Murang'a Kangema School Workshops - July 2025
Objectives
The Kangema school visits aimed to introduce high-performing students to Russian language and culture while identifying practical ways to strengthen school infrastructure, student welfare, and future language learning.
What Happened
On 7 July 2025, Path to Russia met 51 high-performing students at Kibutha Mixed Secondary School. The school, founded in 2001 and led by Principal Naomi Wanjiku Kihara, serves 87 learners in the mountainous Kangema area. Students practised Russian greetings, explored the Cyrillic alphabet, worked on pronunciation, and asked thoughtful questions about Russian culture and language.
On 8 July 2025, the team continued to Iyego Secondary School, a day and boarding public school founded in 1970. Forty students joined the session. Iyego already has a strong development record under Principal Joseph Wachira, including a three-storey classroom block, a computer room with 17 workstations, a school bus, expanded boarding facilities, and a stable feeding programme.
Key Moments
At Kibutha, students' questions showed genuine readiness for international exposure. The school also identified urgent needs: home-science equipment, improved water storage, repaired sanitation, internet and computer access, gas-line repairs in science labs, dining furniture, Kikuyu-language textbooks, and protein-rich additions to school meals.
At Iyego, students were disciplined, quick to learn, and proactive. They proposed forming a Russian-language club that could include correspondence with peers in Russia, film discussions, and online competitions. The school's needs include additional toilets, classroom repairs, practical-learning spaces for the updated curriculum, better ICT and science-lab equipment, sports equipment, and three extra 10,000-litre water tanks.
Why It Mattered
The Murang'a visits showed two schools with strong leadership, motivated students, and clear development plans. They also showed how quickly cultural curiosity can become a concrete proposal: students did not only enjoy the lesson; they asked for a club, regular contact, and deeper engagement.
The report identified three priority areas for transformation: practical learning through labs and workshops, water and sanitation systems that protect health and attendance, and global education through Russian clubs, internet access, and books in local languages. With targeted support, Kibutha and Iyego can become schools that combine local identity, practical skills, and international opportunity.