KDF Soldier Offers To Teach Students after Teachers Flee Region
Samuel Gitau, a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier based in the dreaded Boni Forest in Lamu County has offered to teach students at Kiangwe Primary School.
The soldier said that he decided to teach himself after teachers fled the school over security fears leaving only one teacher with a thankless task.
“I met the teacher, I found out that he has so many kids to teach and I saw the burden he holds. I have to assist him at times for the betterment of these kids,” Gitau told DW TV.
According to Mr. Gitau, he gained his teaching skills before he feels that can ensure that the students are not left behind in their studies as schools reopen in the region.
Farid Kala, the only teacher left Kiangwe Primary School and he is also the headteacher to the school.
The teacher has been moving from one class to another teaching learners in the school that closed in 2014 because of frequent attacks from the Al-Shabaab in the area.
“Al-Shabaab targets government employees including myself. When you wake up okay, you thank God. Before you sleep, you also pray to God. I am alone at the moment. Teaching is a problem because it is so tiresome. After finishing one lesson, I go to another lesson,” said Kala.
Currently, the institution has 120 students and most of them have been at home for more than six years during which schools remained closed in the region.
Following increased insecurity in the area, the Kenya Defence Forces began an operation in January of ensuring that learning goes on without interruption.
In December 2020, KDF soldiers raided an Al-Shabaab hiding area in Boni Forest and killed four militants.
On a Sunday, on the 27th of December 2020, an operation from the soldiers destroyed Al-Shabaab’s camp and arrested one terrorist.
Following the raid, KDF officers recovered several guns, communication gadgets, and thousands of ammunition.
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