It’s been over 40°C (that’s 107°F) every day this week. Climate change has hit Nyamboyo Village with a vengeance.
Everyone is soldiering through the school day but by the end, we’re exhausted and achy. So, we reached out to our beloved nutritionist, Courtney Hamilton, for advice on how to combat the side effects of heat.
Here are highlights of her response:
When we sweat, we lose more than fluids. We lose electrolytes which are the essential minerals that help our bodies function. Electrolytes include sodium, magnesium, potassium, chloride, and calcium. If we were in the US, we’d drink Gatorade. But what are the sources we can access easily in Nyamboyo Village?
The answer is surprisingly simple and sitting here on our plates!
Citrus and banana peels are full of electrolytes. We can easily serve bananas every day at NTS. All we need to do is add them to our water and let them sit for a bit. Presto – instant flavor and hydration innovation! (And as with any recipe, a pinch of salt can’t hurt and will add essential sodium.)
Next week, we’ll talk about the essential foods we eat that also help us keep our electrolytes in balance particularly through the heat.
I was a junior at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley, CA when COVID-19 hit. After classes moved online, I missed talking to my friends in person, and I was really bored. I was also curious about what life during the pandemic was like in different parts of the world. As a member of the National Honor Society, I still needed to do volunteer work. So, I came up with a way to help young people like myself feel less isolated by starting a pen pal program with students at a rural school in Kenya.
The school is Nyamboyo Technical School, which enrolls about 60 students, ages 14-20, most of whom struggle with poverty, hunger, and access to clean water and health care. Students can choose from four professions for their studies: dressmaking and tailoring, electrical wiring, hairdressing, and masonry and carpentry. Purely by coincidence, another NHS student—Noah Jung at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, VA—edited a professional-quality video on the school’s web page that gives a good introduction to its mission.
When I became NHS president my senior year, we expanded the program to reach more students at Nyamboyo. I thought a pen pal program would be a fun and engaging way for the students in Kenya to learn English instead of staring at a textbook. For American students, the program is an antidote to ignorance because we learn from our peers in Kenya about their country and how people live there.
I love learning about my pen pal, Edwin. He’s studying masonry and carpentry now, and it’s really interesting to hear about his life because it’s so different from mine. Even though I’m in my first year of college now, I still stay in touch with him. In fact, I just sent him a letter today.
Because of differences in technology, it’s not easy for us to send messages back and forth. The only decent technology students have is in their schools. On the American side, we send emails that get set up on Google Docs, which are then sent to the principal in Kenya to print out for the students. On the Kenyan side, students write letters, which get scanned and sent to us.
One thing this program has done is teach me a lot about global health, especially issues young women face. When girls there menstruate, they don’t have access to feminine hygiene products so they use dirty rags, and they’re unable to attend school. I thought, if menstruation is getting in the way of these girls receiving an education, maybe we can come up with an affordable sanitary pad that can make it easier for them to attend school.
I met a woman in California last year who takes extra fabrics from her clothing design studio and makes pants and sends them to Kenya. And I thought, why can’t we do that with pads for girls? We could raise money for the supplies, which would be proper fabric that would last a long time and could be washed properly. The pads would be made by volunteers here and then sent to the women in Kenya so when it’s that time of the month, there is no reason to miss school. I hope we can get this program started soon.
The pen pal program has made a huge impact on my life, and it has changed my career plans. Before, I had a narrow mindset about what a career in medicine could offer. My goal is still to attend medical school, but I don’t want to practice in an American hospital. I want to see and help people in other parts of the world.
Life in rural Kenya has never been easy but Covid has magnified the difficulties. Like the rest of the world, businesses, schools and churches were closed or restricted for months. Quarantine shuttered Nyamboyo Village’s vibrant social life in 2020. Now as we near the end of 2021, medical resources are scarce but vaccines have finally arrived! As of January 1, 2022, all NTS staff, students, and volunteers will be vaccinated.
For NTS, social distancing regulations require that we acquire multiples of many school items. It means more desks, chairs, tools, handwashing stations, thousands of paper towels – and so much more.
But the crisis has also led to moments of extraordinary action, where the community has banded together to support NTS.
Most strikingly, it all began when a local farmer mentioned to his church that he had two gum trees (eucalyptus) he didn’t want. The wood from gum trees is a rough timber, not good for fine furniture but ideal for school desks and chairs. The pastor of this church knew that NTS needed more furniture if it was going to open during Covid and meet the government regulations for social distancing.
