Connectivity in Kenya
Launching remote music learning in Kibera
Those of us with access to modern technology had a relatively seamless transition to remote learning in March of 2020. Our students in Kenya, however, experienced many additional challenges. With schools closed, children did not get the life-sustaining meals served during the school day. Families of some students simply cannot afford to reliably feed their children. Our partner organization in Kenya, Crossing Thresholds (CT), quickly responded by providing food pickups for families. To keep music in the lives of the students, our dedicated music teachers, Jacob Saya and Julius Odhiambo, brought recorders and printed worksheets to students so that they could practice and continue learning at home. As for remote learning, the lack of computers in children's homes and the lack of WiFi at our schools made that impossible.
Ken Kaplan, a CT volunteer, worked with the Kenyan Program Director James Kamau and IT Director Fredrick Mutwota to set the foundation for WiFi access at our schools in Kibera. After a year and a half of hard work, the FAFU school now has WiFi.
This exciting new addition allows the school - teachers and students alike - to access the internet and to expand their current educational tools. Fredrick commented that "teachers now have access to online content, which they use to enhance their lessons. They have also adopted digital teaching methods, projecting lesson content onto whiteboards."
WiFi at the FAFU school is now also opening the door for remote music teaching! SCS teaching artist Ruaridh Pattison will launch music literacy classes as well as our Beat Science course to some older students enabling them to create their own music.
Our goal is to expand to all three schools in Kibera as WiFi becomes available to them.
Video of the Week
"When I won first prize in the music competition, I felt really happy. You feel so special because you try your best and you win. You feel excited, and you start believing in yourself. You believe that you can do anything, try new things, and you no longer are afraid."
-Juliete Akili, an SCS student in Kenya
We hope you enjoy this short documentary about our work in Kenya.
Link to "S'Cool Sounds in Kenya."
Community Member Highlight
Our work in Kenya would not be possible without the dedication of local partners in Kenya and devoted volunteers from the United States. Fredrick Mutwota, the IT director at the FAFU school in Kibera, and Ken Kaplan, a volunteer for Crossing Thresholds, worked tirelessly to bring WiFi to the FAFU school in Kibera. Fredrick coordinated with the Kenyan team while Ken worked from New York City, collecting donated devices as well as launching online learning systems. They worked hard to persuade the internet company to hang the cables above the unpaved streets of Kibera to reach the school. This was no small feat.
"FAFU could well be the only school in Kibera to have WiFi;" Ken shares, "we are light years ahead!"
Thank you, Fredrick and Ken, for connecting our students.
