OLDEST STUDENT IN KENYA

Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge (1920 - August 14, 2009) holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school—he enrolled in the first grade on January 12th 2004, aged 84.Although he had no papers to prove his age, Maruge believed he was born in 1920.

School time

Maruge attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret, Kenya; he said that the government's announcement of universal and free elementary education in 2003 prompted him to enroll.In 2005 Maruge, who was a model student, was elected head boy of his school.In September 2005, Maruge boarded a plane for the first time in his life, and headed to New York City to address the United Nations Millennium Development Summit on the importance of free primary education.^[

Robbery

Maruge's property was stolen during the 2007-2008 post-election violence, and he contemplated quitting school. During early 2008 he lived in a refugee camp, where he was reportedly a minor celebrity, four kilometers from his school, but still attended classes every day.In June 2008, he relocated to the capital Nairobi.In June 2008, Maruge was forced to withdraw from school and relocate to a retirement home for senior citizens. However, soon after, on June 10, 2008, Maruge enrolled once again into grade 6 at the Marura primary school, located in the Kariobangi area of Nairobi.

Film

A feature film about Kimani Maruge, starring Oliver Litondo and Naomie Harris titled The First Grader, was released on May 13, 2011. The British-produced film was shot on location in the Rift Valley in Kenya, despite earlier reports that it would be filmed in South Africa.Director Justin Chadwick said: "We could have shot it in South Africa, but Kenya has this unbelievable, inexplicable energy - inherent in the children, and the people we were making the film about".

Baptism

On Sunday May 24, 2009, Maruge was baptised at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kariobangi and took a Christian name, Stephen.Maruge was then using a wheelchair.Maruge was a widower, and a great-grandfather (two of his 30 grandchildren attend the same school). He was a combatant in the Mau Mau Uprising against the British colonizers in the 1950s.

Death

Maruge died on August 14, 2009 of stomach cancer, at the Cheshire Home for the Aged in Nairobi.He was buried at his farm in Subukia.

Click the link below to watch a video clip of Kimani Maruge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYWnq4p2OBY&feature=related

Sources:http://www.wikipedia.com/

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First woman Senior Superintendent of Prisons.

The Honorable Phoebe Asiyo—UN Goodwill Ambassador, former parliamentarian and CEDPA alumna—is one of the most influential and respected women in Kenya. Born on the shores of Lake Victoria in 1935, conventional wisdom was that she would follow in the footsteps of most women and girls in her community and not seek a career outside of taking care of the household and raising the children.

“Mama” Asiyo, as she is affectionately called, had other plans. She was one of the few girls to attend the Gendia Primary School in Karachuonyo, and had big plans for herself.

“We were not taught mathematics or English—that was for the breadwinners, the men,” she recalled. In those days, girls’ education consisted of home economics and farming skills. Not constrained by what was offered to her, Mama Asiyo began taking correspondence courses, “to prove I could do better than the boys.” She began her career as a teacher and later became Kenya’s first woman Senior Superintendent of Prisons.

Mama Asiyo went to Embu Teacher Training College where she studied to become a teacher. Her teaching career was brief; she considered it a stepping stone for the future path she would blaze for herself and other women. From teaching, Mama Asiyo went on to work in prison services.
The prison system in Kenya, like almost all sectors in the country, was a male-dominated. Mama Asiyo rose through the ranks to become the Senior Superintendent in charge of women’s prisons in 1964. In this capacity, she managed to establish separate prisons for women across Kenya.
After six years, Mama Asiyo left the prison system and became the director of a nonprofit organization to give more to her community.
At that time however, there were very few women leaders in Kenya, so there were few mentors for her. Mama Asiyo made her way with a lot of passion, but she says she lacked the training and practical skills that would enable her to better channel her leadership abilities.
In 1978, Mama Asiyo attended on CEDPA’s very first Women in Management workshops. She says the program helped her align her passions with her abilities and helped illuminate her future path.
“CEDPA played an important role in my decision to make a bid for a parliamentary seat,” said Mama Asiyo.
In 1979, she made the decision to run for national office in Kenya, and she beat the powerful incumbent by a mere 2,000 votes. When he contested the results, the election was held again, and the result was that Mama Asiyo’s margin was even larger.

The Honorable Asiyo held the seat for two five-year terms, at the time being the only woman ever to serve for so long in Kenya. As a Minister of Parliament, she worked hard on a broad agenda, but always kept women’s rights and their full political participation at the top of her agenda.

Mama Asiyo’s political activism didn’t end with her leaving parliament. She currently is chairperson of the Caucus for Women’s Leadership, formerly the Kenya Women’s Political Caucus, which works to empower and train potential women candidates for political office.

Last year, in recognition of her many contributions to her country, Mama Asiyo was presented with one of the highest honors in Kenya. She was elevated to the status of an Elder, a traditional title that comes with it great prestige. Once again, Mama Asiyo made history for women, becoming the first woman ever to be given this honor in Kenya.

She continues her advocacy in Kenya and internationally, and pursues every opportunity to advance the lives of women and girls in her country.

“Everyone has a dream of what they would like to be in the future, including our girls. If we don’t provide the mechanism to make these dreams come true, then we have failed as a country,” she says.

First woman bank manager in Kenya.

Mary Okelo is a former director of the International Center for Research on Women [1] and sister to Kenya’s Vice President Moody Awori.

In 1977 she was is "Kenya’s first woman bank manager of Barclays Bank". "Later she broke the barriers of male dominance in the banking industry, ascending to become the first woman bank manager in Kenya. And there she relentlessly forged the way for the bank to start offering loans to women. She was among founders of the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) in 1992, becoming their first chairperson."

