The Students of Kiangochi Secondary School
The students at my school are a complete mix. Some are relatively wealthy with their parents having cars (which sometimes work) and college degrees while others have virtually nothing. Maybe their ancestral land which they scratch a living off of. The biggest employer in the area is the local highway where women can sell fruit. Otherwise there are a few quarries on the nearby mountain. Otherwise these students come from all over the village. When I go to the butcher I find his son is at the school, the duka- their daughter, the haircutter- students are working there, etc. Since most family compounds have 2-3 families and 2-5 kids in each family just about every compound has at least one representative here (a compound is a bunch of mud, mabati, or stone house sorrounded by 2-10 acres of farmland). In one class we have 4 cousins, in another one 2 brothers- 1 is the prefect and the other the chief troublemaker.
In terms of distance some kids are literally across the street while others walk for close to 2 hours each way (longer when it rains as some rivers are impassible). Thats a long day when you start before 6 in the morning and get home close to 7. Then you have chores to do... A number of kids move into friends or neighbors houses to be close to school. THey come Sunday night and go back Sat afternoon. Some have have parents in Nairobi and live with the grandparents or aunts and uncles. About 10% are double AIDS orphans and live on the family compound with the remainder of the family. Some are from Mungiki dominated territory while others come from this hill/mountain which is pretty peaceable
Ethnically they are mostly Kikuyu though there is a Komba outpost on the hill on the other side of the road. Some have had families here for generations while others just moved a couple years ago. Agewise they are somewhere between 15 and 20 something. I understand a couple of men are married and every year each class loses a few girls due to pregnancy or marriage (not necessarily the same thing).
Academically they are all over the board. Some understand virtually no English and consequently nothing else so they get close to 0% on all the tests. Others get in the A- to B+ range. Most of these kids are the really poor ones and live off contributions from the county council or the community funds. The school is beginning to get some respect but the students come here because it is the cheapest school for many miles. I have watched all the students with brains and money leave the school for greener pastures.
The upper 2 years are mostly boys while the first year is mostly girls. I assume this has to do with them dropping out. Also given the option people will spend on the sons more than the daughters. The son lives with you his whole life while the daughter marries and you rarely see here. Also girls are responsible for so many more chores they usually do worse in class.
Profiles
We have a one girl we used to call the Entreprenour as her main extracurricular activity was selling Changaa (illegal alcohol). Her father brewed and the mom helped sell it. For a while she was head of the girl guides. Not surprisingly she dropped out.
One boy is a double AIDS orphan who lives with his aunt who already has a full family. I don't know what happened to him but one arm is covered in horrible burns. He comes to school at 6:30 in the morning and studies with incredible focus. By the time you teach him he already knows the material and spends the class trying to keep the teacher off balance and push the boundaries.
One boy moved here from Ukambani (Komba land) so English is his 4th language. Despite hard work and focus he has never been able to get his grade above an E although he is the top athlete and regularly runs several miles to start off the day. His sister is known as a very good student and goes to an expensive school in Nyeri.
One girl has a mother in poor health and a father married to a woman who does not want her. She alternates between the two, never happy. With the mom she has to take care of the brother, do many chores, and has almost no money for fees. With the father she is not fully wanted and has to walk large distances to fetch the water. She came in with the highest grade of her class but due to various circumstances has had to skip school. Her grade is still strong and she is the leader and strength of the girld guides. One of the spunkiest kids I have ever met.
One boy moved here from Thika to live with his uncle at the School for the Deaf. After the uncle was basically fired for stealing the school said he was welcome to stay there for free as long as he was in school. The uncle is not wanted back so he is living alone in a deaf community.
One girl moved here with her mother a few years ago after the father had died and the family disowned them. They now rent land and the mother does whatever odd jobs she can to keep the girl in school. Despite their poverty the girl is almost never sent home for fees. She has a voracious interest in education and is always reading books.
Two boys have started a club of just the 2 of them where they take turns reading books and then discussing them. They make a list of all the new words and look them up. The one boy has come to keep his grandmother company and go to school. The parents live in Nairobi.
One girl lives between the school and the waterfall. While washing clothes there her younger brother and sister fell in and were washed over the falls. She almost followed them. She is quiet and totally committed to school. Occasionally we have boys who hit girls. We simply change the seats and put them next to her. They soon learn to stop hitting and their grades also suddenly pick up. Her favorite subject is religion.
