Teach My Kenyan Children (TMKC) is a faith-based nonprofit (501([c]3) committed to helping rural Kenyans improve their lives through education.
The photo on the left is a wall mural at Kiarithaini Secondary School, one of the secondary (high) schools attended by several TMKC Secondary Scholars. Kiarithaini and Teach My Kenyan Children share common values--excellence and integrity in all our endeavors. The graphic in Kiarithaini's mural is particularly poignant, for its reference to Joel 2:25 "...I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm..." Many TMKC students, even as young children, have experienced the "canker-worm". Some are orphans or have lost one parent, often to HIV/AIDS. Most know hunger first hand. All know poverty.
Most believe education is their key to a better future.
Primary school in Kenya (kindergarten through grade 8) has only been free for about ten years. Even though the government supports free primary education, resources in the rural areas are very limited. Class size can be more than 50 students per grade, and teacher shortages are common. Classrooms can be poorly lit, primitive wooden structures. Teaching aids are often limited to a black board, with chalk in short supply, and other teaching aids non-existent. Books are usually out dated, and often rationed, with one book shared by three or four students. Rural electrification is just being completed in Kenya, ushering in new possibilities for the use of technology.
Teach My Kenyan Children works to correct many of these shortages.
Secondary school (high school, grades 9-12) is still not free; it is similar to attending college in the US. Kenya students are invited to secondary schools based on how well they performed on the Kenya Certification for Primary Education (KCPE), a comprehensive, standardized exam that is administered at the end of grade 8. If a child receives an invitation to secondary school, parents are required to pay tuition and fees, and in the rural areas, secondary schools are residential. As a result, parents must also pay for transportation to and from school as well as room, board and incidentals. For parents who are subsistence farmers or day laborers, feeding their children is often a challenge. Healthcare is expensive, and a secondary education for their child, no matter how much they value it, is often unattainable.
...Enter Teach My Kenyan Children.
The photo on the left is a wall mural at Kiarithaini Secondary School, one of the secondary (high) schools attended by several TMKC Secondary Scholars. Kiarithaini and Teach My Kenyan Children share common values--excellence and integrity in all our endeavors. The graphic in Kiarithaini's mural is particularly poignant, for its reference to Joel 2:25 "...I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm..." Many TMKC students, even as young children, have experienced the "canker-worm". Some are orphans or have lost one parent, often to HIV/AIDS. Most know hunger first hand. All know poverty.
Most believe education is their key to a better future.
Primary school in Kenya (kindergarten through grade 8) has only been free for about ten years. Even though the government supports free primary education, resources in the rural areas are very limited. Class size can be more than 50 students per grade, and teacher shortages are common. Classrooms can be poorly lit, primitive wooden structures. Teaching aids are often limited to a black board, with chalk in short supply, and other teaching aids non-existent. Books are usually out dated, and often rationed, with one book shared by three or four students. Rural electrification is just being completed in Kenya, ushering in new possibilities for the use of technology.
Teach My Kenyan Children works to correct many of these shortages.
Secondary school (high school, grades 9-12) is still not free; it is similar to attending college in the US. Kenya students are invited to secondary schools based on how well they performed on the Kenya Certification for Primary Education (KCPE), a comprehensive, standardized exam that is administered at the end of grade 8. If a child receives an invitation to secondary school, parents are required to pay tuition and fees, and in the rural areas, secondary schools are residential. As a result, parents must also pay for transportation to and from school as well as room, board and incidentals. For parents who are subsistence farmers or day laborers, feeding their children is often a challenge. Healthcare is expensive, and a secondary education for their child, no matter how much they value it, is often unattainable.
...Enter Teach My Kenyan Children.