Enlightened thinking: improving education in rural Kenya

Many youth polytechnic schools in Kenya face debilitating funding shortages and some even lack electricity to power their workshops. Fundraising support officer, business advisor and VSO volunteer Vilma Esoto is bringing her business acumen – and infectious enthusiasm – to a challenging situation. Here, she recounts in her own words the events of a day in the life of a volunteer.

The daily routine

Kitui is a wonderful place, though not a very comfortable one. There are many things I miss here. But one thing I’ve learned as a volunteer is to make do with what’s available. Appreciate what is offered to you in your host country and you will find contentment.

I live in a quiet neighbourhood. During the night, all I usually hear is the sound of birds and insects. I wake up at 5.30am and, after saying my morning prayers, I open my computer, access the Internet and send messages to my family back home in the Philippines.

Today, I am going to Kathivo Youth Polytechnic, where a board meeting has been scheduled. By 7.00am I am ready to leave. I have to go early as the minibus to Kathivo has no fixed departure time and I need to make sure I catch it at the bus terminal.

The fare is 40 Shillings. The conductor knows me and he already knows where I will get off. The drive from Kitui to Kathivo is just 20 minutes and I get to the school at 9.00am, an hour before the meeting is due to begin.

Disturbing discoveries

After saying hello to the manager and teachers, I tour the workshops, talk to trainees, and visit their nursery. The school is near a dam so there’s abundant water for the plants. But this is a struggling institution with only 38 trainees, two usable workshops and no electric power. One workshop is collapsing. I take photos, hoping that we can find a donor to help fund reconstruction.

While waiting for the Board of Governors, I talk to the manager about how they can possibly meet their objectives with such poor facilities. The carpentry and dressmaking training is done manually. They really need to introduce a computer course here – but how?

It is almost noon when the meeting finally begins. I am asked to talk about what I can do for the school and I am touched by the warm welcome I receive. I tell them that I will do my best to bring light to this school.

Food for thought

Later, I stroll back to the highway and get a ride back to Kitui, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with people inside the minibus. Back home, I log onto the Internet again to check my messages, and do some work. I am in bed by 10pm. My mind is racing with the things I have seen today: trainees surviving on maize and beans for lunch every day, teachers paid only 2,500 Shillings per month, trainees sharing workshops since only two are usable, and a school with no electric power.

The fact that Kathivo Youth Polytechnic has been operating for 24 years proves that there is a real desire among the young people of the area to be trained and embark on fulfilling careers. They deserve proper training. I begin to formulate a plan…