Learning to stand above difficult circumstances

Imagine: you have just managed to get to your fifth birthday. It is time to start school! You have watched the neighbours’ children gleefully skip off to school in the morning – heavy backpacks dangling from their tiny backs, shoes shiny, clothes stiff from ironing and faces gleaming with excitement. And now it is your turn. Time to finally learn the alphabet, enjoy curving out letters and numbers as you learn how to write your name. But sadly, all this remains just that – a figment of the imagination.

Instead of school, you have to get up, do the house chores, take care of your ailing parent(s) and quickly grow up! School remains a distant dream. This was the fate of the 40 children I visited today in Kibera, until they met Reggynnah. Or, rather, until Reggynnah met them.

During my Skype interview, I mentioned that it is amazing to see the efforts of everyone in their own right to get an education. This is a story that represents that of so many. I do not like reinforcing stereotypes about Africa, but Regynnah’s story is a story of success.

It was a while back that I had heard about Regygnnah, a 26 year-old girl, who houses and teaches young children affected by HIV Aids. She started angelsofhope-Kibera in 2010 at the age of 24. Most girls her age are trying to figure out the next fashion fad, gossiping about their boyfriends and, if they are ambitious, pursuing their post-secondary education either in the university or in a college. Well, not so for Regynnah. She lives with 8 of these children like their mother at her home in the heart of Kibera.

There is hope

Most of the children have no one else to turn to. They have either lost their parents, or neither their parents nor their relatives are able to take care of them. Survival becomes a priority over everything else, including education. So they turn to Regynnah. She gives them a space to learn the alphabet, learn how to read and write, have a roof over their heads, food in their little bellies and a home.

I arrive at their home just as break starts, and the teacher, who also doubles as a cook, is serving them porridge. After break, it’s time for class. Charts with numbers, days of the week, the alphabet and pictures of animals among others form the décor of the class. Today they are learning about sources of water (something quite scarce in this part of town).

Her typical day starts with her taking the 8 children she lives with to school. She then stays with the children and helps around the school until 4 when she takes the children back to her mothers’ house. She also intends to join a college in town for a course in community development. She tells me she had initially wanted to do journalism.

For many like Regynnah, they know that waiting for the government to intervene in educating these children will take ages. By then, many of these children will have missed out on a chance to go to school and have hope for the future. In my view, she is a heroine in the fight for education for all.

For more about Regynnah, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOtCFQotUEo&feature=youtu.be

Equal rights for girls - and boys!

We often make the mistake of equating the definition of gender with women. ‘Gender equality,’ ‘gender and education,’ ‘gender and…’ almost always mean women and fighting for the rights of women. From the higher authorities such as the UN to the basic family level, war has been waged almost literally to protect the rights of the female gender – and rightfully so. I am certain that the strides that have been made even in the western world with regards to the emancipation of women would not have been possible had there been no sacrifices made before.

Nevertheless, I tend to think that male children have been forgotten! The emphasis on girls and their education has shifted the focus away from boys. Organizations troop in from the West and thousands more mushroom locally to protect girls and to promote the empowerment of women. But what about the boys? I feel like it may get to the point that the education of boys will need the same support from others in society beyond the family!

I think we’ve come a long way. I know that modern day parents – especially in urban areas and in my generation – do not discriminate between boys and girls. Schools and even the government have made deliberate decisions to make it easier for girls to attend schools. Just recently, Prime Minister Raila Odinga was raising money for sanitary towels and undergarments for girls in disadvantaged homes so that they would go to school. Also, the government has lowered the pass-mark for girls so that they can get into university with lower marks.

I think that from the outset, girls and boys do not have the same playing field. That lowers expectations for girls and women, but not when it comes to employment. Those who have gotten used to these kinds of favors may have difficulties in the job market.

Same schools, but different standards for girls and boys

Despite these measures taken by the government and other organizations, the challenges and the difference still exist in what Maria refers to as ‘social contracts’ in her blog. Hellgurd also mentions something very interesting. He notes that it becomes more difficult for boys and girls to be friends as they grow older. I find that true as well. As women enter adulthood, society (mostly the men) expects the woman to fit ‘into her shoes’ and ‘not break the rules’ set by society. The situation may not be as bad as in Iraq, but there are still career areas in Kenya and that are the preserve of men. For instance, civil engineering, jobs where heavy machines are used along with other jobs are considered the male turf.

I believe the onus is on women to set an agenda for themselves and the other girls around them. In my opinion, girls should not be awarded any special favors – especially when it does not help in removing barriers to a girls’ education. Additionally, there needs to be an equal emphasis on boys’ education. After all, we do not live in a world with only women!

Every journey starts with one step

The system of education that exists now – if nothing changes overnight – is the 8-4-4 system. This means 8 years in primary school, 4 years in high school and another 4 years in the university.  Of course, this does not include kindergarten or nursery school, which, in my opinion, is the most important stage of school.  Before embarking on any subsequent stage after primary school, one has to take a national exam. Afterwards, depending on one’s grades and on a board of examination authorities, one can move on to the next level.

I sailed through all of the levels, and entry into university came sort of abruptly. Suddenly I was an adult. Time to move away from strict parents and teachers and away from home. I could smell freedom.

The only big challenge: I was going to study something that I did not choose, a course I did not like, and, at that time, I could not change the situation much. That is because there was and still is limited space for different faculties. In addition, the B+ grade that I had gotten was not enough to do either the dentistry course or the information science course I had chosen. Accepting what had been handed to me, I went ahead to do an education course in German and special education. When I got to the university, I found out that there were many of us in the same boat. This is the fate of thousands of young Kenyans who attend university and start to study something that they really do not want to.

What's education all about?

Paper chase

Eventually I had the chance to do what I really wanted to do – media and communications. On the brighter side, though, I studied it at the master level, which may not have been possible had I studied it at the bachelor level. Still, the job market has become immensely competitive. It is increasingly difficult to get a job even with a master’s degree. What this may mean is that those who cannot afford even basic education are disadvantaged, and, secondly, it has become a race for papers!

So is education just about papers? What is education? For some, it is just about a piece of paper. For others, it’s a basic human right, a key that will unlock their potential. But for others still, it is a dream. This will be one of the questions I would like to discuss about in the run-up to the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum on education and culture.