A parent in Manga ward, Nyamira County has engaged his children in making bricks during the long school recess caused by Corona virus pandemic to tame misbehaviour.
In what has been replicated by other parents in the area, John Osoro runs his brick business daily at Kianyatuang’a village on the Kisii Nyamira highway accompanied by his sons, Macvey and Andrew who are university and form four students respectively .
Osoro says he has not only boosted his income from the business, but also prevented his sons from engaging in mischief, including doing drugs, and contributing to the statistics on teenage pregnancies which are increasing in the region.
Osoro appreciates that with the assistance of his two sons he is able to complete all the work, which previously was done by five people at a cost of Sh.400 a day.
He says he is now able to save at least Sh2, 000 every day, which will be used for school fees besides purchasing food and clothes among other basic needs for his family.
Empathizing with those parents whose girls have been impregnated during the recess, Osoro says he is forced to take precautionary measures by making sure his sons do the manual work, adding that an idle mind is a devil’s workshop.
His bricks business since 1988 has enabled him to pay school fees, clear dowry arrears and put food on the table.
However, Osoro appeals to the Ministry of Education to retract on the community learning program, saying the community was not well equipped to handle children from different learning institutions which use different methods to impart knowledge.
Macvey aged 19 years says he was supposed to join the Technical University of Kenya to study Mechanical Engineering but Covid-19 pandemic put a damper on the plans. To him, helping his father means gaining life skills which will help him in future.
Second born Andrew, says it is one way of killing time and stress after being forced to repeat fourth form which he looked forward to completing this year.
On community based learning, he argues that it might not be effective because they are from different institutions and at different levels which might inconvenience those who are not able catch up with the rest.
By Clinton Nyamumbo/Jane Naitore
