Teachers offer beacon of learning in mountains of Narok County

Teacher Viona Koyie’s classroom is lively, despite its humble setup in the mountains of Entasikiria in Narok South, Kenya. The surrounding mountains provide a rich backdrop of Maasai culture and wildlife. 

Teacher Viona Koyie  is a teacher and part of ‘Operation Come to School.’ This education campaign has been bringing primary age out of school children back into the classroom since 2015. 

The programme, ran by UNICEF, the Government of Kenya and partners, held enrollment drives in the community, where children had dropped out due to cultural or economic pressures. 

The walls of Entasikiria Primary School are adorned with Viona’s  colorful and engaging educational posters she created herself. Her class size reaches 50 learners, but she knows each student by name and understands their unique needs and challenges.

Teacher Viona is committed to ensuring every learner in this community stays in school and works hard towards a more promising future.

She embodies resilience and passion and uses innovative teaching methods to engage her students through stories, songs, riddles and hands-on activities. 

"I encourage the learners to dream big and work hard like me to achieve their goals," she said, reflecting on her own journey from a pastoralist community where few girls could attend school. Teacher Viona acknowledges her parents' pivotal role in defying cultural norms and supporting her education, from primary through to Teachers Training College. 

Despite numerous challenges, including limited resources and long hours, Ms Viona's passion for teaching and commitment to her students never waiver.

The power of education has been transformative, because even in a patriarchal society, she now plays a central role in supporting her parents back home.

"I am grateful my parents went against the norm and sent me to school. Today, they are pleased when I send back money to support their everyday expenses," said Viona, who is also married to a teacher. 

Operation Come-to-School  enrolled more than half a million out of school children in two phases. The first phase of the programme, 2015 to 2019, regitered 349,460 pupils (164,246 girls and185,214 boys) while the second phase registered 246,168 pupils (117,890 girls and 138,278 boys through community enrollment drives in primary school across 16 counties with the lowest enrolment rates, including representative numbers of boys, girls, and children with disabilities. 

The programme was delivered by UNICEF in partnership with the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, Hapag Lloyd, the Government of Kenya and local implementing partners.

The partnership included enrolment drives as well as school desks, bags, and stationery, helping to accommodate extra students, as well as support for retention and follow up on pupils’ attendance. 

He describes how the partnership has enrolled over a quarter of a million children in schools in the past three years alone.  

"Narok County continually needs collaborative support to bring back girls who are at home performing domestic chores or have been married off, as well as boys who are herding livestock instead of attending school," said Mr. Apuko.