Crusader for African values in the U.S

• Peninah Nduta Njuguna quit lecturing at a US university to help immigrant African children make a smooth transition

“Tumaini,” she continues, “means there is no hopeless situation in mankind, while Baraka represents people’s capability to help one another. Each one of us deserves to be successful. We all deserve to make it in life. Every person can give hope and encourage others to give. Giving is not just about money. We need to restore hope to our people, one person at a time.”

Says Njuguna, a trustee of the Kenya Christian Fellowship in the US, whose aim includes strengthening social culture and race among Kenyans in the US: “Many children in the US are left to video games and television. In fact, they are left to bring themselves up. Fathers have little time for their sons. But they are good dads working to earn a living for their families.”

The former student of Kapsabet Girls’ High School and former member of the ACK Kirangari Church choir argues that migrating to the US or any other developed country is not reason enough for one to discard one’s African values and cultures.

“We have to understand ourselves and our culture. Even the “modern” African woman needs to become an innovator rather than a consumer of Western culture. Usually, women adopt Western culture much faster than men. We have become consumers of Western culture, and this has really messed up families. We have lost our identity. We should not adopt the Western culture so blindly. We cannot raise our daughters when we have lost our identity,” says Njuguna, the middle child in a family of six girls and one boy.

She recalls that her parents, Emily Ngina and Wilfred Gatura, brought up the large family as God-loving unit.

Quality education

“My mother was prayerful and she taught us how to pray. My father encouraged us to grow in the church, go to school and get a quality education. He told me that a girl could become anything she wanted,” she recalled.

The don-turned-kindergarten-teacher, who has a master’s degree in adult education and agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin, a doctorate in curriculum and institution development from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in early childhood education from the same institution, is now a teacher at Seven Oaks Elementary School in Columbia.

She first taught at Lower Lee Elementary School, also in South Carolina, where she and her pupils produced a CD with 10 songs, including a track in Gikuyu called Undekere (forgive me).

At Seven Oaks, she has a class of 18 pupils. And although she has yet to meet a former university colleague who thinks she made the right decision, Njuguna says she is proud to be part of a team of highly-qualified kindergarten teachers.

“Nobody has applauded me for teaching five-year-olds. Many think something is wrong. It is not that I cannot work anywhere. I am highly-qualified. But I chose to teach five-year-old kids and help give such children the right foundation. These are the most critical years in a child’s life,” says Njuguna, a former Kenya High School student.

Basic requirement

Seven Oaks is one of the 12 public elementary schools in District Five of the Lexington and Richland Counties.

A basic requirement is that every teacher must have a website that gives details of her class. A visit to Njuguna’s site finds her simple introduction: “Welcome to Dr Njuguna and Mrs Lawson’s home page. I am a native of Kenya. Currently, I am a kindergarten teacher at Seven Oaks Elementary School. Welcome to our village. Hope you can learn with us as we explore our world.”

Apart from teaching little children, the Kirangari-born Njuguna has teamed up with Lucy wa Ngunjiri, a presenter with Kameme FM, in the Bicycles-for-Pastors project.