“Three in ten Grade Six learners cannot read a Grade Three English Story.” – Usawa Agenda Report.

This finding from a recent education report paints a picture of how our education sector continues to struggle with foundational literacy. It raises deep concerns about the effectiveness of early learning. When learners lack the ability to read and comprehend at their level, it limits their ability to learn across all subjects, ultimately affecting the end product of their future prospects and their contribution to society. But while the numbers are alarming, Teach for Kenya sees it as the beginning of a fight worth showing up for.

At Teach for Kenya we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive regardless of their background. In a step to address these challenges, Teach for Kenya through the fellowship program, places trained and passionate fellows in underserved schools across the country. This is not just a placement of teachers. It is a cultivation of transformational leaders who understand that solving educational inequity requires both heart and skill. These fellows work daily to close literacy gaps by designing interventions tailored to unique challenges of their learners and communities through their capstone projects.

Since its founding in 2019, Teach for Kenya has reached over 50,000 learners across public primary schools. It has also trained and placed over 207 active fellows and supported literacy focused initiatives led by fellows and alumni. This translates to 3,215 service teachers trained.

Take Eunice Nyasaina a Cohort 4 fellow at Gihunguri Jet view Primary School, in Machakos county. Early in her placement, she could directly relate with the recently released report by Usawa Agenda. When Eunice began her fellowship, she encountered a sobering reality: close to 80% of the learners she worked with faced difficulties in reading and constructing grammatically correct sentences in both English and Kiswahili. Traditional methods weren’t working, but Eunice saw an opportunity where others might have seen obstacles

Driven by a belief that literacy is a gateway to personal and societal growth, she launched Hadithi Hub, a creative learning initiative that integrates storytelling, word games, modeling clay, songs, and phonics-based visual tools. Her aim? To deliver a multi-sensory learning experience that accommodates all types of learners — especially those who struggle with conventional reading approaches.

“Sometimes the problem isn’t the learner — it’s the method,” Eunice reflects. “So, we made literacy hands-on, interactive, and joyful.”

Eunice is not alone. Other fellows across our partner schools have similar projects that revolve around literacy and numeracy. One of the thematic areas covered by Teach for Kenya. Projects like; Books for All by Derrick Onsarigo and Patience Deche, Read Connect by Erick Wambugu and Stacy Sirma just to mention a few are also addressing this challenge in literacy.

At Teach for Kenya, we see what is possible when we invest in teachers, as change agents and learners as limitless. We believe in the power of stories both the ones written in books and those unfolding every day in our classrooms.

 

If we are to rewrite the narrative of education in our country, we must start by ensuring that every child can read, comprehend and believe in their own potential. While the challenge is still posed, we are taking charge to to ensure we do justice to foundational learning by offering quality education to our children.

The literacy crisis is not yet over. Classrooms across the country are still filled with bright, eager learners who are struggling. But every day, Teach for Kenya fellows are stepping in. rekindling a love for learning, strengthening foundational skills and proving that change is possible one child at a time. The challenge is real and so is the impact. We are not waiting for the challenge to fix itself; we are building solutions from the ground up. Join us in this movement. Whether you are a potential fellow, a parent, a partner or simply someone who believes in the power of education. There is a place for you in this story. Because when one child learns to read, a future begins to shift.