June 2023, visiting Dira Primary School in East Pokot, Baringo County, Kenya. Headmaster Raphael Kandagor started here all by himself. ‘In 2012, there wasn't even a school building. Only nine schoolchildren turned up at the start of the school year. I taught them under a tree. I felt like a missionary’. On the first day of school, he, a member of the ethic Tugen, had to start learning the Pokot language so that he could speak to the children and their parents at all. ‘Today, Dira is one of the most successful schools in Baringo County,’ explains Raphael proudly. ‘In 2019, the first pupils from our school obtained a primary school certificate. In 2023, the first pupil from Dira enrolled at university’.
The school now comprises two school buildings and several outbuildings and is attended by 265 children, including 132 girls. Despite the great progress, major problems remain. Some of the buildings are made of corrugated iron and become sweltering in the heat of East Pokot. The dormitories are in a poor state - they house, among others, 25 girls who had to run away from their families to avoid being circumcised and married off.
A dangerous border
During the CO-OPERAID project visit in June 2023, many parents gather at the Dira school to discuss the situation. Around half of the community is committed to the school, while the rest remain indifferent. The committed part has enrolled all the children in the family at the school, also supports the girls who are to be married off and wants to promote peace building. A first attempt with a mixed school population of Pokot and Marakwet children unfortunately failed. However, the community wants to try again and, together with its role models at this frontier post of education, Raphael Kandagor and his school team, contribute to the development of the community through education and ensuring peaceful coexistence.
