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Newslet terApr i l 2013

TUMAINI SENIOR SCHOOL & COMMUNITY PROGRAM www.tumainitrust.org

TUMAINI NEWSLETTER

The high demand for education in Kenya is a clear indication that there are few opportunities for

Kenyans to progress in life without i

General Elections General elections were held in Kenya on 4 March 2013, electing the President, Senators, County Governors, Members of Parliament for the 290 electoral constituencies, Civic Wards and Women County Representatives. Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the president-elect of Kenya by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. Raila Odinga challenged this in the Supreme Court of Kenya. His petition challenging the results was dismissed on March 30, 2013,

and the Honorable Uhuru Kenyatta being the youngest ever president at only 51 years old, was sworn in on April 9th.

These were the first elections held under the new constitution, which was passed during the 2010 referendum, as well as being the first general elections run by Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). This has marked a significant turning point for Kenya, as citizens are demanding a clean break from the past as they look towards a new socio-economic dawn with raised expectations. As the new Constitution comes of age, the enforcement and remedies of the new dispensation are critical to

INSIDE THIS ISSUE General Elections 1 Constitution and Education 1 Impact for Tumaini School 2 Academics & Vocational 3 Co-Curricular 4 Graduate Program 4

the social and political processes to ensure a

balance in the interplay between economic,

social, ideological and individual interests.

Constitution and Education The new constitution has several rights including

education, which is regarded as much of a human

right as life, privacy, religion, expression,

nationality etc. and everyone have a right to it.

The high demand for education in Kenya is a clear

indication that there are very few opportunities

for Kenyans to progress in life without it.

It was generally agreed by the CIC (Commission

for the Implementation of the Constitution) that a

good education system should have the ability to

instill the national values and principles of the!Constitution within the curriculum, provide

certain skills to better the lives of Kenyans,

transmit culture, and introduce extra curriculum

activities such as sports. It was also agreed that

the ideal education system should add value to

the learner in terms of provision of skills, unlike

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the current education system which mainly

focuses on passing one stage of schooling to the

next with emphasis on paper based

examinations.

Impact for Tumaini School Khadija Rama, Director Tumaini Senior School is a unique example of an institution delivering the objectives of the new constitution and more; while orphans remain a generalized category, Tumaini Senior School values the “child heading a household”. Through the programme’s holistic approach to education and rehabilitation, it is a leading example of a value led educational structure, which does more than focus on paper based examinations. Although the government has tried to provide free basic primary education, large gaps still remain in the provision of appropriate

educational options for those children affected by HIV at household level. Tumaini Senior School takes into consideration not only the child but also the family and community, working together to ensure the child is given the best chance for self-reliance and that dignity is restored in the home. We currently have 70 students enrolled with a higher percentage of girls, as we focus our efforts on reducing their vulnerability to violence and abuse.

As Tumaini Senior School is a private charitable school it is under the careful scrutiny of

governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Education, who endeavor to ensure that the standard of education is harmonized throughout the country and that all education facilities and institutions are up to date. Having passed the inspections and renewed the school’s registration under the new government, we wait with anticipation to hear about the new developments for the education system.

The constitution promotes free education and empowerment for the country’s youth with adequate skills to support national development. However its sustainability will depend on the framework, which will determine the process of working together with implementing agencies while maintaining credibility and transparency.

Counselling The new elections highlighted the need to

sensitize the pupils to their rights and legal

issues in Kenya, and this has been effectively

executed through the programme’s psycho-

social music and dance forums. The intense

political climate during the first months of this

year meant that the teachers to work hard

translating the chaotic frenzy into an effective

learning opportunity for the children. Pupils

demanded that the new constitution and change

of government be fully explained and raised many

questions.

Debates were held about their rights as children

heading households and the rights of

marginalised groups such as the elderly and

those living with HIV. Visiting speakers included a

group of young political candidates who gave a

talk to the students on leadership and the rights

of the girl child in the society. On March 27th

staff accompanied the students to witness the

inauguration ceremony of the County Governor,

Senator and other ward representatives at Isiolo

stadium.

Khadi ja Rama

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Academics This term the school carried out mid – term

examinations for standard 6, 7 and 8 as well as

an extra exam for standard 8. Tumaini Senior

School is proud to have remained open during the

entire first term, despite the pre electoral

confusions, which forced some schools to close.

Thanks to the continuous efforts from staff,

pupils remained up to date with their syllabus

coverage.

!Class! Boy’s!Mean!Score! Girl’s!Mean!Score!! 6! 151! 176!! 7! 200! 202! 8 232 214

The mean score for boys and girls is expected to rise during the second term as term 1 is so heavily occupied with so much of the rehabilitation work needed to enable the children to adjust and readjust to the boarding school environment.

