My passion for tikkun olam has taught me many lessons; by far the most important ones I’ve learned have been on the ground in rural Kenya. This past summer I lived for six weeks in Muhuru Bay, a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. I worked with a dedicated team of Duke University students to fight gender, education and health inequalities in a new, innovative way. The beauty of Muhuru Bay is overwhelming: fields of cassava and maize, watercolor sunsets, children smiling and laughing, and stars that were brighter than I have ever seen in my life. At night, we would climb a large pile of rocks a kilometer from our house to watch the sunsets, and then set out a blanket to watch the meteor showers. There is irony, however, in the distinct juxtaposition between the beauty of Muhuru and its problems. You could get so caught up in the aesthetics that you forget the multitude of obstacles that girls and women face in Muhuru every day.
In the last nineteen years, not a single girl who has attended high school in Muhuru Bay has qualified for college entrance exams, while boys meet the requirements every year. This summer, I learned firsthand about the many factors preventing these girls from succeeding academically, as well as the economic and cultural challenges pervading the entire community.
Muhuru Bay also has some of the highest rates of Malaria and HIV/AIDS in all of Kenya, and with one private health clinic to oversee the entire community, there is almost no access to treatment. Over 30% of adults are infected with HIV and large numbers of children have been orphaned by the virus. Without proper education or treatment, the HIV virus will continue disrupting every day life in Muhuru, taking the lives of mothers, brothers, sisters and fathers.
Primary school in Kenya is free as of 2003, but most families in Muhuru have trouble paying for secondary school. In the few instances where families can afford it, boys are usually given first priority. At the existing Rabwao Secondary school where I worked this summer, only 40 out of 250 spots were filled by girls. Many girls seeking a secondary education are forced to have sex with teachers, fishermen from Lake Victoria and others in the community in order to get the money for school fees. Selesia, a fifteen year old at Rabwao told us, “If I stop having sex with my male teacher he will stop paying my school fees.” Beatrice, a sixteen year old, complained, “Boys and men take my private parts as their toys.” Because of the enormous risks girls take to get an education in Muhuru, a full generation of women has failed to graduate and go on to university.
For the past two years, Dr. Sherryl Broverman from Duke University, Dr. Rose Odhiambo from Egerton University in Kenya and a group of Duke students have been collaborating with Muhuru Bay to address the needs of the community. Our solution has been to create the first all-girls boarding school and community center for development in the region, which will open in January 2009. We are still working to create scholarships for over 70% of the girls attending the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER) School and 70% of the students will be from the Muhuru Bay community.
This past summer, the WISER team led a two-week program, dubbed “Camp WISER.” Thirty-five boys and girls from the freshman and sophomore classes took courses in Adolescent Health, Leadership and Gender in Everyday Life. I co-taught Adolescent Health with another Duke student. While we used a comprehensive curriculum covering puberty, STI’s, HIV and sexual abuse, the greatest impact on the students involved dispelling myths prevalent in the community. For example, the misguided belief that condoms have holes in them and that HIV may be cured if a man has sex with a virgin girl. Additionally, most of our male students believed that they would become impotent if they did not have sex in adolescence.
WISER recognizes that women have a pivotal role in promoting community health and economic development. Investing in women’s’ education in Muhuru Bay will ultimately increase the quality of life for both men and women in the region.
R E L A T E D Q U E S T I O N S
How did the Kenyan teachers work with students? I visited classes at Rabwao Secondary School, intending only to observe local teaching methods, but had teachers hand over the chalk and walk out, expecting me to teach. I went to the teacher’s lounge, where a teacher claimed he was preparing final exams (his excuse for skipping class) and found him reading the newspaper. The Kenyan Government reserves good teachers for public schools near large cities like Nairobi, leaving small villages like Muhuru stuck with teachers who often do not have appropriate credentials. There are no rewards for improvements in student performance, so teachers are free to continue poor teaching habits, come and go as they please and take days off if they feel so inclined. Several students even complained of teachers coming to class drunk. At times, I saw students asking questions in class only to be called stupid and lazy in return. Students were regularly shamed in front of the entire class.
What was the most powerful experience you had in Kenya? It was outside of my realm of experience to see how disease and death were part of the everyday lives of the students in Muhuru. Nothing was more heart wrenching than hearing boys and girls share their pain and suffering through poetry. I found the following poem, entitled “My Dying Mother,” written and performed by Chadwick Ouko, particularly moving:
My dying mother laid on the bed I worn by my weeping sat by her By that moment fear approached me Death coming like arrow shot Winging its way to the eyes of His target
Mother! Mother! Tell Me! Tell Me? Who fathered me, Who are our relatives, Where do we come from? Too weak to utter a word She choose to remain silent. I wanted to know the naked truth
She always said that I’m too young yet Now I’m approaching eighteen years old And she is dying. I wanted to know the naked truth
She open her mouth and said Your father was --------, Go as mother and she keep Quiet and she was dead. I wanted to know the naked truth.
T A K I N G A C T I O N
Join Team WISER Become a member of team WISER! We are looking for innovative, energetic, and committed volunteers to join the WISER Corps. Help us raise awareness and money to improve the lives of the Muhuru Bay girls. You can make a difference! Start a WISER chapter at your local high school or synagogue! We encourage you to be a part of the solution. High schools, TYG’s and other organizations may contribute at any level which they are able. Increase awareness of the need for girls’ education in rural Kenya. Help build and sustain the first model secondary boarding school for girls in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.
R E S O U R C E S
To find out more about WISER, and to contact us, please visit: www.wisergirls.org
Michael Arndt is from the city of Pleasanton, California, which is in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is a member of Congregation Beth Emek. He is privileged to attend Duke University, where he is starting his sophomore year majoring in Biology and working towards a Certificate in Global Health. He served as President and Social Action Vice President at his local TYG (EDJY), and participated in the Social Action Program at the URJ Kutz Campus for Reform Jewish Teen Life. He is currently serving as the SAVP on the Duke Hillel Student Board, and this year he is serving as a Director of Health Programming for the WISER Student Board.
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Copyright ©2007 Union for Reform Judaism Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning and the Youth Division
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