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Kimlea Girls’ Technical Training Center
Kimlea, a training center in Kenya, was started under the inspiration of Saint Josemaría’s teachings and spirit, and has been working for the benefit of African women for several decades. Perhaps it is only at Gatina Nursery School, located within Gatina Tea Estate in Limuru, that children and their mothers are schoolmates and classmates of sorts.
In the mornings, the nursery school, which has only a classroom and a pit latrine, serves as a baby care and learning center for children aged 10 and below while their mothers work on the tea farm. Then at 3 pm, the children give way to their mothers, who take over the classroom for their lessons in adult literacy, nutrition, childcare and sewing.
The school was set up two years ago by the Kianda Foundation to cater for young children who were often left on their own when their parents went to work on the tea plantations. Since the owners would not allow the children on the plantations, and most of the youngsters had nobody to take care of them, they ended up in dangerous situations, like playing with fire and getting burnt. Many stayed at home until they were 10 because their parents could not afford to take them to school.
The Kianda Foundation, which had been running a girls’ training center in the area since 1992, stepped in and set up school to provide a learning center for the children while their parents were away. But when it realised the thirst for education among the mothers as well, it started adult literacy classes for them and with time, introduced courses such as business skills, nutrition, child-care and sewing.
The school currently has a student population of 50 children and 38 adults. Each family pays 50 shillings per month, and the school gives the children milk and uniforms. During the morning session, the school teacher, Ms Anne Nyambura, divides the pupils into two groups that sit separately but are taught simultaneously.
Five people
The school is housed in a single building without a fence. It is a few metres from the workers’ houses, which served as stables for the white farmers who lived in the area during the colonial era. Today, the sheds house an average of five people each. Some of younger children accompany their mothers to class in the afternoons when there is nobody else to take care of them because most of the mothers are single. Since the nursery school was built, many of the tea pickers have grown to appreciate the value of education. Through the lessons offered at the school, many have graduated from tea picking to running their own businesses.
The first woman to achieve literacy in the nursery school has since set up a hotel and two shops at Tigoni Shopping Center. She has also managed to send her daughter to secondary school, a remarkable achievement for a tea picker in the area. “The women are very keen on their studies because most of them have never been to school at all,” explains Nyambura. Margaret Nanyama, who comes from Bungoma District but has worked at Gatina for close to 20 years, says before the school was set up, she did not even know how to hold a pencil.
“Now I have learnt so much and know a lot about nutrition and cookery, among other things,” she says with pride. After learning theory in nursery, the mothers sometimes go to the nearby Kimlea Girls’ Training Center for practical lessons in courses like cookery and dress making.
The center offers courses in tailoring, agriculture, nutrition and cookery mainly to primary school leavers.
See further: Kimlea’s website
The school was set up two years ago by the Kianda Foundation to cater for young children who were often left on their own when their parents went to work on the tea plantations. Since the owners would not allow the children on the plantations, and most of the youngsters had nobody to take care of them, they ended up in dangerous situations, like playing with fire and getting burnt. Many stayed at home until they were 10 because their parents could not afford to take them to school.
The Kianda Foundation, which had been running a girls’ training center in the area since 1992, stepped in and set up school to provide a learning center for the children while their parents were away. But when it realised the thirst for education among the mothers as well, it started adult literacy classes for them and with time, introduced courses such as business skills, nutrition, child-care and sewing.
The school currently has a student population of 50 children and 38 adults. Each family pays 50 shillings per month, and the school gives the children milk and uniforms. During the morning session, the school teacher, Ms Anne Nyambura, divides the pupils into two groups that sit separately but are taught simultaneously.
Five people
The school is housed in a single building without a fence. It is a few metres from the workers’ houses, which served as stables for the white farmers who lived in the area during the colonial era. Today, the sheds house an average of five people each. Some of younger children accompany their mothers to class in the afternoons when there is nobody else to take care of them because most of the mothers are single. Since the nursery school was built, many of the tea pickers have grown to appreciate the value of education. Through the lessons offered at the school, many have graduated from tea picking to running their own businesses.
The first woman to achieve literacy in the nursery school has since set up a hotel and two shops at Tigoni Shopping Center. She has also managed to send her daughter to secondary school, a remarkable achievement for a tea picker in the area. “The women are very keen on their studies because most of them have never been to school at all,” explains Nyambura. Margaret Nanyama, who comes from Bungoma District but has worked at Gatina for close to 20 years, says before the school was set up, she did not even know how to hold a pencil.
“Now I have learnt so much and know a lot about nutrition and cookery, among other things,” she says with pride. After learning theory in nursery, the mothers sometimes go to the nearby Kimlea Girls’ Training Center for practical lessons in courses like cookery and dress making.
The center offers courses in tailoring, agriculture, nutrition and cookery mainly to primary school leavers.
See further: Kimlea’s website
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