Though I was primarily interested in education IN Kenya, MY education was about to begin. As I conferred with the Leo founders, Steve and Kelli, I found that attending school- supposedly free- was not free at all. Though there were no outright fees for students K-8 per se, there were other costs that few seriously poor families could manage. There were uniforms and shoes to buy. A dress, sweater, shoes and socks might cost $20 US which would be 1,300 kshs. clearly too expensive for folks in the slums. Parents would have to search hours for used items for each child. I would soon see children wearing uniforms with holes, tears and practically threadbare. But because they are not allowed in school without a uniform, the children wear them until they are near rags.

    Then there is a weekly fee of 1-3 kshs. ( $.65-1.95) per child for food. Even if food is donated to the school by an NGO, money is needed for firewood and cooks. The kids are also required to buy notebooks and a pencil which can cost as much as 30 shillings each! There is a story about a non-profit agency which came to the slum and handed out pencils which the students broke in two. The NGO officers assumed they were ungrateful vandals- in actuality, the students broke their pencils in order to make two of them instead of just one. They wanted to share with a classmate or person at home. You can see how the cost of these few items could be prohibitive for a family that may only be earning 150-300 kshs per month. Thus, elementary education is not really available to all, especially to those that need it most desperately. Some children may only attend sporadically when there is money to do so, resulting in poor retention of previously learned material.

    Although corporal punishment is illegal, it is still used in schools. Some children may be afraid to return after a period of being out. A wrong answer could yield a beating with a ruler, stick or metal pipe on the calves, bottom of feet, hands and back. In fact, I heard a story about a head principal who had beaten the calves of a 5 year old who had come to school 5 minutes late. The child threw a blood clot and died. The principal was given three months in jail and an early retirement. Any infraction can deserve a beating and even good students who are chosen to tutor younger children are permitted to wield the stick for the most minor infractions. The kids are terrified of being late, which also results in a beating, and often show up early for a school day that starts at 7 am and ends at 5 pm. Some schools also insist on Saturday morning classes, as well as additional classes during vacation breaks. At 100+ students per classroom, a stern teacher is thought to be “a must.” The children are expected to behave meticulously and achieve academically in an airless and incredibly crowded classroom, often ill, with little food in their stomachs and no books or materials, no audio-visual, no computers, no libraries, no gyms or lunchrooms, not even a video or CD or poster and bulletin board. Just a teacher, a blackboard and a piece of chalk. Needless to say, the teachers perform daily heroics in being able to teach children in this inhospitable environment, but, somehow, they do from 7 am to 3 pm; then they serve in loco parentis and as social workers from 3 to 5 pm, as the children do their homework.

    I brought in a TV and VCR player to show a video on the Ugandan mountain gorilla. I had a variety of other educational videos which would have been more appropriate but to my great consternation, many of the CD’s refused to play. Little did I know that videos are coded according to the area of the world in which they are sold. So all of my CDs played perfectly at home, but in Kenya, most of them were useless. The children strained to watch the tiny television but were well behaved and asked thoughtful questions after the presentation. I could only wish that teachers who, like me, think a classroom with 30 students are too many and with every educational gadget at my fingertips, could spend some time in a classroom of 100 armed only with the education in your head and a piece of chalk.

    In truth, many students only attend school because there is a feeding program. They come for the food but stay for the education. If it can be established that the majority of children are destitute, orphaned or extremely poor, organizations like “Feed the Children” will provide porridge (usually at 11 am) and a hot meal at 12:30 or so. These meals are cooked over open fires in a kitchen “area” or open sided hut. Ndururono Primary feeds 22000 students each day. The meals consist of bulgar, rice or hominy and green peas. The meals rarely include animal protein of any kind. Even an egg is considered a special treat because eggs can cost 7 kshs each (10 cents). These children often return to their slum home to find there is nothing for supper or there may be suma wiki (sautéed kale- which translated means "to stretch to the end of the week”) and a little rice. Or they may have only a glass of water or a cup of tea for supper. If schools are on the edge of a slum area and serve lower class children, as well as slum kids, FTC cannot provide meals to an institution where some of the kids can afford their own lunch. In Lecden’s case, the children may be able to be fed by FTC at the office, which is located equidistant between the slum schools. The kids could come over the noon hour and also receive a little love and adult concern and guidance in addition to the meal. (In fact, by the middle of September, 2007, Lecden was given 4 months of rice by FTC, but nothing else. It would be incumbent upon the community to find some additional food for the kids to supplement the rice. But, clearly, the community was thankful for the donation.)

