MAF flies a curriculum, its design and two teachers into isolated northern Kenya, bringing an innovative approach that suits the needs pastoralist families.
Story by Hillim Gitonga
For Ruth Wuerzle and Corinna Boecker, that road was never really the plan. The journey from Nairobi to Illeret would have taken 18 hours. MAF flew them instead as they carried six bags of teaching materials bound for 20 mobile schoolteachers.
Thanks to MAF, we were able to travel for two hours instead of 18
This was Ruth’s 20th trip with MAF to Illeret since 2014. Raised in Wajir as a child to AIC (Africa Inland Church) missionaries, she grew up close to the schooling struggles of pastoralists long before she became a teacher.
Together with teachers Edwin Changamu and his wife, Everline Momanyi, Ruth builds six ladders of learning covering the Kenyan primary syllabus. The syllabus includes subjects like introduction to preschool, mathematics, life skills and the English, Kiswahili and Daasanach languages.
The ‘ladders’ are an innovative system that allow children in the Illeret Nomadic Education System to learn at their own pace in mixed-ability groups. Young learners can interrupt schooling, switch between different mobile schools and resume on the ladder of learning where they left off.
For two weeks, Ruth and Corinna ran a model school for the teachers. The mathematics ladder hung on the right of the training space, six material bags on the left, one for every subject a child in Illeret’s mobile schools would eventually learn. Children find the right learning material in those bags, depending on the progress on the ladder.
Corinna, also a teacher by profession, guides the group of teachers through demonstrations and teaching each other.
By the end of the training, 20 teachers headed back to their mobile schools carrying the mathematics material bags.
The teachers were very motivated and joyful to finally learn how to teach basic mathematics in their mobile schools
“Our field supervisors are planning to visit all schools in these upcoming weeks to assess how they are doing, where they need further encouragement and feedback on their teaching.”
The prayer among those who built the ladders is simple - that the learners in the mobile schools learn to read especially the Bible as well as write what they hear from stories and songs.
We hope that the skills being taught will help improve their livelihood as part of the pastoralist families