Education
Comedy Kenya, in partnership with ADRA-Finland, has been using grammar to curb school dropouts and boost education standards in Migori county.
The programme dubbed “Empower Her” has been using grammar to talk about school dropouts for child retention as well as re-entry for those that had dropped out. Tobias Awuor who works with Comedy Kenya explained that grammar can promote academics in school and through speech one can feel the emotions and feelings of people.
Awuor who spoke during the Empower Her Grammar event that brought together various primary school children in Awendo Sub County said that the programme is being implemented in Awendo and Kuria Sub Counties where child dropout is high.
Some of the primary school children attending the Empower Her Grammar forum at one of the hotels in Awendo Town. Photos by Geoffrey Makokha.
“In Ndimaru Sub County, we have managed to achieve a 30 percent child dropout re-entry with a target of achieving at least 90 percent,” said Awuor. The programme is meant to change the lives and education rights of young learners in primary schools by addressing challenges of child dropout, teen pregnancies, new HIV infections, early marriages, child labour and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Awendo Sub County Education Director Nelson Orwa emphasised that the programme has been focusing on learner retention in schools within the Sugar Belt region. According to Orwa, Migori County child dropout stands between 10-15 percent with Awendo and Kuria accounting for 15 and eight percent respectively.
Orwa acknowledged that since the inception of the programme, the Child drop out is reducing with the re-entry programme in Awendo shooting to 85 percent. Four years ago, Comedy Kenya initiated a programme called Farm Culture to empower county residents economically through income-generating activities.