Project Updates

Education in Kenya and School Fees

I have made some spelling and grammatical corrections to the text:

"I am very compassionate, and I cannot help it!

On Friday, high school students were sent home from their various schools because they hadn't cleared their school fees. We have two different education systems, i.e., 8-4-4 and 7-4-2-3 education system, where the numbers represent the years. The 8-4-4 system will be replaced in 2 or 3 years. Apart from university, the students have mid and end-of-term exams - to prepare the students for the big exam - and a final exam that shows how good or poor the student is. Don't we all hate exams?

Now to the fun part...

High school students study for 4 years, divided into three terms. Their school fees can be as low as $120 per year to as high as $600 per year, depending on the type of school. Most parents prefer to send their children to boarding schools, which means they meet twice in 4 months. Every other parent wants their children to study in a boarding school because they have more time to study.

I have studied in a boarding school for a year, and that was the most terrible, hectic, and difficult year of my life. We were caned mercilessly; my parents' tough discipline plus my whole school life (minus 2008 when I was in class 8) cannot beat the class 8 caning record. Every wrong question meant caning. We were kicked, caned, slapped, punched, plus subjected to other various punishments because we got a question wrong. I remember another time I was beaten because I told our class prefect (a girl), 'See you at church on Saturday'! To the teachers, that was termed as seduction - the grandest mistake! Another time I was beaten in front of the whole school because they thought I had pretended to be sick to skip school. Then I was beaten several times by different teachers for the questions I had gotten wrong. My shorts stuck to fresh wounds on my butt, and the following day, I was beaten up until I bled. Sorry for writing depressing stuff. I am headed home, and my eyes just flooded! I just hated school. I think I have been depressed once in my life, and it was throughout that particular year.

Boarding school kids are privileged because all they do is read. I had to fetch water some evenings after coming out of school at 5:30 in the evening, wash my uniform, get our cattle to their shed, milk them, cook supper, then maybe study for 30 minutes and sleep at 10:30. I used to study in the morning hours because I had more free time. I'd wake up at 4, split firewood, milk, cook breakfast, take a shower, then study as I had my tea from 5-6 before I walked to school. My high school was fun, everyone loved me. I used to be top in my class, and that meant I never got in trouble with anyone because of performance. But my high school was a lot of fun. I met my BFF, Raphael, like that. I made it from a day school, barely studying, no caning, no bullying... lots of chores throughout the week, and over the weekends, helping my mum with farm work.

Most parents strain to educate their children. We even have the poorest people believing that education is the key to success. It sometimes is, but I'd say there is more to it. A person who completed university thinks differently than the rest, and that is something you'll never be taught by anyone, thanks to interacting with different people from different backgrounds. My mum was telling me how some families are worried because schools are closing down in the next two weeks, and that means end-of-term exams are starting. No kid wants to miss the end-term exams. How do they get $20 - $30 in two to three days? No amount of tilling for some money will generate that amount of money. Some families have completely nothing; they can't even have two meals a day comfortably!

At my former school today..

I woke up yesterday morning and decided to help. I got elders to write down 40 needy students from around my home, a total of 6 villages. I went to my former school today and paid a school fee of $20 for 15 students. I then went to the bank and paid for the rest in different schools. I then gave back the elders the receipts, and they will take them to the parents.

If you know a rich fella in your neighborhood who loves to blow his money on new Porsches every month, could you please tell them they could better someone's life in Kisii, Kenya?

Here are some of the receipts. ($1 = KSH 100, it's easier that way).

Whatever little I can do to help my community❤️

You can also support my work by buying me some here or if you want to be a part of the project, please let me know.

Thank you.