Man gives back to a community that sacrificed for his education

Adult education is offering a second chance to people who may have been forced by poverty, cultural beliefs and other setbacks to drop out of school in their formative years.

And one man from Nyeri County is leading the fight against the stigma associated with adult learning, locally – and usually derogatorily – referred to as ngumbaru.

From advising the local youths to contributing during local fundraisers, Mr Robert Gatoho has always been looking for ways to give back to the community for educating him.

It was, however, not until he started teaching an adult class in his home area of Kimondo in Mukurweini Constituency that he felt a true sense of accomplishment.

It all started with having to take his mother and grandmother to the bank and helping them fill forms as they did not have even the most basic form of literacy.

“When they went to the bank, they needed help from the staff, security people and even strangers to complete their transactions simply because they did not know how to read, write or even sign,” he says.

The 30-year-old realised that many illiterate people in the community had a hard time communicating with their grandchildren, who may not be able to communicate in Kikuyu.

“I wanted to give back to this community because they did three fundraisers for me – to join high school, for my university education and for my master’s degree,” he adds.

In 2017, Mr Gatoho opened his adult class, which comprised elderly women with no literacy skills. His idea was to teach them how to read and write.

The women are aged between 36 and 64 years.

Some did not know how to even hold a pen

“We started out with 15 women, including my mum, and some did not know how to even hold a pen. I figured that it was not just my mother who was struggling but many other women in my home area as well,” he says.

The English language and literature teacher at Thunguri Secondary School in Mukurweini had to plan his day well to ensure he taught them after five o’clock.

“We meet every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We started by teaching some of them how to hold a pen. We study basic things like how to write their names,” he says.

The women assemble under a tree at Kimondo social hall and since they do not have a blackboard, they use charts prepared by their teacher, which are hung on a nearby tree.

The class, just like any other, has a class prefect, who is in charge of marking the register and a school captain who is in charge of coordinating the students.

Apart from learning, the women are also empowered with skills that can improve their lives.

The activities include making sisal bags, liquid soap, cooking, baking and agricultural practices like farming and rearing of chickens.

“Our class is both formal and informal. I also get experts to help them improve the little experience and skills they have in the activities we teach,” Mr Gatoho says.

Ms Beth Njeri, the class prefect, says apart from learning, the class has been a welcome distraction from their normal lives and that it helps them socialise.

She said she now understands basic English, which helps her communicate with her grandchildren.

“When my grandchildren visit and are speaking in English or Swahili I’m not left out. I understand them, which means we can communicate,” she says with a smile.

Could not read or write

Ms Lydia Muthoni, the school captain, told nation.africa that before joining the class, she could not read or write.

“The first thing I learnt was how to write my name and when I did, I went to the bank and changed my identification protocol from a fingerprint to a signature. We also make bags and sell them and some of us even rear chickens. Our lives have improved greatly,” she offers.

The studies have not come without challenges, including discouragement from the rest of the community members who, she says, do not understand the need for literacy.

“Sometimes we have a hard time. When it rains, for instance, we cannot continue. Other times we have people who keep on discouraging us, saying that we are wasting our time and some people drop out. It takes a lot of sacrifice but it is very rewarding,” she adds.

According to the Economic Survey of 2020, Nyeri has 3,447 adult learners. There are 790 male learners and 2,657 women.

Cumulatively, Kenya's total enrolment of adult education learners dropped by 1.6 percent from 212,441 in 2018 to 209,082 in 2019.

Female adult learners accounted for 68.7 percent of the total enrolment of adult learners in 2019.

Nairobi City recorded the highest enrolment of adult education learners during the review period.

West Pokot, Makueni, Kilifi and Kitui counties also recorded significant numbers of adult education learners.

The enrolment of adult education learners in West Pokot County increased more than fivefold to stand at 10,267.

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