. His was the top mark in all of Western Province in the KCPE standardized testing.

Cosmas Wawire – Form 3 stands 2nd out of 86 in his class,

Boniface Masinde – Form 3 stands 1st out of 86 in his class. He is the Acting Head Boy, waiting to be confirmed through a democratic process of election by his peers. His Principal describes him as having a “spiritual influence” in his school. He is constantly assisting others to excel in their work. Boniface floored me when he thanked us by saying, “you have made an investment in my life. I would not be in school without your support.”

Tobias Nanjakululu – Form 2 stands 1st out of 70 in his class.

Leaving Mukhukuni SS I asked CES Kenya Chairman Ben Udoto the question, “How is it that a school so remote, lacking ten teachers with poor facilities and no electricity can do so much with so little?” His answer was profound… “they make do with the little they have and they make the best of it.” Principal Baring Kidiga did ask for help. His school certainly deserves it. His parting words were, “We pray for you. Please remember that one day the boys you assist today will help others tomorrow.” That’s what CES Canada is all about…helping to build strong communities by investing in the lives of those who have nothing.

Starting Out a Brand New Day

This is the rainy season in Kenya. The air is sweet and soft each morning. Later in the day as the heat builds the clouds start to form. Rising on the updrafts, maribou storks soar overhead at a height of 10,000feet. Cumulo-nimbus clouds start their spectacular upward formations, laden with moisture to be released. Kakamega is home to the only rainforest in Kenya. The oldest trees are well over 100 feet in height. The canopy of foliage shades the land and causes enough rainfall in season to produce cash crops. Workers in sugar cane fields, tea plantations and maize farms are all busy harvesting in the months of August and September. Thunder boomers roll over the hills and echo down into the valleys. With sudden and powerful urgency, the rains fall most evenings. Lights flicker as the power surges cross the wires. Then sudden darkness, sometimes for twenty minutes at a time. This is Kenya…Kenyans never complain.

The road to Musaga SS was wet from the night before. Ruts and potholes were deeper than usual. Every 100 metres of travel had its own set of challenges. Our expert driver and Patron of CES Kenya put the Toyota 4 wheel drive through its paces. Malik Khaemba drove to the gate and along with his usual smile said, “next time you come to Kenya, you can drive.” I’m not quite there yet.

Gibsob Mulika was overjoyed to see us. As Director of the Musaga PS and Caretaker of the new Secondary School, he proudly showed us a school that was founded in 2007. He anticipated full registration in 2009. Until then he was Caretaker. Basically, Gibsob is Principal of all but in name. Board Member Leonard Wafula and PTA Chair Krispus Udoto were also there to greet us. We received such an incredibly warm welcome. It was genuine and from the heart. I shall never forget this meeting. We had come to support and encourage them. We received much more in return.

As a newly founded school, it is the community’s responsibility to organize the operations and the teaching resources until the government deems the school to have official status. All it takes is 10 students to create a school. Teacher allocation begins when the student population reaches 40. The Kenya Teacher Service Commission and the Ministry of Education allocate teachers to be placed on the national payroll when the enrolment reaches 140. Until then the community funds teacher salaries. These are very low due to the inability of locals to pay teaching staff. The norm is $2-3 Cdn per day.

Fees at Musaga SS are kept low so that the families can afford to send their children there. The uniform consists of a pair of trousers @ 450Ksh, a shirt @200Ksh, one tie @100 Ksh, socks @80Ksh and a sweater @300Ksh. That’s just short of $20 Cdn. All secondary schools insist that students have shoes. That’s another $5. Where in any part of the developed world can one dress a student completely for $25 Cdn?

Musaga is a Society of Friends Secondary School with 32 students. CES Canada supports two of them, Emmanuel and Antony. Both in Form 2, they take turns being 1st in their class of 18. When I spoke with them it was Emmanuel’s turn. Delightful young men, they spoke highly of their school and the fact that they would be among the first graduating class at Musaga SS.

Emmanuel Musungi – Form 2 stands 1st of 18 in his class

Antony Wanjala – Form 2 stands 2nd of 18 in his class

There was a sense of excitement here. A new school community was being formed and soon would have legal status. Enrolment would increase and the school would flourish. The facilities were crowded and the school needed furniture and desks for the students. But the real deal was that a new school had been born. Hope springs eternal, particularly in Kenya. All would come in due course and just in time. For now the village of Musaga had its school. Like the firstborn in a family, it was cause for celebration.

Gibsob Mulika made it clear to us that he was proud of how the community had come together. Students would not have to walk so far to attend. Previously there were accounts of students walking 8 km one way to and from their home. What was it like to walk that far, day in and day out…10, 12, 14 kilometres each day? All that followed by chores that would drive anyone to exhaustion. No running water or electricity, living in a one room mud hut, these students would show up each day in class wearing a clean uniform.

As I got into the passenger seat and waved goodbye to these incredibly courageous people, I knew I would never know the depth and breadth of the hardships these dear people faced on a daily basis. Life would never be easy for them. I also knew that CES Canada and CES Kenya were making a difference in the lives of Emmanuel and Antony and all the others we support. Now that is one incredible feeling!

Simitsi SS - CES Students Face Acute Poverty

Travelling north out of Kakamega is a feat few Canadians would dare. It’s akin to driving on the surface of the moon. Bumps, potholes and other craters lie in wait for the unsuspecting driver. The one who hesitates or panics is lost. The problem is that crazed matatu drivers, tractors pulling rigs filled with sugar cane, Kenyans on foot, bicyclists and motorcycle maniacs all figure that they have the right of way. Travellers criss-cross the roadway at odd angles and different speeds to avoid the worst offending crater. Alas, the pedestrian is the one who is left to dodge a vehicle too close for comfort. Livestock, goats, chickens and an assortment of dogs also play havoc with the traffic. Auto mechanics have chosen the right profession, especially if they know how to repair broken axles and punctured tires. The best advice I can give is that if you’re heading north out of Kakamega, don’t be in a hurry. And never travel after dusk.