Vocational While the new class 6 and new students are beginning to familiarise themselves with the vocational practical sessions, Classes 7 and 8 are leading the way in all 7 subject areas:

- Carpentry - Masonry

- Home Economics - Dress making and design - Art for life / Painting

- Driving - Agriculture

This term pupils have been practicing their carpentry skills by helping to make new desks and bunk beds as well as repairing the dining hall tables and benches. Instruction was given on fixing doors and assembling kitchen stools while some pupils made pastry boards to be used in home economics. Children have enjoyed baking and interpreting recipes in the preparation of different types of local dishes. The painters even managed to earn some pocket money by repainting the ECD Nursery.

All pupils mended their uniforms in tailoring class and have been practising hand stitching as well as using the sewing machine. A mixed group of boys and girls from class 7 and 8 have been taught practical and driving theory and are now able to successfully identify parts of a vehicle, explain vehicle maintenance points and carry out road safety practicals.

In Agriculture lessons the children have been preparing and planting new beds of vegetables. With each class spending at least 2 hours in the garden per week, the school is happy to see the fruits of their labour beginning to flourish. Now growing in the garden is a selection of tomatoes, cabbages, kale, spinach, pigeon peas, onions, maize, beans and potatoes. Additional learning opportunities have been created around farm maintenance, irrigation and the use of fertilizer and organic pesticides.

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Co-Curricular Athletics The zonal championships were held at Uhuru Primary School on 28th March where 3 top performing students were selected from Tumaini Senior School to compete at the district level games held at Wabera Primary School. Warrio Yusuf will compete in the Javelline, Faith Nyaboke in the 1500m and Phineshire Oketch in the 400m.and manage their behaviours and feelings, reduce stress, and improve self-esteem. Children are not head thinkers; they live close to their instincts, their emotions and their core, non verbal language is their primary language and the only way for them to express and describe their life experiences. Expressive Arts discovers a form of creativity that addresses the child’s needs directly without having to speak about them until they are ready to.

Art 4 Life Club Preparations for the annual art exhibition in Alabama have been under way during term 1 with pupils collaborating in groups to explore the theme of animal portraits. Using old sacks, and making papier maché plates, children have been creating images of their favourite animals and learning about symbolism through writing their own animal mythologies and poems. The finished works of art will be exhibited in June, a fundraiser for the school’s music festival competition during the 2nd term.

School Trip – Lewa Game Drive 25 selected pupils were chosen from all classes to

join a wildlife tour at Lewa Wilderness for the day.

Students enjoyed a full day out packed with

learning and new experiences. Pupils were

quizzed on the water cycle, the different animal

habitats and the various species of animals in

Lewa. Such an opportunity to see and learn about

animals in the wild does not come around very

often and for most it was their first time to see so

many animals in their natural habitats. The trip

was a memorable learning experience and fun

day out.

Graduate Program Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (“KCPE “)

results summary for 2012:

Marks!out!of!500! Boys! Girls! Total!300!plus! 1! 2! 3!250!to!299! 2! 3! 5!Less than 250 6 2 8 Total 9 7 16

Tumaini Trust has been happy to grant top performers Lucy Wangari and Samuel Njenga full scholarships to join their peers at high achieving

I pa inted a zebra for the art exhib i t ion, so I was happy to see them

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secondary schools in Meru. Samuel scored the

highest marks with 330 out of 500 in the KCPE

exams. He is a conscientious boy who has always

been serious about his studies and eager to learn.

Samuel has no living relatives except an uncle

who co- operates well with the programme in

helping to decide the best options for Samuel’s

education. Samuel is happy to be joining the 4

graduate boys from the 2011 class 8 at Kagaa

Boys secondary school.

Lucy was not far behind scoring 310 marks. Lucy

worked extremely hard during her last 6 months

at school and increased her performance by 50

marks, so she could score enough marks to be

able to go to secondary school. Lucy was afraid of

returning home where her family still lives in

extreme poverty and desperation and feels proud

that she has made it to join Zipporah and Aisha at

Ruiri Girls.

Our 4 students who graduated from Nkobu

Polytechnic in 2012 are now looking for work

after the busy election period. Kelvin Mwenda

who studied mechanics is back helping out at the

Tumaini programme, while he waits for his ID to

come through. He will then be able to apply for

his driving liscence and start begin employment

as a driver. Students still in secondary are all

achieving B grades and have been commended by

their schools for their hard work and good

behaviour. The Tumaini Graduate Programme is

currently sponsoring 9 students through

secondary school.

Thanks to: The British army unit from Nanyuki (BATUK) who

provided the programme with clean water twice

this term.

Kate Spencer from Lewa for organising the

exhibition and for helping to teach drawing and

painting to class 6 & 7.

André from Lewa for his agricultural expertise

and leadership on the garden project.