Who are the key partners that help us to improve access to education and transform the lives of children in rural Africa? Teachers.
And we’d like to introduce you to one of our awesome Village Impact school teachers who makes a difference to our students every day—Mr. Richard Nyamiaka.
The father of three adult children (two daughters and a son), and widower of more than a decade, Richard has served as the Headteacher of Baraka Shalom Primary School since the school’s launching in 2015.
Every day and working side-by-side with local community leaders, Richard brings his expertise and passionate commitment to quality education Baraka Shalom’s, a commitment that is reflected in the schools’ first-class reputation in the Molo area of Nakuru County in Kenya.
Richard taught at Pele Primary School, a school very near to the Baraka Shalom community, for 28 years. During this time, he rose through the ranks from assistant teacher to the role of Deputy Headteacher, a position he held for a decade,
When Baraka Shalom Primary School was formed, the Teacher Service Commission promoted Richard to Headmaster because of his experience as an acting headmaster and all his years of excellent service.
But this was met with resistance:
The community at Pele Primary school were not going to let Richard go so easily and protested his transfer to the new school.
But even in the midst of the great love displayed by his community, Richard chose to join Village Impact in the important leadership role of Headmaster.
Says Richard:
“My greatest satisfaction is to be part of the transformation for the children in this community—from what was a hopelessness state to giving them the tools and hope they need for a brighter future through education.”
Richard believes that the delivery of high-quality services and supports for students means that together, we can ensure that all students in our schools are fully supported in becoming resilient, purposeful, involved, and engaged members of their communities.
He strives to cultivate this through encouragement, discipline and providing a friendly environment.
The direct impacts of Richard’s intentional leadership with students, teachers and community members, all of whom have joined his vision of creating the best school possible, is clear:
Baraka Shalom is the best academically performing Village Impact-supported primary school after obtaining the best school average results in the national exams last year.
It is also the best maintained primary school among our nine primary schools.
So, please join us in saying a huge “thank you!” to Richard and all our teachers and staff who blaze trails, lead by example, cultivate excellence and make possible the AMAZING student success and transformation in our schools—
You are AWESOME!