In a tent on a dusty ground surrounded by Samburu manyattas, a sizeable group of young pastoralist children is sitting while reciting some English words in unison.
Their teacher, Ms Terry Kosgei, guides the children to pronounce the words correctly.
Suddenly, it is break time and young earners run towards the edge of the tent for porridge. Ms Kosgei does not intervene. The children, majority aged 10 and below, queue in an orderly manner while serving themselves.
“We do not serve them. We have trained them properly to serve themselves without chaos. They have already mastered it,” says Ms Kosgei.
Extreme climatic conditions
Samburu is one of the poorest counties in Kenya, a semi-arid-to arid area with little access to sanitation or electricity. It has weak infrastructure, high illiteracy rates and high fertility. Residents also experience extreme climatic conditions — from extreme drought to massive flooding. Perennial inter-community conflicts often lead to internal displacements.
The learners in this tent are children of Samburu nomadic groups who roam the hot and thorny land looking for pasture for their cattle. For most children in Samburu, education is unheard of, something they can only dream of.
Due to their way of life, providing education for the pastoralists remains a difficult and emotive issue. This is because children have traditionally been involved in the community’s activities from an early age. For their families, education is not a priority.
And in an effort to ensure the pastoralist children get formal education, the Namnyak Conservancy in Samburu East established nomadic schools for the community.
A girl learning in a mobile classroom in Samburu. For most children in Samburu, education is unheard of, something they can only dream of.
Mobile classes programme
This initiative was started in 2018 with a community engagement programme that sought to pilot transferable Montessori schools in the region. The community conservancy, through the Sarara Foundation, started mobile classes with tented classrooms to suit the nomadic pastoralists’ way of life.
Sarara Foundation Executive Director Titus Letaapo says the aim of the initiative is to create a long-term sustainable model for educating children in the Samburu community, with the goal of preserving the cultural and natural heritage of the people. According to Mr Letaapo, majority of Samburu pastoralist children often fail to enrol for studies owing to nomadism.
“We started mobile classes to suit the Samburu pastoralist lifestyle. They are on constant movement and the Montessori type of education suits them. We often move with them to ensure more pastoralist children join school,” Letaapo says.
He adds that the programme will ensure that the children receive quality Montessori education that supports individual development in the context of the Samburu community. The project is founded on the principle of “help me to do it by myself”.
Montessori education system
“The government has so far adopted about 80 per cent of the Montessori education system. Here, learners are equipped with abilities to carry out duties themselves. Change will not be imposed but the inspiration for change, guidance for change and tools for change will be provided by participants. Learners have already mastered these,” says Mr Letaapo.
The children start their lessons at 8.30am, learn up to noon, then go off to look after their animals or to get water for use at home.
Mr Letaapo says that most teachers are members of the community who sometimes travel with the pastoralist learners.
Six teachers — two senior tutors from Corner of Hope and four Samburu teachers — are based at the Namunyak Conservancy, with tented classrooms in the Ntaparani and Tintil settlement areas. They work with the children and parents in moveable Montessori environments.
All materials and the tents can be transported when the community decides to move to another settlement (manyatta) or can be kept in storage at the end of the term.
Food programme
Mr Letaapo says that a food programme allows children to have a healthy meal and more time in school.
“Every child here gets breakfast during break times. This brings more children to school besides keeping them healthy,” he says.
Mr Moses Lekuuk, 58, is convinced that mobile classes will be of great help to his four children who joined the school this year. According to him, mobile and tented classrooms are a game changer for pastoralist children.
“It is a good initiative. It suits our lifestyle and more children are joining school to access education,” Lekuuk says.
He is enthusiastic about the possibility of a better future for his four children.
“They are really juggling very well. They spend time in class and after that they return home ready to look after the animals the rest of the time. I can say it is successful and we do not want our children to be left behind,” he adds.
He says the model shows that it is possible to improve the lives of children and families while preserving their indigenous culture.
Cultural norms
The children are also taught the cultural norms that must be observed at all stages of growth.
In Samburu, majority of children drop out of school due to their nomadic lifestyle. The inability to complete basic education confines them to the vicious cycle of poverty that stalks most households in the community. BY DAILY NATION