CTI KidsCampus Graduation

28 out of 34 Kids from various private and public schools located in a less privileged community in a town called Ahero which is approximately 25 KM from Kisumu City CBD, in Kisumu County, Kenya were the first to receive computer operator license certificate in a very beautiful ceremony to mark a milestone in their lives as the first ever kids to study and graduate from a computer class.

Ahero is approximately 25 Kilometers from Kisumu CBD and the main economic activities is farming. The farming done in this area is 90% dependent on rain water with a handful of farmers practicing modern farming techniques like Irrigation.

It has 31 public schools and approximately 11 private schools a significant number of these schools lack the necessary infrastructure to successfully implement the Competency Based Curriculum and thus require support from both government and private sector. Most of the teachers are not ICT literate, a few are novice and because of this they tend to shy away from delivery of certain subjects hence CBC in this region will not have the desired impact.

A graduation ceremony of learners who, at the beginning of the class session could not even handle a mouse or type from a computer to a point where they can comfortably use the mouse and type paragraphs, paint and draw pictures using the computer, is not only a big milestone to the learners but to the region as well.

During the long school holidays, most of the students were going to be idle and parents were worried of how to engage the learners productively. As usual, most parents asked the children to accompany them to the farm, CTI KidsCampus setup a 14 seater ICT Labaratory and started looking for interested parents who would wish their kids to learn ICT from a tender age.

In the process, 34 kids from various private and public schools enrolled for the foundation course with the youngest being a PP2 learner and the oldest being a Form Two learner.

It was not only an exciting experience that saw great transition from shy, introverted kids growing into Bold, very expressive kids who few weeks back could not hold a mouse or could call a monitor as a television, were now confidently telling you about computers and expressing themselves through drawings and writings and each time they wanted to get back to the lab. Each child was looking forward to a trip to the lab.

At the end of the five week, 3 hours a day study period, 24 learners graduated. 9 Graduated with a distinction, 17 graduated with Credit and 2 made it with a Pass.

It was amazing looking at the smiles from the kids!