KENYA
ICHANGE NATIONS AWARD FOR BROTHER ANDREA SIFUNA On February 26, 2022, Brother Andrea Sifuna was honoured by the IChange Nations Award at Kamel Park Hotel, in Kisii town, Kenya. The award was given in recognition of his contribution in the field of education, especially in empowering marginalized youth in the education sector through the CP schools. He received the IChange Nations Regional Statesman Award. IChange Nations is an USA-based NGO that identifies and honours people who have excelled in empowering others.
The transforming power of education Brother Andrea Sifuna was nominated for the award by two of his former students - one working and living in the USA. Brother Sifuna is a long serving teacher having taught in many secondary schools in different parts of the country. He is a passionate believer in the transforming power of education for the marginalized young people. He is currently enrolled at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in the Department of Educational Psychology, where he is concluding his doctoral dissertation on the ‘Influence of Sexual Attitudes, Gender Norms and Sexual Values on the Education Participation of Secondary School Girls in Homa Bay County’.
Coaching Programme In the educational sphere, apart from his own direct services as a government teacher spanning over two decades, Brother Sifuna has been instrumental in starting the Coaching Programme at Mosocho, popularly known as CP. CP was simply an affordable secondary school that cut off many appendixes that contributed to anchoring secondary education beyond the reach of the poor. Such appendixes
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included mandatory school uniforms, rigidly defined school shoes, socks, mandatory school trips, extra levies for remedial teaching, etc. The Coaching Programme focused on what was core and necessary for certification at KCSE level. To make ends meet, the spirit promoted amongst the staff the spirit of ‘giving back’ to the community by volunteering needed services. This attracted many newly trained teachers not yet absorbed by the government to volunteer teaching services in return for some token payments.
The harvest The idea was quickly noted and replicated by people both within CMM and outside. Soon afterwards, many schools emerged in various places modelled on the St. Patrick’s idea of 1995. It must be kept in mind that at the time these schools were emerging, secondary education in Kenya was not yet free as it is the case now. These affordable day secondary schools were critical in meeting the thirst for secondary education of so many young people in Kenya. Today, thousands of graduates from these schools can be found almost in every sector of employment both within Kenya and abroad.