The goal was Simitsi SS, a mixed school with a resident student population of 150. Founded in 1971 by the Society of Friends it now has a population of 498, the highest of any of our CES Canada schools. Along the way we passed some fascinating enterprises that collectively make the Kenyan landscape so enjoyable. Love and Truth Hope of Glory Church appears to have it all in abundance. Malava Glory Store and Hallelujah Super Hotel appeared in a tiny village just next to the Annointed House. Kenyans take their religion and politics seriously. The doors were closed at St. Anne’s Medical Centre. On the opposite side of the roadway was a little girl, barely five years of age dressed in a green and white dress, likely the only dress prepared for such a little one. Barefoot, this dear child was chewing on a piece of sugar cane. I wondered where was going and if anyone really cared. The first and only gas station I encountered all day sold the precious liquid for 120 KSh/litre or $2 Cdn. Many vehicles carry extra tanks and containers of gas just in case they run out. The Malava Homeside Butchery was open for business. Conveniently, a cow and a pig were grazing on the front patch of grass. Perhaps one or both would not live to see the day through.

Off the main road we encountered the typical red dirt road that sloped 10 degrees on each side beginning from the middle. Thankfully the roads were dry. After a typical afternoon downpour, the same skills of driving are required as for those who drive on ice and snow in a Canadian winter. Flooring it just gets you into deeper trouble. After one hour and thirty kilometers later we arrived at Simitsi SS.

The first person I saw after we had cleared the officious watchman at the school gate was Shango Meta. She and a colleague were raising the beautiful Kenyan flag. She smiled with the gracious and compelling “Jambo sana…habari” that Kenyans are famous for.

We stepped into the Principal’s office and spoke to the Deputy Principal Wilbrodah Sasaka. The Head teacher and Principal Isaac Shavia arrived shortly after. The office was rather dark with no lights and no electrical hookup. As in every office in the country, whether a school, public or private institution or place of business, there was a photo of His Excellency Hon. Mwai Kibaki, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kenya.

Also prominent were signs to indicate what the community was expecting through its school.

Vision: “Effective Teaching for Quality Results”
Mission: “Put in place and maintain an enabling environment for the promotion of quality education”

Each CES Canada student at Simitsi SS has a unique and tragic background. Shango comes from a very poor family. Her mother makes and sells chang'aa, an illegal brew that has caused much criminal activity, including sexual harassment and physical assaults. To raise a few shillings in order to survive, Shango’s mother forces her daughter to deliver the alcohol to various people. This is a huge dilemma for this bright Form3 student. She knows that alcohol abuse in the village is wrong; yet, to have enough food to eat she needs to do her parent’s bidding. Recently Shango was very sick with malaria and had to miss three weeks of school. Despite her hard life Shango still ranks first in her class.

Zablon has never seen his father. It has been rumoured he is living somewhere in the Lurambi District. Child and family abandonment is far too common. Zablon appears to be well adjusted and happy.

Victor wakes up at 5am to attend school. Besides walking 5 km to and from school, he is the only one to cook for his family comprised of mother and three younger siblings. His father is dead and his mother too sick to do any work. Cooking of course requires gathering wood and ensuring that water is available. Even if Victor had any energy left at the end of the day he could do no preps. There is no electricity in his area and he is too poor to purchase paraffin. His marks were beginning to slide and we quickly came to the conclusion that CES could only continue to sponsor him if he became a boarder. He jumped at the chance when it was brought up in discussion. Arrangements will be made and hopefully this bright boy will begin to once again experience his potential as a learner.

Last year Nathan was accepted into a well respected Provincial School. With a KCPE grade of 398, he had the highest marks in his zone comprised of 20 schools. Without funds to purchase a uniform he had to forego this chance. A Provincial school like Musingu SS would be a golden opportunity for him. Adequate resources are given to these schools first. They are the next best tp private schools where the tuition is out of reach except for the wealthy. Unlike the schools CES Canada serves, Provincial schools are better equipped and are viewed as having higher standards of teaching. Nathan remains number one in his class at Simitsie SS.

Shango Meta - Form 4 stands 1st out of 120 in her class
“I love Canadians…they are generous people”

Zablon Mutama – Form 2 stands 1st out of 130 in his class
“I am very happy for the support I have received through CES”

Victor Soita Lumbasi – Form 2 stands 69 out of 130 in his class
“I wish one day to visit Canada…thank you for the support”

Nathan Muyumbia – Form 1 stands 1st out of 140 in his class
“Without CES I would not be attending school”

Principal Isaac Shavia remarked that “no other organization is supporting our students. On behalf of the management of the school and our school community I am very grateful.”

As we left Simitsi SS I was struck by the fact that the school facilities reflected the poverty all around. Building were worn out and in disrepair. It really needed some fresh paint and some TLC. The latter can be gotten but the paint costs money. Therein is the major problem in this rural area. When families live in acute poverty on less than $1 a day, paint does not compute in the hierarchy of needs.

We were now on our way to Musaga SS. Passing through the village of Musaga, CES Kenya Chairman Ben Udoto relayed some stories about growing up in this area. As a young boy he attended Musaga PS. Fortunately he received an education and became an outstanding educator, ending his career as Principal of Kaimosi Teacher’s College. We passed by the shamba where he was raised. Surrounded by fields of maize and cows grazing in between the stalks, I realized that life in rural Kenya had not changed in the past century or more.