Simon Munga was born into a poor family with a farmer dad and a sickly mom. Most of his father’s meagre income went towards meeting his mother’s medical costs and feeding the large family. For Simon, going to an elite school seemed like an unlikely dream, but his innate intelligence and personal drive earned him a place at Starehe Boys School—an event that completely changed the trajectory of his life.

Starehe Boys School is a place that values merit over money, and because many of the brilliant students at the school are unable to meet the cost of the education, they are fully sponsored by the institution. The Kenyan government provides roughly 40 percent of the school’s funds, and the rest of the budget comes from school fees and donations. Consequently, Starehe is not only a school for the needy. As Principal Paul Mugo points out: “We also have boys from other backgrounds, and some of them are well to do. When needy kids come here, they quickly realize that any disadvantages they have can be easily wiped out with hard work, and this is a great boost to their self-esteem.”

For Simon, that boost of confidence was just what he needed to develop his academic abilities. “When I came to Starehe, I was very meek and shy. I feared everyone. I was encouraged to work hard in class, as well as interact with others. Then I was made a prefect. Being entrusted with that role showed me that I had leadership qualities. It changed me completely,”he says. Nestled between the open-air Kariokor Market and a maternity hospital, Starehe is hardly the place from which you would expect academic giants to emerge. Yet for the past 60 years, the school has produced crop after crop of brilliant young men, including notables such as Former Assistant Minister Rapahel Tuju and Kinuthia Murugu, Permanent Secretary inistry of Youth and Sports.

To Principal Mugo, the Starehe experience is about a lot more than just academic excellence. His goal is to teach the children duty, discipline and service—skills that enable them to reach even greater heights in the classroom, as well as in life. Service to the community is taught through the school’s Voluntary Service Program (VSP), which students take part in at various points of their academic journey. VSP lets the students experience the value of community service and hard labour by sending them out as volunteers in places like health clinics and factories. It is through this program that a former student at Starehe, Videlis Kamoni, found his calling.

Videlis, now a medical representative with international medical giant Novartis Group, says the VSP is what convinced him to pursue the career he is in today. “During my time at Starehe, I took part in the VSP twice, during my school holidays— once at a community clinic and then at a factory. Working at the clinic really opened my eyes to the real world. I saw real people, who were ill and needed help. I got a chance to work with them. In the end, that experience really nfluenced my decision to study Biochemistry at Moi University,” he says. Another “old boy”, Standard Business reporter Morris Aaron, attended Starehe as a sponsored student. He says his time there taught him the value of hard work and instilled in him a work ethic that resonates in his career, even today.

“All the boys, there were remarkably intelligent and there was always lots of healthy competition. In fact, just one mark could make the difference between you being number five and number 15. So, you couldn’t just sit back because you were clever. We had to work really hard and study. That instilled a good work ethic and perseverance in all of us.”

A closer look at Starehe’s history helps one better understand why discipline and hard work are core values. It was founded in a dark period in Kenyan history, when the Mau Mau waged a guerilla war to gain independence from Kenya’s colonial occupier. Their slogan at the time was “Mzungu arudi ulaya, mwafrika apate uhuru”, meaning, “White man, go home, let the black man be free.” However, the founding fathers of Starehe remained either deaf or indifferent to this slogan, as they came together—one white and two black men—to open a rescue centre for orphans.

Now, six decades and numerous benefactors later, the school has managed to preserve the values on which it was founded. Simon tells me, with a huge grin, that he is optimistic about the future. He reveals that he is about to complete a subsidized diploma program in IT at Starehe Boys College—and that he has also been accepted to university to study economics. “I am sure,” he insists, “ that what I have gained at Starehe will help me change the face of my family in a few years.”

As I drive out of Starehe, I can’t help but equate the teachers at Starehe to the alchemist. An ancient scientist, bending over his worktable, brewing a protoscientific stew of chemistry, metallurgy and physics to turn a block of lead into pure refined gold. Because, in its own way, that’s exactly what Starehe is doing. It’s an institution that takes needy boys, creates a stable, structured environment for them, and equips them with the skills and the opportunities to create a better life for themselves and their families.

I leave the school feeling as though I have seen a glimpse of greatness—no blinding lights, no vestiges of grandstanding, just the Wonder Boys and teachers of Starehe.

