Teaching English in Nairobi

My experience teaching and living in Nairobi was rewarding and unforgettable. I taught 6th and 8th grade “learners” at St. Paul’s public school and collaborated closely with a wonderful teacher. The head teacher, all the faculty, and the beautiful children welcomed me with open arms.
Most of the “learners” are impoverished. I was taken back by the lack of books (one book for each three and sometimes four students) and classroom size (60) and was not prepared for the amount of material which must be printed on the blackboards or on poster boards. Despite these difficulties, the students were very disciplined, polite, and curious about my presence.
There is a lack of government support which is reflected not only in the paucity of books but also in the number of learners (60) in classrooms and lack of individual desks that required many learners to sit together on benches with very narrow desktops. Student sitting at the back of the room had difficulty seeing the blackboard, and I had difficulty hearing them at times in their accented English. The line up for daily porridge for students who did not bring lunch was very large, and even larger when it was announced that learners whose parents did not contribute to the porridge fund (that pays for porridge and the cook) could receive porridge due to a surplus. The teachers told me that the porridge may be the only meal in the day for some of the students.
Due to flooding, there were only three toilet facilities – one for girls, one foy boys, and one for faculty and staff. The toilets were outhouses which required standing up. Everyone had to bring their own toilet paper, including the learners but some could not afford it. There were not enough places for handwashing.
The largely female teachers were very enthusiastic and dedicated, and teaching was only part of their responsibility and deep commitment. The teachers routinely keep track of the tough economic and social circumstances under which most learners live and learn. I saw numerous acts of kindness demonstrated by individual teachers. I watched as my mentor teacher brought in a bag of shoes from her son to give to the “head learner” whom she noticed was having difficulty walking because his shoes had fallen apart.
There was a day of celebration when local elected officials came to deliver sanitary napkin supplies for the first time to the school to end the plague of “menstrual shame” and stop girls from missing school during their periods. St. Paul’s was chosen as a pilot project and each girl having her period would receive two napkins – one for school and one to take home. On another occasion when my mentor teacher pointed out that one boy could not see the text in the shared book, because his mother could not afford to buy him eye glasses, I had a pair of non-prescription reading glasses with me and gave them to him. A whole new world opened up.
I was surprised to learn the language of instruction for all subjects is English, although Swahili is spoken more to the younger children. One suggestion I have is for those who teach English in the volunteer program to receive more specific information about area and school where the will teach, the grade levels, and more precise recommendations on teaching English.
My room and meals in a family home were excellent. As a senior citizen, it was important that I had a single room with shower. But even better was the relationship I developed with the family who were wonderful, understanding, and accommodating. The host father, who is both a minister and a dean of students at Daystar University, was very generous and is planning two projects to assist impoverished youth in Nairobi and in his native village. He also arranged for me to give a lecture to students at Daystar. I wrote a white paper for him outlining some ideas about raising funds and setting up a non-profit corporation in the US. I pledged to donate funds to one of the projects of my host family after an organization is formed. I also plan to send some funds to St. Paul’s to purchase supplies.
As a final comment, I was struck by the role of Christianity plays in the daily life of Kenyans and even in the public schools where there is also a required course on “Christian Living” that I found fascinating. As I non-religious person and American where there is a legal separation between church and state (although changes are underway on this principle), I was not offended at all having observed what is taught which is more about discussing the importance of proper behavior rather and less about religion.