Pius Odhiambo, the man behind the Kiswahili Tekelezi, a global movement to promote the learning of Swahili language, was born and raised in rural Kenya. He is a Data Engineer by Profession and currently works in Washington DC in the United States of America.
He is very passionate about using data-driven initiatives to bring change and innovation to schools in rural Kenya. Additionally, he is also the brain child behind KISWATE DIGITAL ACADEMY. Just like Uber, which is a taxi service with the highest number of customers worldwide despite not owning any cars, KISWATE DIGITAL ACADEMY is bound to become a school with the highest number of students and teachers without its own physical infrastructure in Africa.
Pius attended Lwero Primary School between 1983 and 1990 and later joined St. Mary’s Ukwala High School from 1991 to 1994. On 26th October 1996, he joined Kenyatta University to study Bachelor of Education (Science) in Mathematics/Physics. He graduated on 13th October 2000. In October 2001, he was hired by the Teachers Service Commission of Kenya and worked for 10 years. His last duty station was Olkejuado High School in Kajiado county.
He later relocated to the United States of America. There, he graduated with a Master of Science in Information Technology (Database Systems Technology) at the University of Maryland Global Campus in Adelphi, Maryland in May 2017. He also holds a graduate certificate in Information Assurance from the same university.
He is also a graduate of the prestigious 6-month boot camp graduate certificate in Data Analytics & Visualisation from George Washington University in Washington DC, USA. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Science in Computer Science at Bowie State University in Maryland.
About Kiswahili Tekelezi (KISWATE) Scholarship Fund
KISWATE is also adopting schools in Kenya and then giving students from Adopted schools scholarships through KISWATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND. In June 2021, KISWATE SCHOLASRSHIP FUND launched a funds drive to raise kshs. 2.7 million to sponsor students from needy families in day schools for 4 years.
Phase 1 of the program was concluded on Friday, August 13, 2021, with a total of 29 students being sponsored in 8 different secondary schools. Phase 2 will conclude on September 17, 2021, where 71 more students are expected to benefit. These are vulnerable students who have been unable to join secondary schools due to financial difficulties at their homes, which resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students resorted to working in the nearby gold mine near Nyambiro Primary School in North Ugenya.
Two volunteers, KISWATE village elders Mr. Francis Muyoma and Mr. Sabastian Rapudo, walked from home to home in search of vulnerable children that have not joined form one. Furthermore, Mr. Rapudo visited Nyambiro Gold Mine on Monday and advised miners at the site to ask any KCPE graduate to report to the nearby Bar Odar Secondary School.
Uyundo Secondary School is full and cannot admit any more students. Parents are advised to take their children to other schools, such as Kagonya Sec School, Lifunga Girls, and Got Rembo Secondary schools, by Friday, August 27, 2021, to benefit from phase 2 of the program.
The principals of those schools are required to submit the details of the admitted students under the KISWATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND to the fund’s CEO Mr. John Yuya. This is necessary for the students to benefit. Once the details are received,
KISWATE COMMUNITY COORDINATOR, Mr. Fred Ogeda, will make arrangements and issue the students with KISWATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND application forms. Students have 1 week to return the forms for processing. Successful applicants will then be interviewed at their homes by Mr. Ogeda.
All students in phase 2 of the program will be supported with 1 piece of uniform and fees for term 1 at the rate of day schools. Other schools that benefited from the program include St. Paul’s Ndenga Secondary School, St. Mary’s Ukwala High School, and St. Anne’s Sega Girls Secondary School.
On Monday, August 16, 2021, at Lwero Primary School in Doho West sublocation of Ugenya subcounty, Siaya county, Mrs. Agnes Odhiambo, the current principal of Ndenga Secondary School, led a group of students from Lwero, Uyundo, and St. Joseph Ochiel Primary schools in a Luo chorus song. The song reminded the students of the importance of going to school.
Lwero Primary School was started in 1982 and sat for its first KCPE examinations in 1989. Mr. Denis Otieno Oloo, the top student at Lwero Primary School that year, was invited to Maranda High School in 1990. However, he never made it to high school because of the lack of scholarship opportunities like Wings to Fly by Equity bank and KISWATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND by Kiswahili Tekelezi.
In 1996, another top student at Lwero Primary School, Mr. Charles Oduor Opiyo, was invited to St. Mary’s School, Yala. However, he only made it to St. Mary’s Ukwala High School as a day scholar. Many more students continue to miss admission to their high schools of choice in a similar manner.
It is because of cases like these that Mr. Pius Odhiambo decided to start the KISWATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND. The fund enabled Lwero Primary School to register 100% transition to high school. Meanwhile, other adopted schools in the neighborhood registered over 88%. Uyundo Primary School registered 88% transition, while St. Joseph Ochiel registered 93% transition to high school by Friday, August 13, 2021.
Mr. Odhiambo is set to resign from his current Data Engineering job to join the Entrepreneurship Academy of Bowie State University. There, he will work on KISWATE DIGITAL ACADEMY with distinguished professors in Entrepreneurship and Computer Science at Bowie State University.
Speaking to parents, teachers, and students of KISWATE-adopted primary and secondary schools in Ugenya Sub-county via pre-recorded video, Mr. Odhiambo narrated the challenges he went through while attending St. Mary’s Ukwala High School as a day scholar. These challenges later hardened him and changed his destiny for good.
He attributed his little achievements to his mother, Pastor (Rtrd) Selestine Odhiambo, and the Principal of St. Mary’s Ukwala High School at that time, Mr. Maurice Oguda KOgweno. He also acknowledged the peaceful, conducive learning environment provided by his father, the famous granary/papyrus craftsman from the village.
Further, Pius asked the Board of Management of Lwero Primary School to initiate a dialogue-based process that can lead to acquiring more land from the neighborhood. This will increase the size of the compound of Lwero Primary school from the current 0.5 acres to 4 acres, as recommended by the ministry of Education.
He noted that the neighbors to Lwero Primary school who have expressed interest in participating in the dialogue-driven initiative need to be compensated competitively. This compensation will allow them to resettle elsewhere and give room for expansion of the school.
Currently, students at Lwero Primary school have to walk to a neighboring school around 3 km away to sit for their field CBC-based practical examinations. This situation has led to a loss of valuable time during exams, according to the current head teacher, Mr. Caleb Sirigwa.
Lwero Primary School will host the International Center For KISWATE SCHOLARSHIP FUND. Additionally, 100% transition to high school will be an annual celebration at the school. “We need to make it a tradition to assist students from KISWATE adopted primary schools to transit to high school every year. Once a school registers 100% transition, as a community we must gather together the following Monday at the school to celebrate our success,” said Mr. Odhiambo.
Source-https://nyanzadaily.co.ke/