For more information on Starehe Boys Centre, email info@ stareheboyscentre.ac.ke, call +254 020 6761 221 or visit www.stareheboyscentre.ac.ke

Of the approximately 120,000 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates who qualify to join public university each year, less than 25% gain entry. And with job opportunities being few and far between (most needing college or university papers) the future seems bleak for those who fail to gain entry.

Enter Kenya’s immersion in andnewly-found emphasis on eLearning. By emulating a classroom setup with interactive lectures, quizzes and library access, these virtual-education portals are increasing the opportunities for higher learning. In the last 10 years, traditional universities such as Kenyatta, CUEA and Maseno have begun to partner with international universities and organizations to introduce eLearning courses on and off campus. Still, it is veteran institutions, such as the African Virtual University (AVU), who are setting the pace.

Established in 1997, AVU is an intergovernmental organization that currently operates in 14 African states (including Kenya). Chiefly offering courses in Mathematics and Science, the university started as a “reaction to the lack of quality teachers in these fields,” explains Senior ICT Officer Declan Ottaro, during a recent demonstration class offered this July. UP was among the group of participants taken through the motions of a typical AVU classroom session. In order to “attend” a virtual class, students need a stable Internet connection for at least two hours (classes are typically one hour or more), a computing device and a headset.

The most interesting part of the demonstration was using the web conferencing program, Elluminate Live! As we tested and fiddled with the application, we were able to chat with one another (also using a plethora of emoticons), scribble notes on the whiteboard available onscreen and call the instructor’s attention by “raising our hands” (there’s a hand icon that flashes to alert the lecturer).

While it made a strong attempt to match up to the traditional classroom, there are obvious shortcomings. This class—or any other such real-time virtual teaching space—requires expensive computing devices accessible over long periods of time. Strangely, fee structures are not available online and calls to AVU offices went unanswered). Also, the use of a mixed mode of delivery that utilizes online and face-to-face training is an extra cost to the students, as they have to travel to partnering institutions on these occasions, as well as at exam times. The number of courses available also pales in comparison to those at a typical university.

That said, eLearning has gone a long way in availing educational opportunities for many of those who’ve been turned away from public universities and cannot afford private ones. (Since its inception 15 years ago, over 40,000 students have been successfully trained in AVU’s Open Distance and eLearning (ODeL) programs.)

One such happy customer is Patricia Mwansa Chileshe, an ICT Basic Skills student. “This course has changed the face of my life. I’m able to do so many things that I struggled to do earlier, like preparing lessons, typing exercises and tests, keeping records of my students and many more other personal things.” So if you are among those who aspire to get that higher degree, these virtual portals might be the solution.

She turned in his direction, because she felt someone staring. When he came over and sat down, she was in awe. He was broad shouldered, in a crisp pair of jeans, a sharp blazer and the perfect smile. They spoke for all of five minutes although she doesn’t quite remember what was said. She reached into her purse totake down his digits, but when she looked up, he was gone. This is how Cheroo Mung’ony describes meeting her current boyfriend. That five-minute, ethereal-sounding encounter two years ago at Nairobi’s Casablanca Bar was her first taste of speed dating. Back then, this style of matchmaking was quite novel, with only a handful of such events taking place in the city. Now it has grown in popularity, attracting between 100 and 400 people per event. So, how does it work? These events are quite the structured affair and often begin with singles meeting up at a social venue. They’ll huddle up in one room with notepads, pens and flat shoes.

The key to these events is music. The volume is turned up, and the singles are released into the fast and furious world of dating. Two singles get five minutes to talk to each other and, when the background music stops, they must each move on to the next single. This happens until everyone in the room has spoken to one another. Because each conversation lasts just a few minutes, a group of 100 singles can have up to 12 dates each in a matter of an hour! Tony Karanja, a speed-dating organizer with Infinite Media, says that speed dating has become an attractive option because it saves time. “Nairobians are the busiest people on earth! And since speed dating cuts out several steps in the dating process, it tends to suit them very well,” he says. “Speed dating is smart dating.

You don’t have to do the guessing you do at a club, wondering if a guy is single or married or gay. Everyone there is single and searching,” explains Faith Gichuki, a speed-dating attendee at Azalea Bar last November. So, is this new form of quickie dating the perfect solution that Kenyan singles have been searching for? David Lebohang is a frequent participant, and he is not so sure. “The problem with speed dating is it’s all about first impressions, and if you mess up in the first few dates, it has a ripple effect and messes up the rest of your evening.” Thankfully, you have the rest of the night and more singles to get through to potentially fix this kind of situation.

