Impact Story: Tujisaidie Community Centre, Kenya
After being evicted from their original homes, two communities in Nairobi fought their way through the challenges of resettlement. The two communities, Kibagare and Mworoto were allocated land in Soweto, Kayole in 1991.
Tujisaidie Community Centre is a result of the determination toward healing the negativity that comes with dislocation. The school is one of the ways that the community attempted to reconstruct their social and economic status. The desire for an educated community pushed them to acquire land to build this school. In 1993, the school started with 1 teacher and 3 students. Today, the school offers pre-primary and primary classes to 313 learners.
Originally, the school was built on community contributions and self-financing. Later, Tujisaidie Community Centre was able to secure loans from two banks: Equity Bank and Cooperative Bank. The funds acquired were put solely toward the improvement of the school’s infrastructure.
Mr. John Obimo, the school’s headteacher, first heard about the EduQuality program through another member of the Conqueror’s Cluster. After attending sessions, Mr. Obimo saw that the program would help him further develop and improve Tujisaidie Community Centre. His experience in the Conqueror’s Cluster has allowed him to see rapid and successful growth in the school.
The School Leadership Professional Development (SLPD) training offered through the EduQuality program has been very beneficial to Mr. Obimo’s career as a headteacher and to the growth of the school. Tujisaidie Community Centre has implemented a Child Protection Policy to better school culture and safeguard the community’s children, in and out of school.
Tujisaidie Community Centre’s teachers have been attending the EduQuality Teacher Mentorship Professional Development (TMPD) training for the last 2 years. This has encouraged regular in-school meetings with the other teaching staff to ensure continuous improvement.
By strengthening teaching and learning strategies and pushing teaching staff to adopt best practices, the school has seen impressive results in their learners’ overall marks. The school has also taken a strong initiative in encouraging the continuous learning of younger girls. Now, Tujisaidie Community Centre is focusing its efforts on encouraging parent engagement by inviting parents and families to learn about and participate in children’s daily activities.