It’s still too early in the year. There’s still time to make resolutions to do better with your life. The actual work is in the steps to achieving those resolutions. We came across one person that will encourage everyone to start learning. Marcus Njeru, 63, farmer, father of 6, from Kirinyaga County in Kenya, a learner on Shupavu291 since January 2017, currently enrolled in class 8 on our platform.
Mr. Njeru’s children are all grown up. The last two girls are the ones in school. One is in form 4 while the last born is in class 8. I sought to feed my curiosity as to why a 63-year-old man would want to learn class 8 content. Then I remembered Kimani Maruge who went to class with children who could be his great grandchildren’s age, in the quest for knowledge.
Back to Mr. Njeru, he is a horticultural farmer who grows a variety of crops- from bananas to French beans. However, he is a special type of farmer who does not have idle time. Every free time he has is a great time to take lessons and quizzes on his feature phone. “Though it can’t connect to the internet, I have found a great way to keep myself informed through Shupavu291”, he says with pride.
He takes more than 20 lessons per day on the Shupavu291 in English, Bible, Swahili and even gets business skills from the Basic business course. “The beauty with Shupavu291”, Mr. Njeru says, “is that I can access Wikipedia without an internet connection”.
At his age, he understands that the world is constantly changing and wants to keep abreast with the new trends. “There was a time when it was great to go to secretarial school and learn to type. Now computers are on everyone’s hands in the form of phones”, he muses. “I want to gain as much skill as I can with the resources available to me”, he adds.
Since he missed the opportunity to sit for his primary examination, Mr. Njeru hopes to register himself as a private candidate and obtain a KCPE certificate. Well, his household is going to have 3 candidates this year- his two daughters and himself. We wish them success this early in the year because we believe that everyone has the potential to succeed.
Mr. Njeru’s story is evidence that learning never stops, and that it is never too late to start learning. He is among the 3.5 Million learners getting smarter through mobile learning. You can also join Shupavu291 by dialing *291# from a Safaricom line in Kenya. Our SMS/USSD service costs KES 3 per day only for unlimited learning interactions.
About the author
Juliet Otieno is the Brand and Social Media Lead at Eneza Education. She is trained in journalism and Public Relations and is a blogger who likes to play with words.