Jan 28, 2012

Education system in Kenya and the challenges



Child abuse is a global phenomenon. It occurs in all countries and in all societies. It involves the physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect of children. It is nearly always preventable.
Today in Kenya there are thousands and thousands of the children who can’t continues with education due to lack of financially support from the parent or guardian and this challenges it has been our biggest challenges for long time in our society.
GRADE RESULT
Every year start with competition of the best performance children been picked to the best school in the country, those with highest grade are picked and given opportunity to best school high school (best government school which we call National school) the other middle well performed children picked to provincials school, and others the lucky one who their parent can afford to pay any fee get opportunity to best private school.
The idea here is the best performance of your children the best position the best school!! Now let look what make a child perform well in school,
1.      Good support from the parent or guardian
2.      Enough time to study and do home work
3.      Good teachers who understand each kid interest, weakness and the main challenges
4.      Enough materials needed for all the subject students  in school
5.      Better environment, food and health.
This are few of many others, a child need to get better grade result in our school, but the challenge is how many normal Kenya children can achieve just 80% of this qualities to better performance in their schools?
I was looking for example last year result of exams in our county and the truth is most public schools about 70% percent their children did perform well, as required by professionals of education, a lot of children could not reach the main grade to be picked in the best school or get lucky for a sponsor (who looks for the children who have performed well and can’t afford school fee) and so on.
After all this yes a lot of the children reached the mean grade the average grade which means they pass to the next level, and as I said before the best school look for the best grade, so at the end of selection of children in high school we had about 65% percent of the children who could not get opportunity to join this National or provincial school and here it depend with parent if they are capable of taking their children in private school or not!
It depends with the pocket of the parent or the luck of the child to get support from well wisher or organizations which support school in Kenya. And also it not so easy for a normal kid who passed with mean grade, a sponsor majority look for bright better performance kids to support so this means a lot too who got mean grade it will be like a camel passing though a needle hole to get lucky to be sponsored.
Public School / community schools
Let see how this work with our children, the truth is only very little percent of this school give standard quality education due to the challenges which face the school management or ignored or luck of enough material for the children and teachers for better performances,
The school are cheap or fee for the children that mean the majority of parent will dump their kids here never mind how they perform or what the school has or if their children need this or that,   look this as the poor people school who just believe the children goes to school get basic education and that all, the some parent want their kids when they get out of school to make sure they have done A-B-C-D of all home work from getting water look for firewood, etc, and at the end of the day the some child need to compete and bring best grade to be picked to the national school!!
I would like we look at this very simple, just imagine you in the situation of this kids and at the end of 9 or more years of your childhood struggling with your school you parent demand and teachers, you got average mean grade but nowhere to go, No school for you!
Then look for this other kid the parent well of managed to get all the requirement for their child and looked for their child just perfect school where they got everything, good teachers, enough education materials and back home, the first question they get when they get to the house is do you have home work? So different from the other kid who when they get home the first thing their hear is, ‘’if you want supper today better fill that tank with water and get some firewood and come select this rice’’!!
My biggest worry is’ if children of fourteen years do not manage to join the high school after their primary what happens to those people life it’s not worth it, and people look them as failures because whatever they try can’t not take them so far and others they depend on them, use them to do the hardest job’s for luck of enough education, these people live the whole life wishing and hoping one day their prayers will be heard or otherwise they live looking for better thing to make themselves happy! Which some time ends them to poverty and in deep to it!
Children organization, vision, is of a world where the lives of all children reflect the international standards set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This includes the right to freedom from abuse and exploitation. The child protection policy aims to translate this commitment to children’s rights into a practical reality through our work with children and this need to start and looked more in our education system because here is where our real lives start and direct our future achievement.
My cry
My cry is to support the most needy children in our society and bring more awareness to both parent and teachers in supporting the education and their children together as much we can, give every child right to quality education and healthily environment and if we all work together bring what needed campaign for better education for all we shall bring just better and quality life to all.
Today I know so many of young men and women, me one of them who because one reason or another have lived their lives struggling to find something for themselves to do to uplift they standard of life, but in everything their do it not so promising because in their childhood they lucked what was most important for they life, 80% of this group end up in drug, and any other live challenges because of frustration everything they try they cannot compete perfect with other educated groups.
Some group of people in search of happiness end up getting married when still young and end up in life frustration struggle, which give them only they daily meal, their work turn into feeding proving they family with only one meal or more, but for the other family basic requirement turn out to be the real challenges, Some group they are the ones who take they children to public school or community school where education is free and do not mind what they get educated or not! The cycle continues and the poor keep getting poorer and the rich keep getting richer!!!
Hope Children and Empowerment Center
About 15 years ago when I left my family to our neighboring community it was my greatest hope I will find a good Samaritan who will help me in education and help me achieve my goal in life and go back to my family and help them but all that dream ended up been just a mare farm boy for almost two and half years, which was little hell for me, so I quit to work and little education I had I asked God to guide me to get good job which will help me to fulfill my life goal.
For more than six or more years I struggled and worked of all kind of jobs I could find anywhere just to have my daily meal but until I joined the voluntary organization I realized that there are millions and thousands of young people and society like me who over go a lot of challenges every day in their lives because in one thing they foundation was not started by best stone.
Afterward I started to realize everybody everything can be done and achieved only if we realize a mission in time and grow to build our goals according to our talent and interest, Hope was born in me and I become the hope agent and I mean it only what I can offer is hope and it come to my mind, my dad hand little land for us and there are thousands and thousands of other human being who do not have any place to call they home.
Without enough and good education I realized there is something I can do for others and with this I dreamed building a children center where I can help the children from my village and other neighbors’ who really need help morally, in education, and realizing the  important of the future goals.
Today am far still a lot of work to be done to complete the center but we have done quite well so far and am full of faith and believe one day the center will be glory and life changing to the next generation when completed.
Current we are working together with the community members to encourage the children in education organizing seasonal activities and looking for ways and people who can help sponsor children in education and still I as Benjamin because the land belong to me am still also looking for people who can help me in building finishing dormitory and two classrooms, office, medical room, and dining lobby which will be multi use, as social hall for local people meeting and culture and other entertainment center.
Last in life we all see things in different ways and understand things differently I do not blame who think I am big joke and I do not mind to be questioned or to be collected or to be directed but one thing I know in life everybody everyone is great because everyone can serve and everyone is special on his own way!
Have blessed day and remember helping somebody else today it’s not a waste but saving for tomorrow you never know who will be there for you tomorrow!
Always Uncle Ben


No comments:

Post a Comment