I’ll start by saying this; educating children living in the slums in schools in the slums is not an easy task. I am saying this out of my own and others experience. Statistics show, education wise, most students coming from Kibera who perform well academically study in schools are not Kibera. And also that most children staying in slums; and in poverty do not stay with their real parents. This greatly affect their academic performance in school since we all know that most guardians, if not all mistreat the children and sometimes they make them the bread winner in the family. They, most of the times have to concentrate more on how to cater for the family, and neglect unknowingly their school work as this is the only way they can be sure of having a roof over their heads and something for their stomach. As much as I would love to say that all these are fictitious, believe it or not it’s all true and very painful to see a 12 year old child out in the cold 3a.m in the morning selling their bodies and goods of which they are expected to report to school the that morning. All these happen right under our noses.
| Dalifa Yusuf - KGSA graduate & current student at Maseno University |
Apart
from being the bread winner of the family, most children are usually subjected
to domestic violence which of course deters their academic focus. Usually, they
are physically, sexually or emotionally involved in the violence. They are
abused brutally and when they attend school, they lose their utmost focus
remembering what happening and meditating upon what might happen when they go
back “home” after school. The domestic violence also traumatizes some children
and cause mental problems, which forces them to be admitted in an asylum where
they spend most of their school time getting proper treatment. Children are
raped, defiled and used as drug trafficker. They are used as the bait in many
dirty works. In this era, children are also used to commit crimes. The only
hope that these children have is the constitution and a handful of people who
are human enough to fight for their rights and listen to their woes. I could
have considered our government to be helpful but it is the host of these
criminals. They allow these people back to the society and in turn they
continue causing harm to the children.
Most
successful people say that “you should use your suffering, obstacles and
anything that can make you go astray from your path of success as a reason for
your rise and not your downfall.” I beg to differ with that because, if only
they were to fit in the shoes of these poor souls, then they would have the
taste of the pain and agony the children have to go through in their lives. So,
that statement is not realistic. In this life you never compare yourself to
another person since you can never tell what the individual had to do or go
through in order to reach where he/she is at the moment. For instance, the case
of children living in the slums and in poverty, they take a very different
course in reaching their goals. Practically, these children live their
adulthood at their childhood stage. How would they even enjoy their childhood
when they have a lot to worry about? How would a child even give a hundred
percent of his/her energy when eighty percent of the same energy is used
outside the school? You tell me because I don’t have the answer.
Well
it’s not proper to only speak of negative issues on a subject. So I will also
touch on the light of education in the slums. Like I had said earlier, there is
a handful of people who are striving to make life possible for the children.
They have formed NGO’s that support education, fight for their rights, and also
offer free guiding and counseling session to the children in the slums. Schools
have been constructed and seminars have been held to restore the dignity and
will to live of most children who have had traumatic experiences in their life
in the slum. All the deeds mentioned are good; are of best intention and are
greatly appreciated by the children. Unfortunately all this is done in vain if
the actual problem has not been curbed. Just as charity begins at home, so does
the biggest problem starts with the children’s life at home. One thing that
should be clear in our minds is that anyone below the age of 18 years is a
child and should be given our utmost care and understanding regardless of the
background they come from and a child in any society is everybody’s. And we
always keep this in mind then God will bless us all.
Written by Dalifa Yusuf, KGSA Graduate '12 & Current Student at Maseno University
