Millions of school going children in Kenya spent the better part of last year at home, after schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While some were called back after the partial reopening of schools where Grade 4, Class 8 and Form Four were ordered to return in October, a majority remained home, uncertain when they will go back, until January when all were ordered back.
During the closure, the burden had doubled on their parents who were now forced to fend for them during a period where they are experiencing reduced earnings after either losing their jobs or suffering pay cuts due to the effects of the pandemic.
Nowhere this burden is worse than in Kenyan slums where two meals a day is a luxury. For most parents in the informal settlements, school was the saviour as their children would get lunch at the institution and they would only have to worry about one meal.
But with schools closed, these parents went through a rough time fending for their children, making life unbearable.
However, for parents of over 600 children, who attend school at SHOFCO’s School for Girls in Kibera and Mathare, there were no such problems.
The students had an unrestricted access to free meals at the institutions during the months schools were closed.
Under the Girls Leadership and Education Programme, the schools are a brainchild of philanthropist and SHOFCO founder Kennedy Odede, who set them up as a way of empowering girls from the slum community.
Girls give back
Odede grew up in Kibera, where poverty was his second name, and witnessed first-hand how girls from the slums were marginalised while suffering various forms of abuses.
“The vision of Kennedy is that if you educate a girl, you empower an entire community because they give back more than boys once they make it in life. So we are actualising Kennedy’s vision because we believe they will become agents of change in their communities,” says Hecky Andera, the Education Director at SHOFCO.
Indeed, statistics show that in Kibera, only 25 percent of girls report that there is a place in their community outside of their home or school that they feel safe, compared to 58 percent of boys.
This is what informed Odede’s decision to set up the schools, which are one of the initiatives at SHOFCO (Shining Hope for Communities), the others being offering clean water, healthcare and empowerment programmes through its SHOFCO Urban Network (SUN).
To get admission at the schools, a through vetting process takes place to ensure only the needy get the once in a lifetime opportunity.
“We have a sort of poverty index where we place these cases in different categories. There are known cases and those we do not know, we conduct home visits through the help of our social workers. Some of these visits are impromptu and that is when we catch up with some of those that had lie to us. We could get up to 300 applicants but will end up with only 60 who really need these opportunities,” says Andera.
Once admitted, the girls have access to a full scholarship. Uniform, fees, medical and food is all catered for and all they have to do is stay focused on their education.
It is an opportunity like no other and parents with children here cannot thank SHOFCO enough.
“With all the problems we experience in slums, I go to bed with a relaxed mind because of SHOFCO. They educate my daughter for free and treat her whenever she is sick. Where do you get that here? I have nothing to give but I’m sure God will reward them one day,” says Emily Aswani, whose daughter attends the SHOFCO School for Girls in Kibera.
“My daughter is the envy of most people here because she is healthy, smart and speaks good English at such a young age, which is rare for kids in this area. Some people pay millions for quality education like this in international schools yet she is getting it for free,” Enock Mutinda, whose child is in Grade 4 at SHOFCO School for Girls in Mathare says.
At the schools, girls have access to education from pre-primary up to Grade 8 after which they graduate and join various secondary schools in Kenya while a few lucky ones get opportunities to study abroad.
Covid relief
So far, the school in Kibera, which has over 350 students, has had students sit for KCPE in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In Mathare, 250 students from pre-primary to Grade 5 are already on their books.
For all SHOFCO has done for these parents over the years, it was perhaps during the COVID-19 period that they felt the organisation’s generosity the most.
During that period, the girls were still going to school just to feed and even after the partial reopening of schools, those yet to return still enjoyed free meals, giving their parents a huge relief.
“I used to do odd jobs in Industrial Area but when coronavirus happened, I lost my job and had to stay at home without an income. But SHOFCO came through for us in a big way, giving us food and cash which really gave us a boost,” says Joshua Aketch, whose Grade One child schools in Mathare.
According to Mercy Kasiti, the Head Teacher of the SOFCO school in Mathare, this was meant to provide a conducive environment for the children at home.
“These children come from some of the most vulnerable communities. If you leave them on their own, they might slide back which then beats the whole purpose of this initiative. We ensured their needs and that of their parents are well taken care of so that the homes are safe for them,” says Kasiti.
Handling vulnerable children is a delicate affair and is for this reason that teachers who work here are selected carefully. “The teachers we bring in do not just have to be well-trained but must also have emotional stability,” says Mercy Mwema, the deputy head teacher at the Mathare school.
With all these in place, it is no surprise that students at SHOFCO Kibera have been excelling in exams with the top performer in the pioneer class of 2017 scoring 416 out 500 in KCPE. The figure has been going up and in 2019, the top student scored 431.
Slowly but surely, Odede’s vision is being actualised as after school, these girls will return well educated, more empowered and sit at the policy making table where decisions about their community are being made, hence becoming the agents of change that SHOFCO’s founder envisioned.
