No Better Gift Than Education: Kenyan Slum Boy

NAIROBI, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- It was 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning. With books in his bag, 13-year-old James Mwangi was on his way to school, saying that there is no better gift he would like to receive than education.

Passing through muddy houses in a poorly ventilated environment, the boy seemed to be rushing against time as he moved at a very fast pace, although he had plenty of time to reach his school, the Mcedo-Beijing school in Mathare slum in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

According to a report Friday by China's Xinhua news agency, the Mcedo-Beijing primary school, established in 2001 and funded by the Chinese government, was initially a community school. Pupils at the school were orphans and children from single-parent and poor families. Most of them have overcome their hardships and excelled in national examinations.

After entering the school compound, Mwangi, a sixth grader, went straight to his class to complete some classwork just before normal class time at 8:00 a.m. He was not perturbed by his classmates who entered the classroom and also went straight into their books.

It is usual that the pupils in this school prepare for the lesson before the teachers come.

As the teacher explained to the pupils the contents of the lesson, Mwangi looked very attentive and seemed to be following each and every detail.

To study was a dream that the slum boy almost missed.

Mwangi said his mother was the backbone of his family with seven children. During daytime, she went to Eastleigh estate to see whether she could get a few coins from manual labour.

The mother earned a living by washing clothes for a Somalis community and the daily earning depended on whether she was lucky to get any customer. Some days she took home nothing, and some days she could earn 200 Kenyan shillings (about US$3), which, however, was hardly enough to buy them a full meal for a day.

Before joining the Mcedo-Beijing primary school, Mwangi was at home with his brothers, collecting garbage or recyclable waste.

Mwangi said it was his responsibility to study hard to ensure that the family could get out of poverty.

At Mcedo-Beijing school, most pupils shared similar background with Mwangi. They had to work hard to pass the national exam and get a chance to go to the secondary school.

The school is giving most of these children hope for the future by providing them a chance to acquire knowledge.

Mary Wangeci, a mother at the school, said the school came as a relief as it helped her save her four teenage daughters from street life.

"Before this school came up, my four daughters were in the streets sniffing glue in the company of bigger girls and boys. It was hard to get them out of street life, but thank God they eventually accepted to join the Mcedo-Beijing primary," said Wangeci.

She added that with the school in place, her children would have some hope for the future since they could compete with others.

"Who knows, one day the ruler of this country and even best brains may come from Mcedo-Beijing," said Wangeci.

As for Mwangi, the slum boy said that there was no better gift he would like to receive than education, arguing that with education he could make his dream of dragging his family out of the slum come true.

-- BERNAMA