My son, Nathanael, began his junior year of high school this week. He doesn’t need me the same way he needed me in elementary school. And that is a good thing. But what he does need now, just as he did in kindergarten, is engaged teachers who invest in him not only educationally, but personally. The students we serve in Kenya need the same thing. Our partner schools have such dedicated leaders and teachers who pour themselves into the lives of their students. The majority are from the very communities in which they serve, often surviving unimaginable trauma. They want their students to have a better life. We believe they are worth investing in.
A secret sauce of KCEF is how we partner with others to nourish and educate God’s children in Kenya. We’ve partnered with two esteemed Kenyan educational leaders, Michael Maingi and Fred Muingi, to strengthen the professional development of teachers and school leaders. Read what they say below about the impact this is having on one of our partner schools, Gospel Victory Academy (GVA).
The Story of Gospel Victory Academy
What happens when teachers have someone to walk alongside them, listen to their challenges, encourage them and help them turn new ideas into everyday practice? At Gospel Victory Academy, a KCEF partner school, we are beginning to see the answer to those questions.
Three years ago, Gospel Victory Academy, founded by Pastor Jenipher in the Mathare slum to serve 40 orphans and vulnerable children, was destroyed by a flood. The entire tin-sheet structure and all the furniture and computers were washed away. Teachers were devastated, because they also experienced the impact of the flood in their own homes. How do you teach under circumstances like that? KCEF helped the school find a new location, replaced the learning materials and computers, and hired us to walk alongside these teachers.
The goal is not simply to conduct training sessions. It is to help build a culture where teachers continue learning, reflecting and improving long after a workshop has ended.
For GVA Head Teacher John W. Maina, the difference is becoming increasingly visible:
“Our teachers are becoming more confident, happier and calmer in their work, and they are putting the best practices they learn into action.”
That change matters.
A confident teacher approaches the classroom differently. A teacher who feels supported is more willing to try new approaches, reflect on what is working and make changes where necessary. And when teachers grow professionally, their students are the ones who ultimately benefit.
Beyond workshops, we engage with teachers and school leaders at a personal level. We build deep trust and teachers open up to us about the personal challenges they face, which often impacts their teaching. We focus on their strengths, the assets they bring into the classroom. We also know it takes a village, so we don’t just teach, but we participate in activities involving parents, helping connect professional development with the wider life of the school.
For Teacher John at GVA, this ongoing partnership is what makes the difference:
“What makes the support special is that Michael and Fred don’t just come to train us and leave. They walk with us. They are interested in our lessons and schemes of work, help us improve our programs, and even engage with us during parental activities.”
The impact is beginning to extend across the school community. While teachers are growing in confidence and professional practice, the school is seeing positive changes in learners’ academic, spiritual and personal development.
Perhaps most importantly, teachers are increasingly seeing themselves not simply as people who deliver lessons, but as professionals who have the power to shape the lives of the children entrusted to them.
This is the deeper impact of KCEF’s investment.
When we invest in a teacher, that investment does not stop with one individual. It reaches every learner that teacher teaches, every family that teacher engages with and, over time, the wider school community.
John captures this beautifully:
“KCEF’s investment in teacher development is not just investing in teachers; it is investing in the future of every child in our school.”
GVA is one example of what becomes possible when schools and local partners work together with a shared commitment to children. KCEF makes the investment. We walk alongside the school. Teachers put the learning into practice. And children experience the difference.
At Gospel Victory Academy, the journey continues. With every teacher who grows in confidence, every lesson that becomes more intentional and every learner who is given a better opportunity to thrive, we are seeing what partnerships can make possible.
When we invest in teachers, we invest in children. And when we invest in children, we invest in the future.
On behalf of all the teachers and leaders we serve, asante sana. Thank you for joining us in this work and may God bless you.
~ Michael Maingi and Fredrick Muingi
Your partnership is needed to continue supporting these life-changing programs. You can do so by donating online through the link below or via check made payable to Kijabe Children’s Educational Fund and mailed to our NEW address:
203 Willow Street Suite 2-C South Hamilton, MA 01982