Remember, speed dating has gained most, if not all, of its popularity due to its ability to bring together a sizable number of singles. See, in the time it takes to heat up a frozen meal, a buoyant single at a speed- dating event will have sailed through two dates. And, perhaps like Cheroo, you too might make a love connection when trying your odds in the numbers game. To get in touch with Tony Karanja, visit www. infinitemedia.co.ke or www.facebook.com/Speed- datekenya.

Residents of Karen Ngong View Estate are under assault. The seasonal stream in the area that feeds the Mbagathi River has turned into a perennial flow with hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw human effluence. “The stench and visible pollution on our property became so serious that we couldn’t ignore it,” says Lizzie Gilbert, a resident and member of the Karen Ngong View Estate Association, which has started work towards fixing this crisis.

“I worry about the water table, the danger of the pollution on our property, and [for] all those who live and work there.” This pollution, the estate committee asserts, is deliberate. The primary culprits, identified in a call-to arms addressed to the residents of Karen Ngong View, are three schools located above the estate—Maasai Girls and Teachers College, Hekima School and Elirama School—as well as individuals and businesses building on the riverbank. They are accused of piping their sewage wastedirectly into the stream.

Tests done on water collected further downstream bears out this accusation, or at least the accusation that sewage waste is finding its way into the stream. “The water sample had coliform bacteria,” says Dr. Ruth Chunge, a medical parasitologist and the co-director of the Centre for Tropical and Travel Medicine (CTTM). “These bacterial forms are commonly found in animal faeces, but the sample had Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is evidence of human faecal matter.”

Besides E. coli, dangerous levels of protozoa, intestinal parasites and other bacteria were found in the water, which could be responsible for typhoid, cholera, dysentery and a host of other diseases in humans. Officials of Hekima School and Maasai Girls were unreachable for comment, but Mr. Saldera, the principal of Elirama School, was outraged by this accusation. “The investigation wasn’t done very well,” he said. “The vandalized pipe they say is responsible for pollution is not ours. It passes through the school but it belongs to the Ministry of Water.” “We use pit latrines,” added George Kimani, a director of the school, “so that waste cannot be ours.”

Nobody in the direct employ of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation seemed to be aware of this vandalized pipe in the Karen Ngong View area. Instead I was referred to the Athi Waters Services Board (AWSB), a state corporation under the ministry that is directly responsible for the infrastructure that supplies water in Nairobi, and takes away the sewage from our homes. Very apropos, since Mbagathi River is a tributary of Athi River, but they, too, had no knowledge of the broken pipe.

“The drainage systems are old so we rely mostly on physical inspections,” said Joseph Kamau, an engineer with AWSB. “But we are installing more and more detection systems.” But detection isn’t the only problem with old drainage systems. “The City Council of Nairobi has done a good job of cleaning water at the source,” says Dr. Chunge, “but our distribution systems, the pipes, etc., are very old and have so many leaks that the water could very well be contaminated by the time it comes out of the kitchen tap.” It doesn’t help that the sewage system runs parallel to the water distribution system, making contamination that much easier.

Most of the water in Nairobi is, however, contaminated directly (as alleged by the Karen Ngong View Estate Association in their area). The Nairobi sewage system, according to reports by the AWSB, covers about 40 percent of the city, with a smaller percentage of the population actually connected to it. Informal settlements contribute much of the garbage and human waste that pollutes our rivers, due to lack of infrastructure to cater to this need. “This water is fed back to slum residents by private water providers illegally tapping into our systems,” says Mr. Kamau, “but we are working to fix theunderlying problem.” He speaks of the Nairobi Sewerage Improvement Project, a four-year initiative that is part of the Nairobi River Basin Programme, piloted by the government in conjunction with UNEP, UN-Habitat and other stakeholders.

The project seeks to overhaul the sewer system in Nairobi, starting with areas that really need it: “Dagoretti, Kawangware, Kangemi and Githurai, among others.” The project, unfortunately, is still in the evaluation phase and will, more likely than not, take longer than four years to complete—if it even actually gets off the ground. One lives in hope.