Accelerating Action for better access to education at the grassroots

There is something special about this year’s IWD, why else would the likes of me be so keen about its celebration? So enthused have I been about this day this year that I was disappointed when my pastor did not mention anything about it explicitly!

Its only the third year since I first took keen interest in the day and even went out of my way to celebrate it with a special moment. For a day that has been celebrated for over a century, it has taken me long to become an active participant. Nonetheless, better late than never.

This day honours the achievements of women across all aspects of life – social, economic, cultural, and political – while also advocating for gender equality. This year’s theme is #Accelerate Action in the inclusion agenda (https://www.internationalwomensday.com/).

Today my big accelerate action was celebrating the geniuses who came up with the idea of harambee schools which we now call subcounty high schools. These were people ahead of time in the #AccelerateAction agenda because through these schools they sought to ensure that access to education for a vast majority of Kenyan children who would otherwise be excluded from transitioning to high school got an opportunity to learn.

When I was growing up these schools were looked down upon, who wanted to go to a harambee school? They were poorly resourced; they still are, and their infrastructure in many cases is wanting. The pioneers were farsighted as far as universal access to education is concerned.

Much has been achieved in the development and growth of these institutions and much can still be attained. For the dreams of these pioneers to continue bearing good fruit we need to keep identifying what more needs to be done.

From my little involvement in my own local subcounty school I think we need to elevate and amplify the efforts and work that gets done by the boards of management (bom) of those schools. Their effective and efficient functioning cannot be left to chance. In the Catholic church sponsored schools, the sponsor gets to nominate the chairperson and at least one member of the board but this is far from sufficient in ensuring the values of the sponsor are embraced and permeate in the institution so that learners are positively impacted for their lives and for the future of society.

There is need to develop programmes that equip those who end up as board members of these schools with the necessary skills required to make them the efficient cogs in the wheels that run these institutions. The complexity of running these schools demands it and it will really accelerate action towards more inclusivity for access to quality education.

Hope you have all had a happy #AccelerateAction #IWD2025

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
– Anne Frank – 
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
– Helen Keller