By Lydia Ngoolo
Mumbeeni primary school head teacher Peter Kathuvu has introduced porridge in school, a move that seeks to ensure the 118 learners at the institution stay in school.
Kathuvu noted that due to the hunger being experienced in most parts of the country, many pupils are unable to attend classes and that since he introduced the porridge initiative, the pupils rarely miss classes.
‘I started this initiative because I could not watch as pupils continued suffering. I fund the initiative from my own pockets,’ he said.
He added that the porridge is served to the pupils whether or not there is sugar.
He revealed that lack of feeding programmes in schools has had a negative impact on the education of children in the area and gave an example of his school which previously had 129 pupils but now has 118 pupils.
The head teacher came up with better plans to keep the children in school and to prevent them from being influenced by workers from the Thwake dam project, which is next to the school.
‘Parents feel safe when their children are in school than when they are at home,’ Kathuvu said.
He pointed out that the area administration has warned parents against sending their girls to the river or markets alone especially in areas where mega projects are ongoing.
The school has been affected by the blasting of stones from Thwake dam.
Kathuvu revealed that there were no alerts issued and many pupils have been affected psychologically.
‘As a result of the blasting, five classes were destroyed. The walls have been repaired but at times, they still shake,’ he pointed out.
The school got a compensation of Shs 2.6 from the Chinese company in the Thwake dam project. The money was used for the renovation of a kitchen, two classrooms and six latrines.
The head teacher feels that the school didn’t benefit accordingly from the huge amount of money and that very little was done with the money.
Kathuvu promised to improve the situation at the school.
‘I am here to stay. Many head teachers have been posted in this area but do not last for more than two years due to the poor situation in the school and the poverty in the area. I will work to ensure the situation completely changes,’ he promised.
He added that they had improved in mean score from 272 in KCPE 2019 to 280 in KCPE 2020 and that they are aiming higher despite the challenges they have.
Makueni County Director of Education James Gachugi lauded the teacher for his porridge initiative and for his excellent relationship with the teachers at the school.
“Mr. Kathuku is trying. He also has a good relationship with his fellow teachers,” Gachugi said.
Gachugi promised to reach out to the multiagency committee to solve the issue of compensation so that the school can solve some of the challenges it has.
