More than Monday blues for Isinya's bodaboda workers

By Monica Soila

Monday morning was an awful day for the bodaboda operators in Isinya after area police carried out an impromptu operation to apprehend those that had not complied with the traffic set rules and regulations.

Being a market day, many people were directly affected by the exercise since there was no means of getting to the market, for the better part of the morning.

Some operators were lucky to have escaped the long arm of the law having not fully complied with the rules. Lack of helmets, reflectors, licenses and insurance were some of the issues that saw more than 10 operators taken to Kajiado law courts.

No one in sight at the bodaboda stage

“You might have complied in almost everything but lack of two helmets, for example, is a big problem at the moment”, said an operator who sought anonymity.

Bodaboda related accidents have been reported in the area recently,some of which have been fatal, but with such operations by the police; this might be a story of the past.

Flexing the academic muscle in the County

By Monica Soila

Girls’ public secondary schools proved to be a tough challenger during the recently concluded Kajiado County Education Day, by scooping most of the prizes in various subjects.

The battle was mainly between Enoomatasiani Girls and Moi Girls Isinya.The only Boys’ school that seemed to ruin the party was Oloolaiser.

In English subject, top honors went to Enoomatasian, followed by Oloolaiser and Moi Girls, respectively. In Kiswahili, Moi Girls emerged top, then Oloolaiser and Enoomatasiani, in that order. In Mathematics, Oloolaiser took the lead, followed by Moi Girls and Enoomatasiani.Biology saw Oloolaiser emerge victorious, followed by Moi Girls and Baraka Ontoyie, respectively. The best school in Physics was Rombo Girls, followed by Moi Girls and Enoomatasiani, in that order. The boys could not match these girls in this category.

Other schools that received prizes included Nakeel boys, best in Business studies.Najile Boys emerged second best in Computer studies behind Oloolaiser,Olkejuado Boys came in third.Olooseos Girls was second best in C.R.E behind Rombo girls,Nakeel Boys was third.In Home Science,Moi girls was the best,followed by Olooseos and Nakeel Boys,respectively.

Oloolaiser emerged best public school, then Moi Girls while Enoomatasiani came in a distance third.

The best KCSE schools overall went to private schools: Maasai High School, Dawamu Boys and St.Patricks SNR., in that order. Public schools will have to work harder so as to appear on the list top three, next year.

Teacher of the year award (TOYA) went to Ms.Zipporah Mokaya of Moi Girls Isinya.

In the primary school category, private schools emerged top with Acacia Crest, Kenvic School and Masai Academy completing the podium respectively for the top three schools,in last year's KCPE.

The event was the first one since inception of County Education Board and seeks to provide quality education in the County. This dream will surely be realized with the fact that there will be an award ceremony annually to celebrate top performers.

Prof.Jacob Kaimenyi presides over Kajiado County Education Day

By Monica Soila

Kajiado County Education Day was held on Friday at the Isinya Multi-Purpose Development Training Institute, to recognize best performing learners, teachers and schools; by awarding certificates and trophies.

Signing the visitors book

The chief guest was Prof.Jacob T. Kaimenyi, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Inspecting guard of honor

County government was also well represented by the Governor, his deputy, MCAs, deputy County Commissioner among others. Area MP Hon.Peris Tobiko was also at the event.

H.E Dr.David Nkedianye (right)

Prof.Kaimenyi was given a magnificent welcome in his first ever journey to the County. He inspected a guard of honor courtesy of St.Lillyana Preparatory School.

The leaders urged everyone including teachers, students and parents to actively play their role since success is a collective effort.

“I want to encourage the teachers here; to continue giving your best for your duty is a calling”, said Hon.Ali Letura, County Minister for Education.

“I said it before, and I will say it again that i will keep supporting any activities pertaining to education because if it were not for education, i would probably not be here today”, said Hon.Tobiko.

Hon. Peris Tobiko

The chief guest sensitized parents to give equal priority to the education of both the boy and girl child, for the County to realize it’s target of achieving gender parity and improved transition rates among other achievements.

Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi

With Isinya sub-county emerging top in the County and third countrywide in the last year’s examination, many have high expectations and hope that the performance spree continues.

A blaze at the Multi-Purpose institution, Isinya

By Monica Soila.

A group of people comprising of students, area leadership and wananchi battled a fierce blaze on Friday during the Kajiado County Education Day at the Multi-Purpose Development Training Institute.

The inferno originated from a trash pit that had been burning at a neighboring residence across the fence of the institute.

Putting out the fire was quite tricky due to the windy condition that aided it's spreading.

“Thank goodness that many of us were here today, otherwise it would have been a different tale if no one was around”, said Mr. Nathan Esho, after effortlessly taking part in the tough bustle.

Prolonged dry spells are being experienced in most parts of Kajiado County due to the unpredictable weather patterns, and this could result to more similar occurrences.

People are being advised to be cautious and not to leave open fire unattended as this might turn out to be fatal, given the current weather conditions.

A group of students from Olkejuado high school visits the Maarifa Centre

By Monica Soila

A group of agriculture students from Olkejuado Boys high school visited the Maarifa center on Tuesday , to gain knowledge about its activities with regards to agriculture.

