Florence Akinyi Odero has been teaching at the Kibera School for Girls (KSG) for two years. Now the head Kindergarten teacher, Florence began teaching at KSG with her pre-Kindergarten class last year. She is excited to stay with her students for a second year, commenting that her students are, “lovely, and so enjoyable to teach. I am always impressed by the way they participate in class.”
Florence lives with her husband and children in Kibera. “Before I came here, I heard about Kibera as the biggest slum in Nairobi. I heard about there being no toilets, many people living in one room; no secrets or privacy. And it is true. Many of our students need things like food, water, and shelter. At times, they come to school without taking breakfast. They’re very busy. They didn’t have enough sleep because of the rain or the cold. It affects their learning in class. When they come to school without food, it affects their learning.” At the Kibera School for Girls, we provide students with two nutritious meals everyday, as well as clean water, healthcare, and psycho-social services in order to support their success in the classroom.
Florence says that the girls are completely different from the students she taught previously. “The girls are very different. At this level, they can reason and tell you why it is yes and why it is no. At other schools, the students don’t know how to defend their position. These girls have a high reasoning capacity. This is because of the method of KSG’s curriculum. They are taught differently. They know how to analyze and discuss about a matter. At other schools, students just state but they don’t understand.”
Florence loves working at KSG because the girls are so receptive to new things, and because it’s a joy to teach with her coworkers who are a supportive and nurturing community.
