RudolfSteinerSchool,Mbagathi

Nairobi,Kenya Out on the ancient plains of Africa, trod for eons by wild animals, the‘Mother School of East Africa’ was born – The Rudolf Steiner SchoolMbagathinearNairobi.Itsrootswentdownandslowlypenetratedthehardblackcottonsoil.Yearafteryearithasgrownintoastrongfoundationforawhole Steiner/Waldorf School development in East Africa with schools,kindergartensandsmallerinitiativesinKenya,TanzaniaandUganda,evenspreadingtoZanzibarandMadagascar.

The acacia trees still hold their place on thelandscapeandtheweaverbirdsmaintaintheirhomein these special trees. Still the sound of the lions,hyenasandthecallingfrogsechothroughthenight.At thesametimetheschool isrequiredtoembracemodern Africa with the heavily loaded flightscrossing overhead and descending to theinternationalairport‘JomoKenyatta’locatedashortdistanceaway.Themobile-antennaearelightingthenight sky as private houses and restaurants arepoppingupontheplains.Year after year the dusty Maasai Lodge Road hasbeen full of happy school children in their brickbrown uniforms on their way to the school eachmorning, some walking the long way to school,otherscomingfromthesurroundingareasinoneofthe two school buses. Many of the children comefromthenearestsuburbofRongaiwheretheyliveinhomesmade of iron sheets or grey square housingblocksplacedinthemiddleofabusylifefullofcows,goats, old cars andpeople selling vegetables, cokesand second-hand clothes from small shops andkiosks. At the school gate the original, simple sign‘RudolfSteinerSchool’isstillthere.Inside the school gate and up the long drive youimmediatelyentertheheartoftheschool;buildingsand surroundings express the creativity andwarmthof theplaceand the community.Youmeetthe lively children who proudly welcome you totheir school. You meet the busy teachers and thewholesupportstaffcarryingtheirresponsibilitiesintheir departments – office, kitchen, farm andboarding.Herewehavethe ‘MotherSchool’ofEastAfricawithallitsactivities.

It is an important and significant centre for thewholedevelopmentoftheSteiner/WaldorfSchoolmovementinEastAfrica.

AIMTheMother School of EastAfrica started in 1989and from the beginning the school has taken onthe huge task of supporting underprivilegedchildren; this means very poor children andfamilies.Thisstrongaimandfocushasshapedtheschoolthroughoutitsexistence.Itistheverycoreideaoftheschool.

Over theyears ithascreatedagroupofdedicatedco-workers and also a network of all thesupporters, funding organizations and sponsorsspreading out toEurope and to other parts of theworld. This unique commitment to supportunderprivileged children has also meant anongoing struggle to find a financial basis for theschool,sincethemajorityofthefamiliesareunabletopaytheschool fees.Theschool therefore isandhas always been dependent on donations andsponsor-income coming from abroad. It has beenan ongoing challenge; but it has also had a verypositive effect through extensive co-operationbetween cultures, lands and continents bringing aqualityofglobalconnectednesstotheschool.Most of the children come from families wherepoverty affects many aspects of their lives; manyare orphans. Food, clothing and school fees aredailystruggles,andfearofafutureinpovertywithno real hope for change is a major hindrance.Families livewithAIDS,alcoholanddrugabuse.Alackofinfrastructure,suchasafreshwatersupply,electricity and sanitation, creates unacceptableliving conditions for the families but particularlyforthechildren.

Alongsidethistherearenowagrowingnumberoffee-paying parents, who are attracted by theeducation and support the aim of the school. Wewelcome children to the school from differentreligiousbackgrounds.

PrimarySchoolandKindergarten

The Steiner School offers these children asupporting, creative and academically strongeducation, which has a significant impact onindividualdestiniesandlifeopportunities.

Thewholeschoolhas325childrenwith75childrenin the kindergarten and 250 children in primary.TheteachersaretrainedbothintheKenyansystemand Steiner-Waldorf. There are four beautifulkindergartengroupswithhighlytrainedandcaringteachers. Two groups are for children below fouryears and the other two for children between fourand six years. There are classes 1 to 9 in theprimary,andclass teachersremainwith theirclassfromclass1to8.Theclass9isayearfortheexamclass where children sit their Primary Certificateexam allowing the youth to proceed smoothly to asecondaryschoolsomewhereelse.As a unique pedagogical offering, every Friday theChristian service takes place for primary children.ThisservicewasgivenbyRudolfSteinertothefirstRudolf Steiner School in Stuttgart. It has a strongmoralgroundingforthechildrenandtheschool.

