Library of Dreams Opens At Gakoigo Primary School
A bright, cream building with colorful animal paintings and health and safety information stands out at Gakoigo Primary School’s compound in Murang’a County, Kenya.
The once dark, dilapidated shell of a classroom with cracked walls and a chipped floor went through an extreme makeover to become the school’s library. This was a culmination of a three-year journey of consistent mentorship and investment from the Rotary Club of Nairobi-Lang’ata (RCL).
RCL President Sarah Migwi and media personality Mashirima Kapombe snipped the ribbon on January 23, 2021 to unveil the plaque during the official opening the library. Key partners who brought this dream to life include Kenya Literature Bureau–in partnership of Rotary Club of Magharibi and Kaliniketen Shishukunj who donated seven cartons of books and one carton of digital literacy materials. Other partners who supported the launch included CKL Africa who supplied tree seedlings, milk donation from Murang’a Cooperative Creameries and Rotarians who donated books and funding toward the project.
Rotarians in attendance planted trees in the school compound and gave the parents, teachers, class seven and eight pupils motivational talks. The best students received awards and the teachers recognized for their pursuit of excellence.
Rotarian Geoffrey Gitau, a tall, calm and composed certified public accountant shares the back-story of the project and his passion to transform the community through education.
The academic performance of Gakoigo Primary school has been consistently improving over the years, how has Rotary played a part in this success?
Gakoigo Primary School is one of the key projects that Rotary Club of Nairobi-Lang’ata had committed itself to over the past three years. During past visits, the club conducted mentorship forums in partnership with other key stakeholders and donated books, lockable desks, shoes and socks to the pupils.
Over the years, the school has gained recognition under the capable leadership of the former head teacher Mr. Muiruri and currently under the stewardship of Mrs. Mary Murigi. The school’s performance has been on an upward trajectory from a mean score of 178 marks in 2017, to 233 marks in 2018 and 251 marks in 2019. We are expecting an improvement in the next set of results.
The school has witnessed an enrolment of 400 pupils under an effective team of 11 teachers with discipline drastically improving. These efforts have motivated Rotarians to help the school achieve its aspirations.
In the initial stages, what needs did you see in Gakoigo Primary School that inspired you?
What inspired me most was that the school was new and did not have any sponsors nor alumni working in corporates and who could give back to the school. Additionally, for a long time, the school used to lag in the national and zone level exams. As such, parents from the neighborhood would overlook it to enroll their kids in neighboring schools, the nearest being 2.5 kilometers away.
What’s the background of the library project?
Previously, the few text and story books available were kept in the head teacher’s office, from where students would borrow them. During the need analysis study, the school community ranked a library as the most pressing need in the school. Later on, the head teacher identified a classroom that could be converted into a Library.
We approached STORY MOJA AFRICA who trained at least two teachers and equipped them with skills to run and sustain a vibrant library. The teachers will be instrumental in establishing the library timetable, book clubs, weekly library lessons, run exciting reading programs, monitoring and evaluating the impact of the library program in the school.
What are some of the societal issues plaguing the youth of Gakoigo?
Alcoholism is one of factors hampering population and developmental growth in Murang’a County, according to a report by the Kenya New Agency. A section of men aged between 20 to 45 years have drowned in alcoholism, which has reduced them to irresponsible and un-productive people.
Consequently, gender-based violence and dissolution of marriages has escalated. Insecurity is also rampant since they no longer sell coffee as a cash crop. All these societal vices have adversely affected the performance of the pupils, as most of them are not able to concentrate in school.
How can Rotary work with the community to improve their livelihoods?
Rotary and other partners can encourage the community to appreciate the importance of educating their children through sustained mentorship.
Additionally, there is need to continue working with other development partners to actualize the transformation and development agenda of the school. This includes but not limited to; full upgrade of the library, facelift of the classrooms , construction of ablution block for boys and girls and an overhead water storage facility.
Final take-away?
I am impressed by all the pupils who sat for the National Exam in 2018 since they helped the school emerge as the best improved in the county. Lately, we have concentrated so much on the mentorship of pupils and teachers. We need to scale this programme among the parents, with a view of bringing them at par with the teachers and pupils.
Did you miss the event? Catch some of the action in photos here and here
