From the very first day, the school had life because of the women who were part of it. The mothers who came to help, who were interested in the idea and who cared what happened in their community. Almost all of our teachers have been women. The cooks, all women. In a traditional pastoralist society, …
Anybody interested in education, should look through some of the graphs in this very accessible report on the state of Kenyan education. As a follow on to the the vital call to action on education across Africa, by Nana Akufo-Addo and Jakaya Kikwete (see my last post), this report clearly shows what a country like …
‘Today, 40% of all Africans are under 15. Another 100 million children will be born here by 2050. With (good) education, young Africans can fuel a colossal powerhouse.’ These are startling statistics, even to me, living in the midst of it. An important part of the power that could be realized are the skills, drive …
2023 has been an extremely challenging year for all the students of Olng’arua School, but those who were studying for their final exams have suffered the most. Eight of them were due to take their KCPE exams in November, and six of them did. We are extremely proud of them for sticking with it, through …
After the attack that left the school in ruins, the teachers have no facilities or materials to work with. Sadly all that is left is rubble, burnt wood and scraps of rubbish. Olng’arua teachers aren’t the kind to sit and mope however. Burnt wood is charcoal right? And amongst the scraps of rubbish are all …
Adults, with violence, prejudice and greed, destroyed their school. Despite the widespread fear after the event the children were the first to creep back, to see what had happened to their school. To these kids ‘their school‘ is a term that means so much more than just the place they get an education. For them …
The school lost its vehicle and all its buildings. So every morning Maryanne has to carry to the school all the food she plans to cook that day. Her home is an hours walk away.
There are no classrooms, there is no kitchen, there is no water…… but apparently the kids don’t care. They kept coming to the school anyway while the staff were clearing up, so Maryanne (Olng’arua School’s wonderful cook) thought she would start making them lunch. Then the teachers thought that they could be doing a few …