Kitchenandfarm

Theschoolfarmhasbeendevelopedrecentlyintoabiodynamic farm. This impulse has been cultivatedasanexample fordevelopment inEastAfrica.HelpisgivenbybiodynamicfarmersfromEurope.When

youwalkaroundtheschoolcompoundyoucometoa green oasis of healthy vegetables for the schoolkitchen; creating such abundance is a hugechallengeonthedryAfricanlandscape.Thegardenis developed with a water drip system and carefrom the farmer. The garden provides healthymeals for all the childrenwhich are in contrast totheirhomeprovisionswherethestruggleforfoodisever present. In addition, the children get healthyfreshmilkfromourlittleherdofcows.

BoardingOnthecompoundthereisa largeboardingfacility,fulltocapacitywith121children,andmanyofthemare orphans. A large number are in difficult lifesituationswithoutclosefamilymemberstocareforthem. In this large homewith children from2 1/2upto15years,theyreallyfindanew‘family’,whichprotectsandcaresfortheirsoulneeds.Afterschoolandovertheweekendsthechildrencanfeelhappywith the joy of playing together on the compoundwith simple toys they havemade themselves suchas ‘cars’madeofoldwiresand tin cans.Therearefourboardingparentscarrying thishuge taskwithmuchloveandenergy.

TheSchoolCommunityTheexperienceofwarmthandpeace is feltwhenyouenter theschool.Thiswelcomingatmosphereismainlyfeltbecauseofthehumanactivitiesfromdedicated and active employees from all thedifferentworkareas.All departments are important for carrying thewholeschool: theofficeworkers, thecooks in thekitchen, the school bus drivers, the cleaners, thefarmers, the maintenance, those working on thecompound, boarding parents and not least thewatchmen. Our faithful watchmen protect theschool day and night. Some staff lives on thecompound, which makes for a feeling of home.Very often some of the small huts on thecompound house our many guests; it could bementors,volunteers,or friendscoming frequentlytohelp,allfromabroad.

Whole groups of young volunteers from Europe,mainly Germany, have done their practical herehelpingwithlargerschoolprojects.

In-HouseTeacherTrainingAveryimportantandcrucialactivityformanyyearsis the ‘Steiner/Waldorf Teacher Training’ for thewhole of East Africa, that is, Kenya, Uganda andTanzania. Modules take place three times a yearduring school holidays when the large boardinghouseaccommodatesthe50to60teachertrainees.This Teacher Training has been extremelysuccessfulwith its colourful and creative approachto education. It has been organized and led byexperiencedandgiftedtrainerscomingmainlyfromtheCentreforCreativeEducationinSouthAfrica.Ithas meant that the Steiner/Waldorf Schools are

carried by gifted and enthusiastic local youngteachers who have grasped the idea and thefutureofthiseducation.ThetrainingprogramhasbeenpossibleduetotheforesightoffundersfromEuropeandcanbepossibleinthefuturethroughworldwidesupport.

RelatedActivities

EastAfricanCommittee

Over the years the school has maintained anongoing striving for cooperation, which hasstrengthened and supported the Waldorfdevelopment in East Africa. One of theachievements has been to develop an unifyingorgan for cooperation between the East AfricanWaldorf initiatives.This ‘EastAfricanAssociationCommittee’was formed in2005andhas itsbasein the ‘Mother School’. The committee usuallymeets three times a year with representativesfrom the three East African countries. Thiscommittee takes on important work like thefuture strategy for the development ofSteiner/WaldorfEducationinEastAfrica.

ConferencesandWorkshops

From the beginning the lively conferences andworkshopsforSteiner/WaldorfinitiativeshavebeentakingplaceintheMotherSchool.TeachersfromalltheSteiner/WaldorfschoolsinEastAfricahavemetover two or three days for conferences, sharinginspiration and experiences from the pedagogicalarea,andlearningmoreandmoreaboutthisspecialeducationforthegoodofthechildreninEastAfrica.Theschoolhasbeen the founderandcarrierof theanthroposophical conferences, which have beendeepeningtheworkwiththeStudyofMangivenbyRudolf Steiner, the founder of Steiner/Waldorfeducation.Theseconferencestakeplaceeverythreeyearsintheschool.Conferencesareplanned incooperationwith localand international colleagues. This workingtogetherbetweenculturesgives the conferencesamoodofhumanonenessandafeelingofbuildingaglobalfuturetogether.

Formoreinformationcontact:

JudithBrownEmail:Judith.Brown-School.Leader@steinerschoolmbagathi

Tel:0722982796P.O.Box15609

00503,MbagathiNairobi,Kenya

Website:steinerschoolmbagathi.co.ke

RudolfSteinerSchool

MbagathiNairobiKenya