The students at my school are a complete mix. Some are relatively wealthy with their parents having cars (which sometimes work) and college degrees while others have virtually nothing. Maybe their ancestral land which they scratch a living off of. The biggest employer in the area is the local highway where women can sell fruit. Otherwise there are a few quarries on the nearby mountain. Otherwise these students come from all over the village. When I go to the butcher I find his son is at the school, the duka- their daughter, the haircutter- students are working there, etc. Since most family compounds have 2-3 families and 2-5 kids in each family just about every compound has at least one representative here (a compound is a bunch of mud, mabati, or stone house sorrounded by 2-10 acres of farmland). In one class we have 4 cousins, in another one 2 brothers- 1 is the prefect and the other the chief troublemaker.
In terms of distance some kids are literally across the street while others walk for close to 2 hours each way (longer when it rains as some rivers are impassible). Thats a long day when you start before 6 in the morning and get home close to 7. Then you have chores to do... A number of kids move into friends or neighbors houses to be close to school. THey come Sunday night and go back Sat afternoon. Some have have parents in Nairobi and live with the grandparents or aunts and uncles. About 10% are double AIDS orphans and live on the family compound with the remainder of the family. Some are from Mungiki dominated territory while others come from this hill/mountain which is pretty peaceable
Ethnically they are mostly Kikuyu though there is a Komba outpost on the hill on the other side of the road. Some have had families here for generations while others just moved a couple years ago. Agewise they are somewhere between 15 and 20 something. I understand a couple of men are married and every year each class loses a few girls due to pregnancy or marriage (not necessarily the same thing).
Academically they are all over the board. Some understand virtually no English and consequently nothing else so they get close to 0% on all the tests. Others get in the A- to B+ range. Most of these kids are the really poor ones and live off contributions from the county council or the community funds. The school is beginning to get some respect but the students come here because it is the cheapest school for many miles. I have watched all the students with brains and money leave the school for greener pastures.
The upper 2 years are mostly boys while the first year is mostly girls. I assume this has to do with them dropping out. Also given the option people will spend on the sons more than the daughters. The son lives with you his whole life while the daughter marries and you rarely see here. Also girls are responsible for so many more chores they usually do worse in class.
Profiles
We have a one girl we used to call the Entreprenour as her main extracurricular activity was selling Changaa (illegal alcohol). Her father brewed and the mom helped sell it. For a while she was head of the girl guides. Not surprisingly she dropped out.
One boy is a double AIDS orphan who lives with his aunt who already has a full family. I don't know what happened to him but one arm is covered in horrible burns. He comes to school at 6:30 in the morning and studies with incredible focus. By the time you teach him he already knows the material and spends the class trying to keep the teacher off balance and push the boundaries.
One boy moved here from Ukambani (Komba land) so English is his 4th language. Despite hard work and focus he has never been able to get his grade above an E although he is the top athlete and regularly runs several miles to start off the day. His sister is known as a very good student and goes to an expensive school in Nyeri.
One girl has a mother in poor health and a father married to a woman who does not want her. She alternates between the two, never happy. With the mom she has to take care of the brother, do many chores, and has almost no money for fees. With the father she is not fully wanted and has to walk large distances to fetch the water. She came in with the highest grade of her class but due to various circumstances has had to skip school. Her grade is still strong and she is the leader and strength of the girld guides. One of the spunkiest kids I have ever met.
One boy moved here from Thika to live with his uncle at the School for the Deaf. After the uncle was basically fired for stealing the school said he was welcome to stay there for free as long as he was in school. The uncle is not wanted back so he is living alone in a deaf community.
One girl moved here with her mother a few years ago after the father had died and the family disowned them. They now rent land and the mother does whatever odd jobs she can to keep the girl in school. Despite their poverty the girl is almost never sent home for fees. She has a voracious interest in education and is always reading books.
Two boys have started a club of just the 2 of them where they take turns reading books and then discussing them. They make a list of all the new words and look them up. The one boy has come to keep his grandmother company and go to school. The parents live in Nairobi.
One girl lives between the school and the waterfall. While washing clothes there her younger brother and sister fell in and were washed over the falls. She almost followed them. She is quiet and totally committed to school. Occasionally we have boys who hit girls. We simply change the seats and put them next to her. They soon learn to stop hitting and their grades also suddenly pick up. Her favorite subject is religion.
posted by Ross at 3:31 AM
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