A bird's view of the sprawling Kibera slums, the largest in Nairobi and the country. |
Bringing
Hope For Education To Poor Kibera Slum Children |
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| Jana
ulilipa shilingi 800. Ukilipa zingine 1,200. utakuwa umekamilisha karo
yote ya muhula huu" "(Now that you have paid Shs 800, if you pay
Shs. 1,200 more you will have cleared this term's school fees.)" From the reception, we're waiting to interview Mr. Chrispinus Okumu, Director Soweto Academy, Nairobi. The secretary is directing a parent on how to pay school fees. She proceeds: (get him a uniform to differentiate him from slum children). We're stunned. Very few schools in Nairobi can charge as low as Shs 2,000 school fees. Another surprise: Shs 2,000 includes boarding facilities. "Why do you charge such low fees?" we ask. "We only want to help the children, to rehabilitate them and shed light on the slum." That is all Okumu wants. Before 1988, there was no Soweto Academy. Instead the plot was a marshy forest with mountain of garbage standing erect. Then like a messiah, came the Rev. Okumu. A resident, Anjilina Juna, remembers: "I don't believe this. The place was a dreaded den for it was a den for dangerous criminals. It was a very thick swampy forest. Bodies of aborted children used to be scattered all over. There was fish in the mud, but you could not dare eat it. It stunk. Today when I stand on this cement, I don't believe it. Okumu worked extremely hard", she concludes. In January 1988, Chrispinus Juma Okumu, began work in the Kibera slums as a pastor. In the course of his pastoral duties, he noticed children rummaging through the garbage dumped by the city council. Rev. Okumu was moved to near-tears by what he saw so he started to prospect on how to establish a centre to rehabilitate these children. Preparing and giving them food freely looked a good bait. He, however, had to go an extra mile and persuade them to keep off garbage stuff. Rev. Okumu thus got the first five children and began Soweto Academy Centre, a Christian educational institute. Unfortunately, it was not easy for their habits to die. He laments: "Every time a garbage lorry passed by, they could run out of the classroom and follow it. I therefore petitioned the city council who then relocated the garbage site to its present site in Dandora." In their dining hall, rule number four reads: "Pray before you eat.", and prayers appear to have done wonders to the former Kibera Langata dumping site, then called Bombay. "Slum dwellers didn't want a school to be brought here. We, however, wanted to assist the needy children of Kibera slums to become good members of the society through provision of spiritual guidance and counseling. Instead of them indulging in criminal activities and prostitution, we offered a substitute education and specialized training, assisting them to engage in income-generating activities. We give health care facilities too," Explains Rev. Okumu. The ministry of education registered the centre to provide nursery, pre-unit and primary education as well as vocational training. Since its inception, the centre has had its share of tribulations. Many are the obstacles that Rev. Okumu is always on his toes to find possible solutions to. As the number of orphaned children whose parents succumb to HIV/Aids related complications increase at the centre. Rev. Okumu has had to initiate as many money generating projects as possible to keep the children for they cannot even pay the little Shs 2,000 per term. Besides, he has to pay the 16 teachers, 2 secretaries, 1 matron, 2 cooks, and 1 watchman. "We have a quarry over there," he begins, "where we get stones and other building materials and sell. We offer photocopying services for a fee, which helps too." The reverend then looks around and continues, "This place is surrounded by sewage water. There are no toilets. Therefore we sell clean water besides lending our toilets and bathrooms for use by residents for a fee. For hot water we charge Shs. 5 while cold water goes for only Shs.3." The centre not only operates metal and woodwork workshops, but also has 2 dairy cows as an extra source of income. Occasionally, when the situation runs out of hand, Rev. Okumu is forced to go to the United States to get funds to run the centre. Others who help him shed light include Mrs. Joan Okumu, Namani Amwai and Francis A.O. Halonyere. In 1999, Soweto Academy Centre got its first fruits when the first batch of candidates sat for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). Their myriad of problems not withstanding, Gori Alexander Joseph, now at Dagoretti High School, led his 13 colleagues with a total of 546 marks. Mungai Ngotho Josel, now at Friends Acquinas High School in Nairobi, had to be content with a total of 500 marks leading 17 others in the 2000 examination. Such consecutive splendid results caught the attention of the ministry of education, awarding the centre a trophy for the best informal school in Nairobi. "What happens to those who cannot join high school due to lack of school fees?" "We're planning to introduce some vocational training in which students will be trained. If they pass and cannot get further education, they can start small business to earn a living instead of going back to their past wanting practices," says Rev. Okumu. Problems facing Soweto Academy Centre seem very far from over. Before visiting the centre, one has to be sure of his long-jump skills. An earth road from Ayany estate, they only way to the centre is not only muddy and rough, but is also crisscrossed by numerous waste carrying trenches. A sewage-carrying stream placidly crawls between Soweto Academy classrooms and the playing field. When we nearly fall into the over two metres wide stream, one wonders how the small children cross over it especially when it widens during heavy downpours. Rev. Okumu's appeals: "If only we got someone to help us build a bridge over it. That will be yet another miracle". He consoles himself saying, "Everything is possible with God." Perhaps it is with such faith that he has brought the centre to its current status with 350 children now comfortably accommodated. "I sometimes wonder when I remember what was initially here. It is hard to Believe. Such a thing can only happen with faith.", asserts one Masiga, a slum dweller. Rev. Okumu reiterates with a very broad grin and concludes: "We wanted to shed light". |
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