Each visit to Maisha Mazuri not only leaves us with enriching impressions, but we primarily strive to contribute by working on improvements together with our local Kenyan team.
In October 2025, the Academy of Maisha Mazuri Senior Secondary School, located on the MCC premises, was the focus of our stay.
The atmosphere on campus was – as always – exceptionally warm. There was a good mood everywhere; teachers and students seemed like a well-coordinated unit. Many external changes have also taken place: the school garden is flourishing, the classrooms appear significantly tidier – even if there’s still room for improvement – and the school bakery is bustling with activity. The scent of freshly baked rolls wafts across the grounds, and their sale now generates small revenues.
The idea of using darker and more nutritious flour in the future seems to be gradually gaining traction.
When you meet people on the dusty roads around the school, they thank you kindly. Households in the village community are supplied with clean well water – from the Maisha Mazuri well, which stands right next to the Secondary School’s boarding house. This is another small, important source of income for the Children’s Center and the school.
A special highlight was attending the Sunday service, which takes place in a classroom. It is largely organized by the devout students themselves: they pray, sing, dance, and laugh – often all at once. It is a joyful, significant event for them and a moving moment for us guests.
So, one might think: everything is in order. If it weren’t for the upcoming exams in the next few weeks.
It’s exam time for upper secondary classes two to four – and the interim results from the summer have caused some concern. This reveals a weakness that the local team urgently needs to address.
To develop strategies for performance improvement, we not only held intensive consultations on the Maisha Mazuri grounds but also visited the Matungulu Girls Secondary School in the vicinity.
From this state-run girls’ boarding school, we primarily took away the impulse to focus even more strongly on performance and to motivate the students with energy and enthusiasm to develop their ambition. The goals can certainly be set more ambitiously.
At the Matungulu school, for example, desired exam grades are prominently displayed everywhere, to which everything else is subordinated. The teachers demand the highest discipline.
However, whether it is necessary to get up at four in the morning, rush from classroom to classroom to avoid losing a minute of study time, and end the day after 18 hours with little free time – that remains to be seen. The fact is: this is exactly what is practiced in this high school with around 1000 students – and it’s astonishing.
In contrast to the state schools, the private schools in the country are still in limbo, as the Kenyan government has not yet finalized the new roadmap for 2026. The government’s hesitant approach hinders our school leadership and teachers in developing a clear overall vision and new priorities.
Nevertheless, our principal Nicholas Lubisia and his deputy Arriet Nyatichi are optimistic about the enrollment figures for the upcoming school year, which begins in January. The open house in the first half of 2025 attracted many interested individuals.
After a fulfilling week, we left convinced that our dedicated local team will start the new school year motivated, competent, and with the right vision – as soon as the framework conditions are finally set.