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Kenya
Quality education through life skills and technology use The VVOB presence in Kenya goes back to 1989, when various ‘volunteer-experts’ were ‘seconded’ to universities, research institutions and hospitals. Over the years, we evolved into a development partner who injected expertise on training and capacity strengthening in areas such as health, natural sciences, agroforestry, education management, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). From the onset, the focus of our support has been the public sector. Currently, VVOB Kenya supports the Ministry of Education to expand its capacity related to integrating technology and life skills in education. At the Ministry’s headquarters, we assist to achieve better overall management and improved quality of basic education programmes. After four years collaborating with national institutions to develop frameworks for in-service-training for teachers and managers, the ICT Integration programme is conducting a pilot with four secondary schools. This generates important insights about the various needs ‘on-the-ground’. Through the Healthy Learning programme, more than 100 primary schools in nine dry areas of the country are now using initiatives such as water harvesting, school gardens, poultry or goat keeping and hand washing for activity-based learning and to improve the health status of their pupils. But the influence reaches beyond the school compound. Many of the technologies are replicated and skills are applied by the children’s families and local communities. We see many signs that the Kenya Government will continue its efforts for education of higher quality through the use of technology and increased focus on child-centred education. As VVOB we are exploring how we can further support this process.