When Kerugoya Victory Preparatory School opened its doors in 2007, it was a day-care facility run by one of the villagers Milka Mwangi, whom parents trusted to take care of their toddlers as they attended to their more urgent matters like businesses.
The children crammed into one makeshift structure that passed for a classroom, where they spent most of their time between play and sleep.
It was not an easy task for Mwangi, but she sooner developed a strong bond with the children and decided to take an education course that would make her more conversant with the nitty-gritty of nurture.
“I started a day-care where parents would leave me with their babies. Some would be as small as months, but with the love for children to ensure they were taken care of until their mothers came back, I found myself being their foster mother,” she said.
She remembers that at times she would be forced to carry the kids to her home if the parents were late fetching them, creating a an even stronger bond.
After several years as a day-care parent, I requested the management to expand it so as to enroll kids in other classes.
“We wanted to produce wholesome learners not just in books but also who can face the world boldly,” said Mwangi.
That resolve is the seed that has produced fruit manifold. Today, the school that started with 5 learners has 250 pupils in various classes.
The director Githinji Mwangi, a former journalist, started by visiting international schools in various parts of the country for benchmarking to get to understand how private schools are run.
“I am happy that Kerugoya Victory is where it is today due to the skills impacted on me by administrators of international schools that I visited,” said Mwangi.
Just like the motto Strive to Excel, parents who have learners in the school cannot hide their joy in trusting the management of their children.
With the advent of CBC, the school is a bust of activity, especially agricultural ones, where different crops are cultivated to allow them time for practical skills. Co-curricular activities such as Karate, fashion and swimming have also taken root to excite the interest of learners.
He advises parents to be available for their children during the long holidays to monitor their behaviour.
“Please ensure your kid is busy. The holiday is long and the child’s brain is too delicate to remember everything when we reopen,” said Mwangi.
The schools management is planning to have a junior secondary school as it grows.
Caroline Wangechi
Get more stories from our website: Education News
To write to us or offer feedback, you can reach us at: editor@educationnews.co.ke
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
