Manyatta home schooling: Samburu's transformative leadership program changing lives

Margret Ekuwam’s smile radiated with the excitement of discovery. At 19, she has just begun exploring the world of reading, a pursuit that has evidently transformed her demeanour.

She eagerly expressed that she can now read short words such as ‘you,’ ‘come,’ ‘let,’ and ‘give’ with a mixture of pride and disbelief.

Ekuwam is unaware of the reasons she and her siblings were never enrolled in school. All she knows is that formal education was never permitted within her culture.

Her father, a Samburu elder, enforced cultural traditions, customary practices, and deeply embedded patriarchal norms that historically posed significant barriers to girls' education.

According to her, these norms often prioritise early marriage and domestic labour over school attendance.

However, on the preceding Saturday, Ekuwam was among 300 women and girls aged 13 to 30 who graduated from a transformative leadership program designed to empower marginalised women and girls within formal education.

Operated by Akili Dada International, the initiative seeks to enhance the capacities of young women and girls by equipping them with essential literacy skills, progressing from writing their names to post-literacy levels.

The Manyatta Home Schooling project concentrates on out-of-school girls and young women within Samburu County.

As stated by Akili Dada program officer Diana Karugu, the Manyatta Home Schooling Program aims to build the capacity of young women and girls who have been left behind in formal education, providing comprehensive education and developmental leadership during adolescence.

“The program offers an alternative pathway to learning, granting these girls a second chance to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills while overcoming socio-cultural obstacles like early marriage and traditional beading practices,” explained Kiragu.

The group that graduated on Saturday consisted of 52 girls, aged nine, whose education was impeded by regressive cultural practices such as beading, which led them to planned teenage marriages.

“We have actually re-enrolled them in school to address their needs. Consequently, this graduation is not an end but a transition point,” she stated.

She added that some of these girls will proceed to formal education, while others will pursue skills training, livelihoods, or leadership roles within their communities.

“Whatever path you choose, the knowledge and confidence you have gained here will continue to open doors,” she told the graduates.

The Manyatta Home Schooling project targets out-of-school girls and young women from the region, who face severe marginalisation, particularly in Kenya's Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL), with limited access to education driven by gender barriers, extreme poverty, and patriarchal cultural practices.

Factors such as teenage pregnancies, delayed school entry, and resource deficiencies have further hindered their educational advancement.

Albert Wanjohi, the Samburu County director for gender and affirmative action, expressed regret that girls and young women have been sidelined in formal education due to regressive cultural beliefs and practices.

“The program has proven invaluable; the graduates can now read and write, and conduct their business transactions, having also acquired skills related to positive parental knowledge,” Wanjohi remarked.

Peter Mwangi, an official from the State Department of Children's Services, lamented that girls in Samburu have been deprived of the opportunity to pursue formal education.

“We are emphasising education for girls; it is essential to find ways to ensure that all our girls are protected from harmful cultural practices,” he emphasised.

Jackline Leakono, one of the program beneficiaries, noted that after completing the program, she was able to travel to Uasin Gishu County and enrol her daughter in school.

“That is one of the immediate benefits I received from the program. I have learned the value of education, and I want my daughter to experience the same,” she stated.