They got to learn about the various services offered in the center which includes library services, internet, publications, E-government services, multimedia content among others.

Later on, they watched an educative DVD from the maarifa’s library, mbuzi wa maziwa, which was about dairy goat farming and its benefits. They were very impressed and could not hide their contentment.

“I have just made a wonderful discovery of such an incredible facility”, said a pleased Mrs.Wachira, a teacher at Olkejuado Boys secondary school.

The teachers urged their students to utilize the facility particularly during school holidays.

“Instead of wasting valuable time playing pool during your school holidays come and do something constructive at the Maarifa center”, said Mr. Mbindyo, a teacher accompanying the boys.

Given the fact that the Maarifa center is well equipped with learning materials, the teachers promised to frequently visit the center and  make use of more of the books and DVDs.

An endurance of the fittest

By Monica Soila

Police recruitment exercise was held on Monday at the Isinya primary School grounds in order to select the few who qualified to join the disciplined forces.

10,000 police officers are to be recruited throughout the country. In Isinya sub-county, the target was 21:ten regular police and eleven AP; 6 women 15 men.

The affair was headed by sub-county recruitment committee, chaired by the Deputy County Commissioner; comprising of County government representatives, Clergy and area leadership. The wananchi observed the process.

The secondary school grade had been lowered from a C- to a D+ and above, therefore attracting a fairly big turnout. The Deputy county commissioner was there to ensure everything ran without a hitch and transparency of the whole process.

“The youth are being employed and it’s a good thing”, said Mr.Hassan Bulle, the Deputy County commissioner.

The recruits who will be selected are expected to join the training camp on 5^th August 2014.

With the country facing the biggest challenge of insecurity especially in the coastal region, the situation will hopefully change with an increase of the law enforcers.

The Chama's charm, financial rescue at last

By Monica Soila

Being a woman and especially a housewife comes with big responsibilities. Taking good care of children and husband, and always ensuring that the homestead is in order.

This is however problematic when there is monetary constraints, leading to a need for making the ends meet so as to cater for the family.

Formation of chamas throughout the country has been the saving grace of many, seeing them realize financial freedom. This has also led to many women achieving their developmental goals during these times of economic hardships mostly brought about by high rates of inflation, unemployment and high cost of living.

Most of these groups comprise of both men and women but in some instances this is limited by tradition where men and women do not integrate, especially in the rural areas.

Women in pastoralist areas like Kajiado have not been left out of this wonderful trend. Most groups begin as mary-go-rounds and some grow into SACCOs when the management is proper.

This is the same way the Merian Women Group in Rombo area of Oloitokitok, Kajiado County began, and with the enthusiasm of the members they are definitely headed for greatness. It is also an umbrella chama that led to formation of four more: Naserian, Osiligi, Enchipai and Nkoroe.

Merian Women Group

“We began with mary-go-rounds,buying utensils for members, then at times we would visit each other in the homes whereby we would take a little money to the lady we are visiting”, said Susan, chairperson for Merian women group.

Merian women group decided to incorporate farming to their activities after leasing a piece of a shamba and have been growing tomatoes and maize interchangeably. They gradually developed and at the moment everyone has a dairy goat.

“The transformation we’ve undergone since formation of this group is quite concrete and we are so happy. Some of us are now able to send our children to secondary schools and we are glad that our husbands have a lesser burden”, added Susan.

This is a step to the right direction and better times lie ahead for most of these groups. A Lot of projects targeting groups are in place e.g. the Uwezo Fund which calls for well structured and established groups to apply.NGOs and other organizations also prefer working with groups, especially women and youth groups.

Everyone is encouraged to follow this route leading to financial empowerment!

Smart agriculture for the County

By Monica Soila

Agriculture is vital in economic development,as it contributes 35% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and constitutes 40% of the export earnings.

Crop farming in arid areas is normally a big challenge due to water scarcity, and can also be a headache when it has to be practiced. The activity thrives relatively well in the central part of Kenya because of favorable climatic conditions.

In Kajiado County where most of the people are pastoralists, a lot is being done by the County government and NGOs to promote farming activities.

It is in this regard that a team from two NGOs in Kajiado; NIA and ALIN, paid a courtesy call to Hon. Joshua Majakusi, County Executive Member for Agriculture, Livestock and Tourism.

 

Hon. Joshua Majakusi

ALIN seeks to initiate Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in the County with the use solar powered drip irrigation systems.

The technology is innovative and will help communities adapt and cope with the effects of climate change increasing their resilience and governance of their scarce natural resources.

An on-site training for farmer groups will be organized at inception stage and later a forum for farmers practicing irrigation organized after 10 months to share their experiences on water resources utilization and governance in food production.

“The county government is willing to support any initiative to improve the livelihoods of the community, and please invite us as you launch the project, we will gladly come” said Hon.Majakusi.

 The County government is very much interested in working with various stakeholders to see that farming is made possible in every part of Kajiado, regardless of the hostile climatic conditions. There will be more fruit baskets in the near future other than just Loitokitok, since there is a lot of potential in this region.