A beacon of hope: How Prof. Shamala is changing education, impacting lives in Kakamega

_{By Andanje Wakhungu.}

Besides being a professor at the Masinde Muliro University Science and technology (MMUST), his insatiable appetite to pump sense into the heads of learners has pushed him to have an extra learning institution within his home turf to extend his academic prowess to the young generation.

His love for education which he states it does changes lives and livelihoods within communities and him being a living testimony of it he has decided to give back to the society by uplifting the education down trodden and struggling learners willing to go all the way up the academic ladder. 

With him emulating the education bigwigs and crusaders in the earlier years overseas (Risper and Gloria), the good Professor has made true his words and started the Ubuntu Justice Institute (UJI) an umbrella organization encompassing education training and uplifting the livelihoods of learners, young entrepreneurs and women as a whole within the sub county and even beyond for self-sustainability.

Through the Ubuntu justice institute, Professor Lucas Nandi Shamala has started an academy as one of its key pillars where on the UJI Farm he has started an education branch known as Risper Gloria academy  that reflects and honors the two American women Risper and Gloria who were academic champions of yester years who championed for the education of the oppressed and vulnerable learners, where they target learners with no means then train, educate and empower them with skills so that they can be self-sustainable.

Speaking at the Salvation Army Matioli Secondary School where he is a board member while awarding the 2023 best Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) performers, the Professor announced that already learning for the Form One to Form Four students was under way with more expected to join during August, and December holidays.

“We have qualified teachers on board who give tuition to learners from learning writing skills in English solving mathematics equations, social skills, sciences, communication skills, how to study and answer questions.

We have applied frequent testing, quick marking and thorough revision guided by a qualified teacher who guides the learners to mark their tests.

He reminisces his hey days when he was pursuing education and how it has put him in the limelight.

“You will never believe what pushed me to start this programme, I was a day student some years back then at Kivaywa Boys and I struggled to cope with my education challenges being a day scholar and after my high school I joined Kenyatta university where I trained as a teacher before landing a scholarship and relocating to America where I studied to attain my Masters and PhD and became a professor for 18 years, I have both American and African families and when I moved back home, I realized that my children were struggling with education especially at form one and two levels and I had to employ a private tutor for them, lest did I know that the whole scenario was facing the learners within the community who started coming over to also be assisted and that is how I ended up with this community academy that has now grown and attracting learners from other areas”

He says due to the demand and thirst of the learners to have and understand education, we have decided to incorporate primary and junior secondary students to be able to reach out as to many children as possible who are eager to make it in life.

Our institute is up and running and soon we will be officially launching it alongside the academy and it is my call to the parents of Malava to embrace the programme for the betterment of their children”