A Tribute to A Mother Who Raised Six Outstanding Teachers
"The Transformation of Education begins with Teachers"
By Ann Munene, Global Education Senior Advisor Design, Monitoring, Evaluation and Research
On this Teacher’s Day, 5 October 2022, it will be exactly 15 months since my mother suddenly left us. As I reflect on her life as my first teacher and a mother, I want to honour her for raising 6 outstanding teachers and passionate educators - including myself.
My mother did not have a formal education; instead, she became a second-chance learner in her 40s. She enrolled for Gumbaru - an adult literacy programme in Kenya that gave older people a second chance to learning. Her literacy teacher was one of her daughters (my sister, Mary). After gaining sufficient literacy and numeracy skills for life-long learning, she became an astute advocate for quality education; served in PTAs, championed education rights, and raised funding for school constructions.
Mum worked hard to inspire, guide, and support each of her children to become what they wanted to be. We always knew that she held education very dearly in her heart. It is no wonder that she inspired six of her children to become outstanding teachers.
Among the six, we have accumulated over 150 years of service; taught various subjects like Maths, English, Physics, Geography, Business studies, Biology, Physical Education and CRE; reached thousands of students, who have in turn reached/touched tens of thousands of others. Among the calibre of students, we have taught, many of them have graduated to become teachers themselves. We have also taught pilots, nurses, engineers, doctors, IT specialist, entrepreneurs, lawyers, politicians, chefs, hotel managers, commercial farmers, international development workers (even in WV), and the list goes on.
So, on this World Teacher’s Day, as I celebrate my brother and sisters for their transformative contribution to education; I want to honour my late mum who despite the odds she raised six outstanding teachers. Thank you, mum- Asante mama.