"In the field of education, she has pioneered the creation of one of the most successful chain of private schools in East and Central Africa with over 1000 pupils — the Makini Schools, which has topped the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education performance countrywide more than once and twice produced Kenya’s top girl student...

"She would later organise a tripartite programme between Women’s World Banking (WWB), Barclays Bank and KWFT.

"Her work with WWB saw her set up affiliates in Gambia, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She later held the position of senior adviser to the President of the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

"She is also recognised internationally for her service as the Vice President of WWB in New York between 1990 and 1992. She has served on several committees, including the World Bank’s External Gender Consultative Group (EGCG) and women’s credit organisations across Africa. In 1993 she received the International Woman of the Year Award in recognition of her services to finance

Below is an interview from the standard http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000045369&cid=620

I began my career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1967. I harboured the dream of becoming an ambassador, but let go of that dream as soon as I began working at the ministry.

Six months later, I left to join Barclays Bank. I rose through the ranks and in 1977, I became the first woman bank manager in the country.

In those days, it was very difficult for women to access credit as they were required to have the approval of their husbands among several other bottlenecks. We operated under the archaic Napoleonic law where women, children and lunatics were put in the same category.

Women had no contractual rights, yet they played a big role in nation building. They could not even be promoted to managerial positions. Most women those days were clerks, cashiers, sweepers and tea girls.

To counter this, some female colleagues and I began the Barclays Bank Women’s Association to mentor young women into successful banking careers. We challenged and inspired young women not to accept the status quo or be content with subordinate jobs.

Access to credit

We encouraged each other to work hard for managerial positions, study for professional exams and, most important, to believe in our capabilities and talents.

During the first UN meeting in Mexico, it emerged that women were underdeveloped due to lack of access to credit and capital facilities. In 1979, Women’s World Banking (WWB) was conceived.

This was a milestone for women in banking because it opened doors to many other organisations that would empower women and promote their economic growth.

In Kenya, we saw the need to start a like-minded organisation so in 1982, we invited other like-minded women and started the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT).

I became its first chairperson and my then boss at Barclays Bank, TD Myles, supported my efforts to see the organisation grow. Today, I am proud of Dr Jeniffer Riria, the current Chief Executive Officer of KWFT who has worked hard to see the organisation become the largest micro-finance institution in the country.

It was a difficult road but we had to fight for the rightful position of women as far as banking and access to credit and capital was concerned. We encouraged women across the country to save their money and borrow loans to start and grow their businesses. Slowly but surely, women became more empowered and today women run huge business.

Changing laws

I left Barclays Bank in 1985 to be the regional representative and first African representative to the Women’s World Banking. My job was to sensitise and inspire women across the continent to be economically empowered and independent. I was also involved in lobbying African governments to change rules and regulations discriminatory to women.

Two years later, in 1987, WWB seconded me to the Africa Development Bank as a senior advisor to the bank’s president. My area of concentration was focused on women development and the private sector.

I worked as the president’s senior advisor until 1990 when I was appointed the vice president of the Women’s World Banking based in New York.

As vice president of WWB, my job entailed a lot of travelling and I literally lived off a suitcase. I covered all the 52 African countries to lobby African governments and financial institutions to remove rules and regulations that were discriminatory against women. I also inspired women taking the initiative to be financially independent and economically empowered.

I was instrumental in setting up affiliates of WWB in African countries such as Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. After a while, I felt homesick. Being away from my husband and children was not easy to deal with. In 1992, I decided to take a sabbatical and while on the break, I decided to leave the banking career altogether.

My family is everything to me

I met my late husband, Dr Pius Okelo, in 1968 in London While studying for my post graduate diploma in professional banking.

He was studying at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, where he earned a doctorate in Electrical Engineering. He was the second Kenyan PhD holder in Electrical Engineering.

We got married in London and got three wonderful children; Joseph Okelo (he has a Masters in Strategic Management), Lawrence Okelo (he has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering) and Clare Niala (a doctor). Plus their spouses (Patricia, Christine and Alistair), in total, I have six children and six grandchildren.

My family is everything to me. We have stuck together through thick and thin. I thank God that they are good and supportive children.

I lost my husband in November 2004 through a road accident. Life without him has been challenging, but I have found strength in Jesus Christ.

Secure childhood

I have come to take God more seriously than ever and I have since embarked on a spiritual journey. I have seen God’s faithfulness in many ways as I lean on His promises and trust Him completely.

I have a strong Christian background and all through my life, I learnt to put God before everything I did.

I was born in Busia, near the border of Kenya and Uganda to Cannon Jeremiah Musungu Awori and Mariamu Awori.

I was the 14th born among 16 children. We were a close-knit family. Our parents applied a fine blend of love, care and strict-military-like discipline. They led us to God and taught us to respect and love God in everything we do.

I had a very happy and secure childhood and I enjoyed the company of my sibling as we went to school together at the local mission school in Nambale.

I attended Butere Girls for my O-levels.

I was among the first 13 girls admitted to start A-levels in the country at Alliance Girls High School. Other girls included Lady Justice Effie Owuor, Prof Florida Karani, Elizabeth Wanjiru (of Mother-in-Law) and the late Elizabeth Masiga (the first woman chief inspector of schools) among others.

Alliance Girls contributed to moulding me into what I am today and I fondly recall our headmistress, Miss Mary Bruce, inspiring us to succeed.