A Serendipitous Encounter

When I wrote the story of my young friend Fatuma a few months back I called it the “Audacity of Hope’ It was almost cliché, but it spoke to the life story of a young girl who was living through the pandemic and who against all the odds was making the best of the pandemic, undaunted and unafraid of the challenge ahead of her in her quest of education. I follow up her story with the title of a serendipitous encounter. If you haven't already, please read her story HERE that has inspired and birthed something bigger that touches and now reaches more children in similar conditions as that of Fatuma.

What began as an afternoon reading class for one young, enthusiastic girl so she could access some form of learning during the prolonged school closures, has now grown into a class of eleven children. You are probably wondering how this happened. Fatuma went home and bragged on her street about how she can now spell her name, she knows how to bake without an oven and painted a card for her mother on mother’s day. She had become Fatuma the superstar. She proved to be not only good at baking, she was also the smartest sales ‘child’ I have ever met.

You see, little Fatuma found a friend who found another friend who also found another friend to bring to class with her. And each Saturday afternoon at 2pm, Fatuma turned up with a new friend. They knew the rules. They wore a clean dress, their best shoes [if they had a pair] and combed out their hair, if they wanted to attend the Saturday class. Fatuma would turn up with a new friend, and then convince me that they knew the rules, the parents had also been told about a book and a pencil and that each friend had their parents name and number written on a piece of paper. Fatuma understood the currency which operated our informal Saturday school. Sadly in September, Fatuma's family moved to another village, but our Saturday class is still going strong under her short lived rein of recruitment.

‘Thank you for keeping the children busy and making the boy happy. He did not want to remove his chef hat when he was going to sleep.’ _ Emily a parent to one of the children comments after a baking session.

For children without access to remote learning platforms, it is a relief for both their parents and the children themselves to be able to rediscover the joy of learning. Learning at Fatuma’s weekly crèche was not all about English and maths but also about key life skills which are critical to the lives of these children. Although we were only able to work with 11 children, we believe that the skills gained at Fatuma’s little crèche will remain with them for a long time. All our children can now write their names on their own, form simple sentences, and perform mental math. They are encouraged to speak in order to build their confidence and our hope is that this will grow into something beneficial to the community.

So, when we talk about a Serendipitous Encounter these kids are a wonderful example who what that truly means. Despite the fact that the world had let them slip through the cracks, I am encouraged that they are fighting back, one book at a time, reclaiming the education promise and their dreams. What do you think we should do with Fatuma’s little crèche now that school resumes in January? Send your thoughts below.

 Author: Joan Makuthi

December 2021