In which I make a move...

I have accepted an appointment to join the Board of Management of Itetani Boys High School.

When I received the invitation, I did not immediately know what I was expected to do. Itetani School, with its unique circumstances, is way out of my comfort zone – in the middle of Makueni County, over a hundred miles from the city where I live, and more than three hundred miles from where I was born and brought up.

In addition, the school has a unique set of challenges - the student population has been declining over the years, a trend that the board would like to change by improving the academic standards and the school infrastructure. The school is supposed to be a double stream of 40 students per class but there is under enrolment with 53 students in Form 1, 52 in Form 2 and 56 in Form 3. Form 4 is hardest hit with 34 students. Total population has been declining as well.

But I remember that is the exact challenge my CEO, Kariuki Ngari recently gave me – to get out of my comfort zone. He keeps reminding me that Learning only starts when you get out of your comfort zone.

Working with young school students is something that is close to my heart. Over the last six years or so, we, alumni of my former school, Molo Academy, embarked on a project to raise the standards of education by rewarding top performers. We sponsored the top performers to a luncheon at a five-star hotel, where we invited industry leaders to share life insights with them. When this became a regular event, the school performance rose rapidly. Our first cohort of top performers (A only) was 6 out of the class of 50. The last cohort we had three years ago was 40 out of the class of 50!

I am driven by the belief that if somebody spoke to a younger me during my formative years I would be miles ahead.

I am glad that I work with an organization that supports such initiatives. Standard Chartered Bank offers employees three days' paid leave to volunteer in their communities. We get an opportunity to share our time, skills and expertise with local partners working on issues that matter in our communities. (In 2018, SC employees contributed more than 65,000 days of volunteering; over half of these days were dedicated to the environment, health and community outreach).

Standard Chartered is also empowering the next generation through our global initiative, Futuremakers, that aims to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion in our markets - see https://www.sc.com/en/sustainability/investing-in-communities/

So yes, I can’t wait to do this. I will be updating you on the progress! Please keep me accountable.

A brief history of the school:

Itetani Boys School was started in 1970 as a mixed day school. In early 1980s, the school started a boarding wing for the girls but continued enrolling day scholars from the surrounding areas. In 2012, the school became a boys’ only school and the girls were moved to the newly established Itetani Girls School.

The School is connected to electricity and has a small generator. The school has adequate classrooms (though some repair work is required on the floor) but they are habitable. The dormitories are also enough and the book to student ratio is adequate.