Date: 1 August 2024 In The Chair: PP Geoff Beecher Members: 12 Guests: Irene Maina, Ken Dachi ******************************** Irene Maina – Kusoma Tu Foundation Irene Maina is from Kenya, and she is in Leeton visiting her Dachi grandchildren for 2 months.  The Kusoma Tu Foundation, founded in 2009, is the brainchild of Irene Maina. The Foundation seeks to enhance literacy amongst those that are most disenfranchised within the community, whether children or adults. It has worked with slum dwelling primary school children, who, in their final year, remained unable to read; hence bringing them to a level of functional literacy. They have worked with illiterate adults in rural areas to introduce basic literacy. The Foundation has created a phonetic based reading scheme, equipping recipients to be able to read any language. Most recently, the Foundation has been based in hard-toreach rural areas, introducing literacy to the non-school going children, as well as supporting the school going ones with the Foundation’s after-school literacy programme. In addition, they have been providing training to individuals in various capacities, equipping them to deliver the reading scheme within their specific context. Irene has over 40 years of teaching experience, spanning Primary School level to the Voluntary sector. Stemming from her conviction as a committed Christian, she passionately champions the cause for every individual to have the opportunity to learn to read and write. As such, her work has taken her from affluent metropolitan schools to slum area schools, to rural hard-to-reach areas. Irene talked about her experience in teaching reading skills to the POKOT people in northwest Kenya. The program brings reading skills to young people who, otherwise, would be functionally illiterate and consigned to a life of herding cattle (boys) or preparing their marital hut after genital circumcision if girls. The program is having some success under very challenging circumstances. |
