The P1 teacher who set up a library in Kisumu slum
‘We all have a purpose in life, and when you find yours, you will recognise it,’ so said Catherine Pulsifer, an American author.
A statement that sits well with 29-year-old Hyral Matete, a young woman who has surmounted many challenges, deferred her dreams and eventually found her purpose in life.
At nine years, life took a nasty turn when her family moved from the affluent Milimani Estate into the sprawling slums of Manyatta in Kisumu.
“My father had just lost his job. Faced with financial woes, we moved to a piece of land he had earlier bought at Manyatta,” narrates Matete.
The overnight shift from a private school to a public one meant culture shock. Surviving in an environment surrounded by corrugated shanties instead of the posh maisonette was at best disorienting.
She battled the challenges with a laser focus to become a journalist, a dream she nurtured through hard work in her studies through Kosawo Primary and later Xaverian High school.
“Life would again hold up the stop sign for me, we lost our dad as I was proceeding to college, I had to defer my journalism dream for teaching as advised by my mother,” she offers.
In the circumstances, a P1 teacher certificate course was the only plausible detour for the only girl and third born in a family of five. She pursued it reluctantly.
“Between 2012 and 2014, I went to Jans Teachers College, and only started to find my true purpose in life during my teaching practice,” recalls Matete.
She added: “I realised that a good number of pupils were dropping out of school. A lot of times due to self- esteem issues that meant they found school an unattractive place to be.”
Matete singles out lack of learning materials as one of the key factors contributing to low self-esteem among the pupils.
“Pupils felt humiliated when teachers lashed out at them for not doing their homework, yet it was a systemic problem of lack of textbooks,” she said, noting that the textbook distribution ratio was one book to four pupils.
“The only time I taught was during my teaching practice. I later decided to do community development.”
In December 2014, she embarked on setting up a community library for children. Her generous mother offered space in her compound to accommodate the noble dream.
Under a tree, The Angels of Sunset Children Community Library was established, with a lean membership of 50 pupils and donor-sourced books. Soon, it was teeming with children from near and far.
Having interacted with the knowledge-thirsty children, she noted something deep-seated- low self-esteem. The trained model needed to boost their self-worth, so she taught them to model and fashion shows.
“When young girls and boys are called models, what comes to mind is that you’re beautiful, well-kept and smart. That’s the concept we created to help build their confidence,” Matete says.
Modelling has since helped to fundraise for the library that has over the years evolved from being under a tree to an iron-sheet room, and now a permanent structure.
“We are in our fourth year. Little Miss Kenya franchise has enabled us to run the beauty pageants in Kisumu, Siaya and Bungoma counties. The funds we raise enhance the library and make it child-friendly centre,” says Matete of the centre that can comfortably accommodate 80 pupils in one sitting.
Despite challenges that include lack of enough furniture and change of syllabus that has necessitated complete overhaul of the school books, they have quickly adapted.
“We are moving from the unsustainable donor-dependent library and have since started a talent academy at the centre that trains children on various things, including music, dance, acting and poetry,” she says.
“Some of our talented models have graced the global stage through the Little Miss World and Princess Africa beauty pageants.”
Life skills are also taught at the talent academy, which charges monthly subscription fees that is ploughed back into the library. The centre prides in 16 volunteers called reading assistants, who offer the children after-school remedial classes.
The Angels of Sunset have since incorporated a humanitarian aspect. For two years, they have been offering literacy lessons to pupils living with disability at Kibos Special School, through the 'read aloud' sessions every Friday afternoon.
The story comprehension sessions are undertaken by the volunteers.
Cumulatively, over 1,000 pupils have benefited from Matete’s project, which in a year will be clocking a decade in existence. It currently hosts 117 pupils, mainly drawn from the surrounding three public schools of Kosawo, Manyatta and Obinju in Kisumu.
“In my wildest dream, I never thought I will be a teacher. And now, this programme has given me a chance to interact with children, away from the four walls of a classroom, in a more fulfilling way,” she concludes.
Matete still has a dream to build a modern library and talent centre to serve the larger Kisumu County.
