Kwale youth transforming lives through education network

A group of eight young people in Kwale County want to use education to improve the lives of their community members.

The Kaya education empowerment network, a Community-Based Organisation which includes youth from Tsimba Golini ward, aims to convert the county from one of the lowest performing in the country to one of the best.

Athman Mwatondo, the organisation's director and a young lawyer, claims that some pupils fail due to a lack of motivation.

"Some students are in school but do not know why they are studying. Some do not have role models to push them to succeed, that is where we come in. We help the students to realise their ambitions. Students are falling behind due to numerous problems," he said.

The group comprises youth aged between 25-35 and have different careers.

Mwatondo described a retrogressive society in which parents, rather than encouraging their children to work hard, discouraged them with words such as "there are no jobs" and even pointed to graduates still tarmacking.

He said such words demoralise students, causing some to drop out of school. He also added that from their interactions with the children, they have discovered that a majority of them do not work hard since they know their parents cannot afford to pay for their education.

Kwale youth taken through a career talk by members of the Kaya Education Empowerment Network. (Photo: Kaya Education)

"From our interactions with the kids, we have noticed that they lack information about essential topics such as how to apply for scholarships, knowledge about careers, and where to get support if they cannot raise school fees,” he said.

Career guidance

Mwatondo said they have been organising career talks bringing in professionals from various fields to offer career guidance to the students.

"We start by finding out what the students want to be when they graduate, you find some students only know of the common careers like medicine, teaching, law, and journalism, so we broaden their knowledge about different careers and what is required to study each course," he said.

The organisation also brings in officials dealing with issuing bursaries to explain the requirements to the students.

Mwatondo believes education can change the lives of their community living below the poverty line.

Another member Mwanaharusi Juma, a teacher, said the group focuses on students from the remote parts of Kwale County.

She said it is in those areas that students need sensitisation the most.

Mwanaharusi Juma gifting a student who won a debate competition on April 10. (Photo: Kaya Education)

"Here parents have no information about a lot of things. You find a parent who has never been out of their birth villages so it is hard to convince such a parent to send their children to national schools in Nairobi or other parts of the country," she said.

Mwanaharusi said they started the initiative in 2018.

When asked why they started the programme, she explained that all the group members were born and raised in Kwale County, and what they went through inspired them to work together to address the challenges.

"In our day, we just had our teachers to guide us. "So, we started this initiative to help students and change our society," she explained.

In addition, many students also drop out to make money, while some are forced into early marriage.

"People here revere marriage, thus you can see children as young as 18 years old marrying and beginning families. So, when they see you going to school, they assume you're squandering your time. Some parents even push their children to early marriages for the bride price," she said.

Awareness

Other than academics, they also create awareness of the dangers of getting involved in drug abuse and teenage pregnancy which is rampant in the region.

"The level at which young girls get impregnated is alarming. Girls at the age of 14 are already mothers, so you wonder what kind of life the mother and daughter will have," she said.

Salma Ali talking to students at Ziwani Primary School in Golini. (Photo: Kaya Education)

The members also attributed the high number of drug users in the county to mental health problems. A majority are reported to use drugs as a resolve for their social issues.

"When we talk to the students, they open up to us because they feel safe with us. Some confess to taking drugs to escape life problems and some just take drugs to feel cool," Mwanaharusi said.

Salma Ali, another member of the organisation said they have been able to help over 20 bright students join secondary school.

"We work closely with teachers and locals so when a bright student is not able to join secondary school, we find them a bursary and ensure they get enrolled in schools," she said.

Their initiative also targets young mothers. "We normally encourage young mothers to go back to school or enrol in technical schools to get skills to help them support themselves and their children," she said.

The group hopes to partner with youths from other regions in Kwale County to reach more students.

"It is just the eight of us at the moment, but we hope more young people will join us in making our county a better place. It is a marginalised area but if we join hands and dedicate ourselves to pushing the performance of our students then we will succeed," they said.

They also hope the government could support such positive initiatives to enable them to achieve their goal.

"Whenever we visit a school, we dig in our pockets and sometimes ask corporate organisations to support us. We cannot go empty-handed. Mostly we carry pads for the girls and inner wears for boys," she said.

They also called on the government to create activities where lecturers or professors visit schools to give career guidance and educate students on marketable courses.