National Treeplanting Day Action

Simon WamuNovember 14, 2023November 14, 2023blogs Leave a comment

National Tree planting Day Action

13 November 2023

On 13th November 2023, in company of Mwanzo area administration, the youth, Eldoret secondary school and People living with disabilities from Mwanzo community, we engaged in an interactive workshops of environmental conservation and tree planting sessions. We created sense of urgency in compacting climate change among all those groups as well as discussing some of the sustainable lifestyles that we can adopt as youth.

Area administrator on her remarks, urged the youth to keep on planting trees as one way of keeping themselves busy during the holiday and also to offset carbon footprints from the atmosphere.

Eerui in partnership with We4All has vowed to continue holding environmental conservation workshops and tree planting activities to different communities targeting the youth throughout this month, and take the advantage of the ongoing rains for the survival of the trees.

Mwanzo community has received well the Kenyan declaration of 13th November as National tree planting day and they are grateful to #we4all for facilitating the exercise.

Event Organizers

Keeping Pace

Simon WamuOctober 20, 2023July 14, 2024Uncategorized Leave a comment

Many children in Sub-Saharan Africa are schooling but not learning. In Kenya, 3 out of 4 children in lower primary schools cannot read a grade 3 level text. Most of these children are from poor households. Often, children who miss key concepts in the early grades never have a chance to catch up, no matter how many years they spend in school. This affects further learning and subsequently inhibits their life chances hence perpetuating the endemic poverty cycle in families.

The keeping pace is premised on the infamous Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach pioneered by PRATHAM in India and it targets the root of the learning crisis by transforming the structures that lead to it. The approach works by dividing children (generally in Grades 3 to 5) into groups based on learning needs rather than age or grade; dedicating time to basic skills rather than focusing solely on the curriculum; and regularly assessing student performance, rather than relying only on end-of-year examinations.

The program is holistic, interactive, child-centered and focusses on the basics to improve learning for all. It seeks to accelerate basic reading and numeracy competencies of children furthest behind. It equips learners in grades 3, 4 and 5, who are left behind with the desired grade 2 reading and math competencies. This way, learners will have started the journey of reading and math and can meaningfully and independently engage in the classroom learning process.

The focus is on basic skills rather than solely on the curriculum. The student performance is regularly assessed to inform their progression to the next level.

The program has five major steps

Implementation teams’ capacity building

Since this program is unique in its delivery, the facilitators/ teachers are first of all trained on the approach. The training is meant to ensure that the teachers fully understand the objectives of the approach and acquire the necessary knowledge for efficient delivery.

Assessment

The children are tested on the basic literacy and numeracy skills using simple tools. This is done to determine the competency level of the child. The assessment data is used to determine the grouping.

Grouping

Here the children are grouped based on the assessment data irrespective of their grade or age. The groups are homogeneous i.e. Every group has children with similar learning needs.

Classroom Activities

Each group is assigned a facilitator/teacher who creates activities and materials suited to children’s needs, rather than adhering to a linear curriculum. Classes are fun and fast-paced, and children strengthen a number of skills simultaneously.

Monitoring

There is continuous monitoring of the teaching and learning process to assess the progression of learners.

Keeping pace in action

Our Partners

Shaping the learning journey

Simon WamuOctober 10, 2023July 14, 2024Uncategorized Leave a comment

Shaping the learning journey

This program focuses on children that are at risk of missing the most important foundational basics in their early years. It addresses the root of lifelong disparities in learning, Behaviour, and health.

We seek to improve the quality of both early childhood teaching and learning, through the development of innovative curricula and research-based pedagogical standards, as well as the design of imaginative play materials and learning environments. These interventions are meant to make the children acquire the basic skills early in life.

The program also creates awareness among parents and society at large about the negative effect violence, abuse, neglect and malnutrition has on a child’s development and future life chances. We provide expert master classes and parenting events to empower parents to raise confident, respectful, healthy and successful children.

Our Partners

Education for Sustainable Development

Simon WamuOctober 9, 2023July 15, 2024Uncategorized Leave a comment

We empower students with sustainable development knowledge, global citizenship values, and 21st century skills to better navigate this uncertain future, tackle its profound challenges, and build more prosperous and resilient communities. According to research, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a crucial tool, which not only empowers students to shape a better world, but also perform better in school.

We also empower the teachers in schools and work with them to spearhead both the classroom activities that are embedded within the curriculum as well as schoolwide activities that that include planting of trees, establishing of school gardens, plastic waste gathering and community awareness campaigns.

Our Activities

Empowering learners with ESD knowledge

Tree Planting

Environmental Training

Establishing Micro-forests

Our Actions

Our Traction

Schools Involved

Communities Involved

5000+

Trees Planted

Our Partners

Healing the earth, one tree at a time

Simon WamuJuly 24, 2023October 3, 2024blogs Leave a comment

Healing the earth, one tree at a time

In April 2023, EERUI in collaboration with We4All embarked on an ambitious program of planting trees and creating awareness on sustainable development to learners and educators in schools and communities. The three-month project had two main deliverables: Instilling a sense of responsibility and global awareness in students under the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) campaign and planting trees in schools under the Trees for Schools campaign.

ESD aims to empower learners to resolve global challenges through transformative action. It focuses on promoting environmental integrity, economic viability, cultural diversity, and a just society. Climate change, being one of the greatest challenges of this generation, was at the centre of the ESD activities that we conducted in the schools. Students were made aware of the devastating effects of climate change to humanity and the planet and the greater risk posed to them by the continued inaction. The learners were also enlightened on several sustainable practices such as embracing the concept of reusing and recycling, responsible consumption and proper disposal of harmful waste. Values of empathy, critical thinking and responsibility were also instilled to the learners through various fun activities.

Under the Trees for Schools campaign, learners were enlightened about the importance of taking practical action in reversing the climate change trend by planting trees in their schools. They were encouraged to apply the values of empathy and responsibility by planting trees as a way of healing the earth and ‘seeking forgiveness’ from the planet on their behalf and on behalf of the past generations for the transgressions committed to the planet over time. The learners took control of the planting process as well as maintenance. The tree planting activity was also extended to the neighbouring community where we identified spaces within the community and engaged the community members in the tree planting exercise.

The project lasted for three months and exceeded our expectations. We planted a total of 2,040 trees in five schools and two community spaces against our initial plan of 2,000 trees. Moreover, the project created a renewed sense of urgency among the learners and the community regarding climate action. The students not only connected with real-life issues but also fostered a sense of responsibility toward the environment and became role models to their peers. Schools were also inspired to take eco-friendly measures and nurture a generation of conscious global citizens, thereby playing a vital role in transforming the world, one step at a time, one tree at a time.

Author: Simon Wamu