    At this time (August, 2007) high school is not free, although the government hopes to change that in the course of this year. It can cost up to $40-50 USD or 3,000 kshs (X3 semesters per year with a month off between) to enroll a child in secondary school plus the uniforms and books. Even children who are very bright and who want very much to complete high school may not be able to because of the prohibitive tuition.

    University studies present a near insurmountable hardship for most students. A semester can cost 1,000,000 shillings or $15,000 US. An enrolled student told me he eats very little and has only a few changes of clothing so that he can attend college. His goal is to bring technology back to his community and thus instill hope for a better life there. He feels that the lack of hope is killing more of his neighbors than does disease or food and water insufficiency. He, himself, appears to be tremendously underweight.

    Furthermore, Kenya finds itself running short of seats at the post-secondary level. The minister of education, in a recent news article, stated that Kenya is looking for some 3000 placements overseas for students who cannot get into the maxed out Kenyan universities. But studying abroad is exorbitant, too, costing an average of 1.5 million shillings or $20,000+ per year USD. Only the most affluent would be able to entertain studies abroad as the government states it is no position to offer meaningful scholarships. I spoke with a group of 50 students at Nairobi University, a beautiful campus just outside the city center. They expressed a great desire to study abroad, especially since the tuition is almost equal to study abroad tuition fees. However, they complained that international study has been slowed to a near halt because the US Consulate in Nairobi has issued very few visas since 9/11. Perhaps a student exchange program would circumvent the visa issue, but again, with the astronomical cost of tuition, the cooperating universities would need assurance that the students had the funds available. Secondly, an exchange program would not lead to graduation. It is doubtful that many students could afford a semester of just “experiencing” a semester in a US university. But I will explore the possibility with International Programs.

    This inability of Kenyan young people to attend school results in a variety of social ills. Even if young people have specialized training after high school, there is no assurance that they will get a decent job. With a soaring unemployment rate (40%), jobs are usually given out to the relatives and tribal members of the ruling political party. The usual and customary practice is that individuals who had positions before the election are simply “let go,” replaced by the relatives of the new president, whether or not they are trained or capable of assuming the positions. It becomes a game of “who do you know” instead of “what expertise do you have.” Massive unemployment also awaits high school graduates, although they may do a bit better than college grads, if they can find a job in the skilled trades. But, for the individual who worked hard in high school and for the family who sacrificed greatly to fund the student through K-12 education, there is no assurance that she/he will be accepted at a university and then there’s the relentless problem of tuition. I could find very little scholarship support at any level, right through to doctorates. With the median income in Kenya around $460 per year and with 50% of the population below the poverty line, a baccalaureate is a near impossible feat for many Kenyans.

    Education has been called “the engine that will move Kenya and other African countries out of poverty.” At my children’s school, Mrs. Njeru looks after 2200 children in 22 classrooms, K-8. There is no cafeteria, no gym. There is only a field where the children eat and play, rain or shine. A secondary school has recently been built next door but it, too, is way too small for the number of secondary students who need it. There is no science equipment. The children are kept at the school for two hours past instruction to do homework. The teachers know that there is no electricity in the homes, often not even candles. The additional benefit of keeping children in school so late is that they are less likely to be snatched for slavery, prostitution, child soldiers or organized crime.

    Mrs. Njeru looks at the field adjacent to the school and sees extensions to the buildings and children studying in relative comfort with smaller classes. In reality, there are no plans in place. But, as the Bible states, “Without vision, the people perish.” Imagining her ideal school keeps hope alive.