So, the pastor told Jones Obiria, founder of NTS. Jones negotiated a deal with the farmer. If Jones could find a carpenter to cut and remove the two trees, he could have them for the school.
Jones quickly located a carpenter. But he didn’t have funds to pay him so they struck a deal: If the carpenter cut down the trees, he could keep the branches to sell as firewood.
But the wood from the trunk needed to be split and removed. So there was another deal: To cover the carpenter’s work hours, equipment and travel, he could keep 25% of the trunk for his own use. NTS would keep 75%.
So, the carpenter cut the wood, transported it all to his workshop and let it dry for two weeks.
But how do you turn split, dried wood into furniture? Here’s the final deal: Using the NTS wood, the carpenter made 7 tables and 14 chairs. He kept 2 chairs and 1 table to cover the cost of paint and nails. His time was donated.
So thanks to a farmer, a church, and a carpenter, NTS now has 14 new handmade chairs and 6 tables. With this furniture, our classrooms meet the national Covid regulations for social distancing. Once Covid is over, we can increase our enrollment without needing new furniture.
On January 28, 2021, Vice World published a detailed article on the rise of FGC in Kenya during the COVID pandemic. Below is a recap of key statistical points, followed by a link to the full article. It features stories of young women who recount their experiences with FGC and older women who have built careers as circumcisers, often following their mothers and grandmothers into the profession. The article highlights the increased importance of NTS’ protection and empowerment of our female students during the pandemic.
Key statistics:
FGM was banned in Africa under the Children’s Act in 2001, which led the practice underground, making it harder for the government to halt the practice.
Since the first recorded cases of Coronavirus in March 2020, the Kenyan government has registered close to 100,000 FGC cases and more than 1,600 deaths.
According to UNICEF, there has been a 121% increase in FGC cases between January and November 2020 from the same period in 2019.
The number of girls rescued from FGC, dropped from 1,073 in 2019 to 994 in 2020.
The rising number of cases is attributed to girls and young women being home rather than in school. Traditionally, schools have been the safe haven for girls and cutting happens on longer holidays such as over Christmas and New Years. These holidays give girls time to heal without teacher scrutiny.
During COVID, because young women have been home with nowhere to go, parents have been opting for circumcision as preparation for marriage.
There has also been a significant increase in domestic violence, teen pregnancy rates and early child marriages.
Child protection programs, particularly those in regions with high FGC rates, have suffered due to pandemic-related restrictions. Government resources have been redirected to COVID education and protection.
The total cost of treating all the medical needs of females undergoing FGC is estimated to be $1.4 billion globally annually.
At NTS, we know from student reporting that our female students have experienced increased trauma during the extended school shutdown. This trauma includes physical and sexual abuse as well as FGC. We are committed to providing support to these students as well as moving our community toward a culture in which FGC becomes a relic of the past.
In an effort to reduce the stigma and judgment associated with female circumcision and mutilation, activists worldwide, including in Kenya, are now calling the practice Female Genital Cutting or FGC. At Nyamboyo Technical School, we agree with this terminology change. When women feel they have been cut rather than “mutilated” they are more likely to talk.
Today, we are encouraging our female students to open up about their experiences. We want to understand the degree to which FGC affects them, helping those who have health issues as a result, and educating the general population. All without judgment and with compassion.
The times are changing worldwide in ways we could never have predicted. Today, at Nyamboyo Technical School, we are engaged in a major shift in our thinking and programming as it relates to the welfare and empowerment of girls and women. In Kenya, this means shifting attitudes and beliefs around female sexual and reproductive health, sometimes in significant ways.
It has been brought to our attention that up to 65% of our female students may be survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) an ancient practice thought to originate in Egypt in the fifth-century BCE. Our ultimate dream is to see an end to FGM in Kenya. We recognize this will take time – perhaps generations – but we must start today, crafting solutions in our own community. However, to fully understand the how and why, we must first frame the problem.
The practice known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or complete removal of the external part of female genitalia. FGM is prevalent in many parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that there are 200 million women and girls alive today who have undergone the procedure. In Kenya, it is viewed as a rite of passage into womanhood, directly tied to the concept of purity. A woman must be “pure” to be fit for marriage. Often, young women see marriage as the only option for survival.
