All around the world , people’s lives changed almost overnight due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Businesses, industries and homes saw a drastic change in how their state of affairs was conducted and one of the oldest professions – teaching – was not spared.
Mrs Mary Wambui Kamwea, a mathemats teacher at Kibutha girls in Murang’a county has been teaching for the past 28 years and has learnt to not only adapt to this new way of life, but has also had to do the same for her students.
“When we got the news and schools were closed, I didn’t think that it would be a situation that would last this long, but we had to think fast on how to make sure the students didn’t lag behind. In the course of that time, we decided to start teaching online as quickly as possible.
We started off by sending them questions on WhatsApp. Teachers formed groups per class and would send the students questions which they would in turn send back the answers then they would be evaluated and feedback given back. At first it was a bit smooth sailing considering the circumstances but some challenges arose.
Some students had to borrow devices from their parents, data was becoming expensive and some students lived in areas with low connectivity. Also, being in a fast-paced internet savvy world, we as a school realized that we didn’t have enough computers for the students and it would be a challenge especially since they had a lot to catch up on when they came back – and that’s where Safaricom Foundation came in.”
#NdotoZetuUwezoWetu
Safaricom Foundation’s Ndoto Zetu initiative recently supported the school with desktops worth KES 300,000 and about 800 students from the school are benefitting from this project.
“I came to apply for this year’s initiative through an alumni of the school who currently works with Safaricom Foundation; our I T teacher also reminded me of the same.
The computers came at a time when the school is really doing it’s best to build on its STEM program and also change the school of thought with the older teachers who also realized the importance of keeping up with how everything is going digital. It was also empowering to the girls when they see that companies like Safaricom Foundation are invested in seeing them excel in their srudies.
