Herdsmen by day and pupils at night

Local Maasai herdsmen in an adult class at Ewangan Night School in Ngong. From Monday to Friday, these men trek from their homes to this school, which once had tin sheds with dirty floors for classes. Photo/NATION

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  • Shuka-clad group of 30 Maasai men brave the night chill and wild animals to attend the first night school in Kenya

It is a Monday night at 7pm and 30 men in colourful Maasai shukas are seated behind simple wooden desks, each with an open exercise book.

Some are writing, while others listen in rapt attention to the man standing in front of them.

This odd gathering of men aged between 25 and 40 has been brought here by a common goal — to learn.

We are at Ewangan Night School in Ngong town, Kajiado County. From Monday to Friday, these men trek from their homes to this school, which once had tin sheds with dirt floors for classes.

The pupils are taught mathematics, English, Kiswahili, religious education, social studies and science.

At 9pm, they will gather their books and walk back home, braving the cold and wild animals they are likely to encounter.

By day, most of these men herd their cattle.

In 2011, an Australian, Mr Kyle De Souza, a Curtin University alumni, realised that numerous Maasai youth were not getting an education as their fathers expected them to herd cattle and sheep all day.

Mr De Souza had come to Kenya under the auspices of the International Volunteer Head Quarters (IVHQ) to work on several projects.

Because of his passion for education, he spoke to a community chief and a teacher at the school and the idea of the first night school in Kenya was born.

Mr De Souza foots all the bills, including salaries for the teachers.

“One of the projects I went to work on was based in the Great Rift Valley, deep in the heart of Maasailand. I had been assigned to a primary school where I taught during the day. But one thing I noticed which set me thinking was that there was this group that yearned for education but were not able to,” he says.

Mr De Souza teamed up with Mr Wilfred Lenana, a teacher, and some young people and formed a community-based organisation which they called Ewangan (light).

Mr Josephat Rempesa was the first student.

Mr Lenana had come across him struggling to read a Bible as he herded his cattle in the bush.

He confided in the teacher that he wanted to learn how to read so he could understand the Bible better and preach to his clansmen.

“I am the first in a family of three and my parents did not take me to school because they thought it was more important for me to take care of the livestock,” says the 27-year-old father of two.

He is now in Class 5 and wants to study theology after school.

The students go through rapid and intense training. One school term sees them complete the basics of a whole primary year.

“Because of the age factor, we teach them the basics and they are promoted to the next class after a term,” says Mr Lenana.

The area chief Lemayan Nchipai is very supportive of the initiative, saying that once the fathers and men are educated, it will eradicate the culture of early marriage among the local people.