FGM was outlawed in Kenya in 2011 but making it illegal drove the practice underground, with serious health consequences. It is commonly done by elderly women who have no medical background. These “practitioners” are paid per child and often use straight razor blades that aren’t properly sterilized. Some report that they can cut up to 100 girls a day. The result is both short and long-term health consequences such as severe pain, excessive bleeding, infection, urinary problems, pain during intercourse, psychological problems, and in extreme cases FGM can even lead to death. There can be lifelong health problems such as permanent pain when urinating and menstruating, scarring, increased susceptibility to infections including HIV, and infertility.
FGM has commonly been performed around age 12 or older. However, we know anecdotally that there’s been a shift since 2011. Teens learned that the practice was illegal and many started to “exercise their rights” not to be cut. To circumvent this, families started performing the practice on young girls; children too young to understand the concept of legal rights. So today, it is not uncommon to see girls ages 5-9 recovering from FGM.
Also, FGM has been wrongly linked to religious practices, in particular Islam. Nowhere in the Koran or other religious texts is FGM mentioned, and the majority of the Islamic world does not condone the practice. Instead, it is a cultural practice linked to local, regional beliefs. The African continent has the largest percentage of communities that practice FGM.
So, how can Nyamboyo Technical School combat this practice? We propose to start with education and individual support programs. It may be too late to prevent this practice for many of our students who are all over the age of 14, but we know all of our students (male and female) are potential future parents to young girls; young girls they can protect from this future trauma.
To educate, first we must open up discussion and remove any taboos and cultural norms around talking openly about FGM, both among our young women and young men. We need a proper sex education program that openly discusses the health risks of FGM and gives accurate health information. We need individual counseling and specific support for any of our female students who are victims of FGM. Also, because this practice is linked to marriage, we want to connect the idea that a trained, economically independent woman does not need to see marriage as her only option.
Our goal at NTS is to train a new generation of youth who do not have to accept gender-based inequalities. Our young women are economically independent and empowered. Their male peers are learning to respect as well as expect gender equality in their families and in their workplaces. Eradicating FGM is only the tip of the iceberg towards creating a generation of strong empowered women. But it is a bold first step.
Africa is no stranger to pandemics. Tragedy and necessity have taught us to take action quickly and forcefully. Today, in Kenya, it is illegal to leave the house without wearing a mask. At the same time, to say masks are in “short supply” is such an understatement, it’s almost funny.
What is abundant in Kenya, however, is ingenuity.
So, let’s talk ingenuity. A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the mask situation. Suddenly, I realized NTS has a tailoring program! Masks … sewing… why not create a mask-making business for our tailoring students???
Not only are our students are stuck at home with nothing but time on their hands, but their families are struggling. Most of their parents, if they still have jobs, are low-skilled day laborers, working in markets and factories, earning barely enough for daily survival. So, giving our students a way to earn money at home by making masks provides them with extra income to support their family, an opportunity to practice their skills while schools remain closed, and keeps them safe at home.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been working with my team to launch the NTS Mask Making Initiative. It’s been a highly creative exercise in strategy and public health as we’ve worked through everything from finding a pattern that can be easily hand stitched (no one has a sewing machine at home), to organizing safe delivery to each student, and preventing virus spread both when fabric is delivered and masks are returned.
Here’s a condensed overview of what we’ve accomplished:
A generous donor gave us a bolt of 100% cotton fabric, needles, and thread. It was enough to make 200 masks.
Our tailoring teacher, Mr. Silas Matagaro found a pattern (courtesy of the NY Times) that can be sewn by hand. He refined the pattern and then cut the fabric for 200 masks.
The fabric and supplies were then distributed to 10 tailoring students with pattern instructions. Our Community Leader, Mr. Tangaso, dropped off the supplies to each household on a motorcycle I lent him, maintaining safe social distancing protocol at each home.
The students let everything sit for 3 days, to ensure all supplies were virus free.
They each hand sewed 20 masks keeping 2 for themselves. The others were returned to the school, again using Mr. Tangaso as our emissary.
We have distributed 2 masks to every NTS family with instructions on safe usage and cleaning.
We have not made any money yet, but with Covid-19 looming in our long-term future, the next step is to scale up into a real business. We are exploring the possibility of becoming a government supplier. The Kenyan government has begun contracting with small businesses and we are exploring how to join the roster. I’ll keep you posted.
We welcome your ideas! Comment below or drop us a line at info@nyamboyotechnical.org
p.s. We have another innovation in the pipeline. To be unveiled soon… Watch this space!
