📚 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲

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🏫 When we look back at our life, or think about the life of our children, we can wholeheartedly say that education was at the core of our growing up. We might have complained about having to get up early, having too much homework, and too many tests. But 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 from us. 

🐐 Unfortunately that’s not the case for a Pokot child. the likelihood is 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹. Instead you will look after your father’s goats or, if you are a girl, you will get married even before you are 15 years old. That’s due to the pastoralist culture of the tribe and their traditions. 

💷 There are more reasons why so many Pokot children don’t go to school, i.e. there isn’t a school close enough or the 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 to educate all of their children. 

🚸To help you understand the reality of life in Pokot I’d like to highlight the fact that i𝗻 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. However, there is a scenario I would like you to picture today. 

💭 Imagine not having a school closeby to where you live and no means for transport to go farther. Imagine there is a school but 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀. Imagine if your child’s school was simply a few benches under a tree. Furthermore, imagine that even in such a basic setting you are still unable to afford that school. 

💧 Very often there is a shortage of teachers and, despite the free primary school education system in place, parents must pay for more teachers from their own pockets. Then comes the issue of water – 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 and must purchase it. 

📝 That’s not the end of the expenses for parents – every child needs a uniform. To participate in national exams, 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 and the registration fees paid by each student.

❌ It is not a surprise then that only the chosen have an opportunity to finish primary school. And why the traditionalist families prefer to 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 rather than education. 

✅ At Children First Kenya we are determined to make education accessible to ALL CHILDREN, ensuring they have the opportunity to realise their potential and follow their dreams. 
Education is the basic human right and 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁.