By Daniel Ogendo
When you meet Charity Kibenei, nothing else crosses your mind except excellence. Her spritely spring and jolly gait exude an unmatched zeal for sport that has stirred every talent in every student she happens to court.
She is the atypical games teacher, a rare gem for any school that wants to excel in games. Passion is the name of the game; spirit is the fighting force. She will stop at nothing but the best; so she will push her students to the very limit of elasticity.
Njoro High School immediately saw her potential as an intern. Raphael Lang’at, the games teacher, found in her a person he could mentor to be his principal assistant. Soon she was taking students for handball tournaments. Her approaches are simple – to train the child to succeed academically while having fun.
She notes that physical education not only touches the psycho-motor but the cognitive and affective domains as well.
Her love for sport started long before now. She grew up in Chemenen, Kuresoi South Constituency, where she attended Ketigoi Preparatory School. She would later be moved to Kimalel Boarding Primary School and joined Tabagon Girls High School, both in Baringo.
She was admitted to do a Bachelor’s degree in Education (History and Christian Religious Education) at the University of Nairobi (UoN).
Throughout her education, she has learnt to separate team from individual sports for excellence, yet the principles remain the same; discipline, practice and consistency. She has always kept her mantra: if they do their best daily, then they are all winners.
When she was posted to Nakuru Girls High School in 2017, she naturally became the games teacher and Head of Department (HoD), games.
On February 3, 2023, she was elected unopposed as the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association Assistant Secretary for Nakuru East Sub-county. Her competitors had stepped down to support her.
Later on, she got to be elevated to full secretary after the holder was promoted to county secretary, becoming the first female to manage the affairs of that office.
“Games is a platform to impact learners outside a classroom. In class, I am perceived to be strict but it ends there. I wear a different hat on the field,” she says, adding that it is where she creates a friendlier environment to interact and bond well.
Outside the classroom, she is just a sports teacher to her students.
She owes her gratitude to those who trusted in her ability, especially teachers at her current station and the entire Nakuru East Sub-county colleagues who have given her an opportunity to serve.
On the crucial role sports play in the lives of students, she illustrates how students destroyed school property when Covid-19 forced the ban on co-curriculum activities. She said pent up pressure finds its way out in indiscipline, which can be averted through sports.
At the same time, games give students an opportunity to be all rounded as they engage their minds to exercise their potential outside a class environment.
“The new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) will give students a chance to explore and develop their talent at an early stage,” she expounds.
Ultimately, she says, her vision is to meet the needs of a diverse student population preparing for success in a global society. She wants them to always strive to achieve excellence in a safe, secure, and nurturing environment.
