Education at the Rift Valley Children's Village

Preschool is held every morning, Monday through Saturday. RVCV preschool students range in age between 4 and 6 years old. Together, RVCV’s full-time preschool teacher and a volunteer teach the class. Having a full-time preschool teacher has provided the consistency needed to carry out this year’s new preschool curriculum that uses monthly themes to introduce each child to reading, writing, and math.

For our RVCV primary school children, we provide one-on-one and small group tutoring sessions. These sessions are designed to either help a student who may be struggling in a particular subject or to provide enrichment activities for students who are excelling in school. During one-on-one sessions, volunteers assist many of our younger students with English, math, or penmanship. RVCV’s student teachers assist our older students with Kiswahili, Social Studies, and Math during group study hall sessions.

Each year we interview and select five Form Four graduates to serve as student teachers at RVCV and Gyetighi Primary School for one year. For a variety of reasons, these students are unable to complete their secondary education despite having the academic credits to do so. During their year of service, student teachers have many responsibilities. They live in RVCV children’s homes and serve as role models for our children. They lead study group sessions for RVCV children as well as assist Gyetighi teachers in the classroom. Upon successful completion of their year with RVCV, student teachers receive sponsorship to continue their own education in Forms Five and Six. 

We also provide an English Confidence Class to area Standard Seven graduates who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to continue on to secondary school. Each year we interview interested students in order to build a fifteen or sixteen student roster.  The aim of this year-long course is to provide the students with the English skills and confidence necessary for them to pursue a job in Karatu or another nearby town. The course is taught by one or two volunteers and covers a variety of topics including greetings, food preparation, health, and travel.