Most of our families are day laborers, only earning enough daily to feed their families. This means a daily trip to the market to buy food. So, as families remain at home, we anticipate food shortages. What can we do?
Rice and beans are a Kenyan nutritional staple. When eaten together, they make a complete protein with all nine of the essential amino acids found in meat. They also provide carbohydrates and other nutrients to keep a body healthy.
We have purchased 300 kilos each of rice and beans. I am working alone (social distancing) to create 2 kilo bags of each (4 kilos per family in total) to give to our students and their families as food becomes scarce. We anticipate our first distribution within the next 10 days.
Kenya, like the rest of the world, is battling the invisible coronavirus with physical and social distancing. School is cancelled indefinitely and we are frightened. Rumor has it that there are only 150 ventilators in the entire country.
But I refuse to sit at home and tremble. This is a time for creativity – solutions that will help our students stay safe and healthy.
In the coming weeks, I will chronicle our work and how we, as a school community, are tackling concrete problems with positive solutions.
As School Director, I often counsel students and their families on the benefits of a vocational education. Frequently there is doubt – does the student have talent and the potential for a successful career. Virtually every day, I will tell one of my students, “I see the hidden potential in you.” I know that given the right tools, they will surprise themselves.
This can be exhausting work. So now, it’s Friday, Feb 14th, Valentine’s day, and I’m looking forward to a week-long school vacation. School ended an hour ago, and I’m alone in my office. I sit back, put my feet up on my desk, and as I’m sighing with satisfaction, the phone rings.
“How would you like to join a 5-day, government-sponsored training?” the caller, a government official, asks. His tone is formal … this is a command, not a request. He continues, explaining the government believes this training will be a “game changer” in how technical school training programs are delivered across Kenya.
I’m stunned. I’ve been asked to join a government-sponsored program when NTS is not a government school. I have no idea how they found us. Somehow, we’ve been noticed.
I’ve dreamed of being recognized by the Kenyan government. It means technical support, subsidies, and connections to new colleagues. This could be a “game changer” for NTS, too!
So, Monday, Feb. 17, I travel 15 kilometers and arrive at the training site where all 150 students/educators are assembled. I learn the training has been organized by Kenya’s top education departments, the Curriculum Development, Assessment and Certification Council (CDACC) in collaboration with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVET). This opportunity is much larger than I imagined.
For the next five days, I did indeed learn a new, game-changing approach, called Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET). It’s a methodology that looks deeply at how each student learns, both in the classroom and through hands-on experience. We explored the interrelationship of knowledge (book/classroom learning), hands-on skills (shop and on-site learning), and attitude (professional behavior). This mixing of approaches allows for deep learning.
Next, we explored how to build our own programs integrating CBET. We studied curriculum development, student assessment tools, and educational planning. Perhaps most interesting was the strategic aspect. Each profession in Kenya has national operational standards. So, how do we integrate these standards into our curriculum ensuring our students graduate with a full array of professional competencies?
On our last day, we, the educators, became students. First, we sat for a basic exam (more of a pop quiz to prove we’d paid attention). Then, we were given an assignment: 2.5 hours to develop a one-year vocational curriculum in an area of our expertise, based on everything we had learned. After a moment of mixed panic and terror, I started on a curriculum for teaching Microsoft Word and its intricacies to students.
Two hours later I turned in my assignment, honestly unsure of my success. While I am a sometimes teacher – after all, when I started NTS I was part of the teaching staff – I am more of an educational entrepreneur. On my own, I have acquired a building from our community, recruited volunteer teachers, eased the fears of countless families, mentored countless students and now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, am working with the students to start a mask making business. But, I had never designed a full curriculum, and certainly not in 2 hours.
Late that day, our exam results were announced. I finally understand the expression, “you could knock me over with a feather.” My curriculum was graded as #1 of all 150 educators – held up as an example of expert academic planning. I was stunned … by the accolades and by my accomplishment. I’m always on the look-out for hidden potential in my students. That day I discovered it in myself.
Since then I have fielded many requests from educators at the conference to help with curriculum planning. While I must turn them down to focus on NTS, I am humbled by their faith in my skills.
Every day I check the mail, expecting my official certificate of achievement. It will be framed above my desk and serve as a reminder to everyone at NTS that within each of us resides hidden potential poised for that moment of release into the light of day.
Here I am, consulting with a colleague during a training session.
