The Esila story: a snapshot

Karuka Primary School sits high on Mt Suswa, an inactive volcano in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. In the Maa language Karuka means ‘higher place’. Suswa means ‘the wind that moves throughout for a long time’. The scenery looks straight out of the film Out of Africa. Hyena, leopard, zebra and a few lions still roam the mountain, along with cobras and pythons.

Most girls in rural Kenya live hardscrabble lives. Imagine living atop Mt Suswa, 90 minutes from the nearest tarred road and reachable only by a sturdy four-wheel drive. News from the world below travels slowly. Most Maasai families are too poor to afford a radio and the ongoing cost of batteries. A father may own a mobile phone, but connectivity on the mountain is poor. There are no shops. There are only remote homesteads, an apostolic church and the school.

Some children face a further isolation. Naserian, a Grade 6 Maasai student, is one of ten visually impaired children in a school of 209 learners. There are no special needs programmes or suitably qualified teachers. She walks several kilometres to school and back with her brothers.

Naserian and her fellow Grade 6 and 7 learners received Fenix radio-lights through Esila.

Esila has two strong partners in the initiative. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is the national broadcaster, with 14 local language stations as well as English and Swahili. The Bethel Network is a Kenyan NGO that provides menstrual hygiene products and education for rural schoolchildren.

“I never could imagine to get a radio. I am so happy, I am so happy.”

 
Naserian told our CEO, Kristine Pearson, that she could now listen to school lessons outside class and hear the news every night. Kristine was in Kenya to oversee the distribution and show the girls how to use and care for their radios with their local representative and Maasai woman leader, Agnes Torres. Naserian’s family is large and very poor. Until then, there had been no radio at home.

Distribution day

Karuka was one of nine Maasai schools, and one of 15 schools, to receive radios and menstrual products. All Grade 6 and 7 students attended the sessions. Teachers chose the most vulnerable girls at each school to receive radios.

Loud and lively KBC presenters acted as hosts at every school. They got the children laughing with games and songs. Then the Bethel nurses spoke to the girls and boys about their bodies, puberty, menstruation and sexuality in an open, entertaining, non-threatening way.

Menstruation is a taboo subject in most rural families. Girls often stay home during their periods because they have no pads or no water to wash rags. Missing school this way is a major reason girls are held back a grade or more. The nurses showed the girls how to use sanitary pads, donated by Procter & Gamble and Lifeline Energy. Each girl received pads and underwear, which many did not have. Early marriage and early pregnancy are common in Maasai communities and many girls drop out after primary school.

The children speak and understand English, but the KBC presenters translated Kristine’s radio demonstrations into a local language or Swahili. Across all the schools visited, only a handful of families owned a radio. None of the girls was allowed to touch it, because family radios belong to fathers. Even fewer families had solar lights. The girls were just as excited about the lights, for homework and for walking outside to use the toilet at night.

Boys in rural communities are disadvantaged too. For girls, though, the challenges are far greater. Brothers, parents and neighbours can all listen, but the radio is the girl’s responsibility. No radio is ever simply given away. Each girl signs a contract with her school, agreeing to look after it. Teachers and parents or guardians sign too, so everyone understands the terms of the donation.