I remember writing a descriptive essay about my mom for an 8th-grade English class. One late evening, with my pencil in hand, I wrote everything I observed as she sat grading her 4th-grade students’ papers. Foremost to me were her eyes. They looked so tired, strained after a long day of not just teaching, but mentoring, disciplining, and cheerleading. Yet, she pressed on, attentively reading every assignment, celebrating the aha moments and identifying the gaps in her students’ understanding. The pride I felt in my mother that night is the same pride I felt last month when I stepped into the small, crowded classrooms of our partner schools in Kenya, and saw teacher after teacher pouring into the lives of the children they serve. And this is what I saw when I looked in their eyes…
Compassion that sees the whole child and knows that their exhaustion isn’t due to the homework, but instead the responsibility of taking care of six other siblings while their mother seeks work in a town where 70% are unemployed.
Creativity that sees the cardboard lying in the massive trash pile outside the school gates as a valuable resource for the children to use for constructing models of the digestive system for their science class.
Resilience that perseveres when the floods come, washing away the school structure, classrooms, and materials. A resilience that breeds collaboration, as teachers partner together to find a new tin shelter, even while dealing with personal losses from the floods.
Faith that embodies the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, and recognizes the innate talent of a child who has already memorized the migration patterns of birds throughout the world or encourages a young woman to pursue her dream of becoming a neurosurgeon. Faith that inspires the praise of children and infants to silence the foe and the avenger (you should hear these kids recite scripture!).
At KCEF, our goal is to strengthen the capacity of these incredible teachers who pour life into the hearts and minds of these children who are among the poorest of the poor.
We do this in several ways:
Teacher Development – We partner with Michael Maingi, head of academics at EduKenya, and Fredrick Muingi, CEO of MGA Schools, as they work with our Kenya director to provide personal and professional development for our teachers, improving the educational quality of their instruction. The school may be a tin structure in a slum, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a slum education. But what Michael and Fred have found most rewarding is that teachers are opening up about their own lives, the majority of whom grew up in the very same community in which they’re working and barely earning minimum wage. When Michael and Fred help these teachers identify their own strengths and talents, it gives them a sense of purpose and we are seeing increased teacher retention in our schools.
Teacher Materials – Thanks to our donors, we are able to provide needed curriculum, books, paper, and exam booklets to our teachers.
Digital Literacy – As we continue to provide computers and training to our partner schools, we are seeing increased efficiencies in classroom management, which only improves the learning taking place.
Teacher Loan Fund – One of the most transformational things we do proves that a little can go a long way. We provide a $1000 teacher loan fund to a partner school. For most of our schools, teachers have not had college level training. This loan fund allows them to pursue certifications that incentivize them to grow and learn. They pay back into the fund and that allows another to take advantage of the loan.
My mother was exhausted, but she had access to curriculum and resources, technology, classrooms with heat, water, and electricity, and her income supported our family during those years. The teachers who serve the 3000 children in our partner schools have the same passion as my mom. I hope you can meet one of them someday. Maybe you can join us on a trip to Kenya this year? We’re going in February, May, and October. We’d love to have you join us.
But in the meantime, as the year comes to an end, would you consider an end-of-the-year gift that supports these heroes? We spend $43,000 a year on these support services. I would love to look into their eyes on my next trip and tell them that friends around the world want them to know they are seen, that their work makes a difference. Thank you for your partnership.
With deepest gratitude,
