Youth Tutoring!!! The Way I See It
Families, Orphans and Children under Stress (FOCUS) a youth initiative founded in the year 2002 as an urgent response to the HIV/AIDS situation in Ruiru division, Thika district (Kenya). At that time, the number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS was alarmingly growing, not to mention their poor living conditions and constant exploitation of their rights by their community. Granted, these problems allied to the orphans certainly warranted intervention, hence Focus’s resolution to put up a Day Care Center that sought to counter some – if not all – of these troubles.

Academic difficulties was among the many tribulations that presented themselves since most orphans, with some acting as heads of households, either performed poorly academically or worse still, chose to drop out of school to take care of their younger siblings. At FOCUS, such children on admission after thorough research and field work were re-admitted to school and afterward tuition prescribed to them alongside those vulnerable children who performed inadequately in class. In the year 2005, Simon Kariuki and I, all members of FOCUS were then commissioned to set up and execute a tuition program for all the children at the centre. We were later to be referred to a Peer Tutoring training carried out by Christian Children’s Fund (C.C.F) with funding from USAID with the sole purpose of equipping us with the necessary skills to assist the orphaned and the vulnerable children in our community through ‘Weaving the Safety Net’ program.

Currently, 34 OVC are benefiting directly from the FOCUS tutorial program which has since become a remarkably effective endeavour as better academic results are being realized among the beneficiaries. The tutorial program, carried out 5 times a week, has been of immense help to the children in that we, through the help of C.C.F, have been able to complement the few reading and writing materials they get from their various schools. In addition, the program has been made even more interesting with the introduction of both physical and intellectual game materials for the children.

On the other hand the activity in its entirety has also been of benefit to us, the practitioners, in terms of youth participation. To start with we get to contribute in the designation and making of the policies that govern the program as well as decide on the direction the project should take. Any how, besides tuition we also offer psychosocial support sessions to the children so as to help them embrace and solve some their own problems.

And finally, with all the necessary procedures put in place like constant supply of reading and writing materials for both the child and the tutor as well as transport reimbursement for the volunteer tutors, the project is ultimately bound to meet its objective which is to provide remedial teaching to the orphans and vulnerable children of the society – or at least that is the way I the see it. Okoth Odera (FOCUS)