By Betty Luke
She had taught for nine years across several schools and even rose to become among the first female deputy head teachers in Isiolo and remained focused to rising to higher echelons but it was not long before she took an unforeseen U-turn.
Mrs Jane Mwangi, then a Deputy Head teacher at Waso Primary School on the outskirts of Isiolo town in Bulapesa ward, Isiolo North constituency bowed to what she calls normal frustrations at work and resigned in March 1989, though frustrated and somehow worried what people would say of her.
As of the time, she had no clear alternative plan on what she would do next even as circumstances demanded that she quickly ‘starts off something’ to at least supplement her husband’s efforts in providing for their four children, two of whom were pupils at the school she resigned from.
“I never thought I would ever quit teaching because I was so passionate about it but something irritated me (at the school) and I had to resign,” she says adding that it was her lowest moment in life.
Not driven by opportunity but for survival, the idea of starting up a small business in the then dusty Isiolo town to earn her some income came up and her Sh23, 400 early retirement benefits came in handy.
As they say, desperate times call for desperate steps, she opted to open a boutique shop for second hand clothes (Mitumba) that she sourced from Nairobi.
But lacking adequate knowledge and skills to effectively run the business, she closed down the shop a year-and-a-half later due to debts.
“I had no skills for running a business forcing its collapse due to debts that majority of my friends owed me,” Mrs Mwangi recounts.
While muddled on the next business to try her luck in, a relative convinced her to take a short-term hair design and beauty course at a school in Nairobi and she gladly accepted though beauty was not her cup of tea.
All this while, an undying passion to impart learners with knowledge and revert back to teaching profession which she was still somehow passionate of continued begging.
Reluctant and still worried whether to venture into education or not, a friend Nkirote Kirimi persuaded her to start her own small school so that her knowledge would not go into the drain.
The friend even promised to offer her son and convince her brother to also give out his two children, all who Mrs Mwangi previously taught during school holidays.
“She (Nkirote) even gave me Sh100 for admission and told me she would bring her son together with his two cousins at the beginning of the following year,” she recalls the catch 22 situation.
With three pupils, Mrs Mwangi started off the teaching at her home but lack of adequate space posed a challenge forcing her to temporarily stop the exercise after a week.
She approached her husband to assist her with some single rental rooms he had constructed at Nyara area (Kwa Mastima) which he obliged though conditionally.
“He allowed me to use the rooms but on condition that the nursery section would be up and moving (on its own) in three years’ time”.
Apart from the initial Sh100 registration fee, each learner was paying Sh700 per term.
“I used the Sh2100 that I collected for the first term (from the three pupils) to buy sufurias and a few foodstuff for the children,” she recalls.
Being the only staff and with the pupil population growing though slowly, she had to quickly master the art of multitasking by playing the role of a teacher and mother.
On several occasions, she had to carry the younger ones on her back while teaching the older ones and had to give them some tasks to allow her prepare porridge and food for them.
“It is not once I was bitten while teaching. I used to escort all of them home after the classes and later frequent restaurants to collect bottle tops to make learning materials and customized toys for them,” Mrs Mwangi says.
A crisis arose after the first year as she had nowhere to take the pupils who were to graduate to Class One and nearby primary schools refused to admit them forcing her to spread them across the three classrooms.
Her keen attention to details, that she says every teacher must have, saved the life of one of male pupils who had a hollow heart and who had a successful surgery in India.
“I noticed the boy was unwell during my routine checks and on medical examination, it was discovered that his heart had a hole. He was then immediately referred to a hospital in Nairobi for management,” she notes.
Back at the school, she launched a “help a sick child” fund drive that they conducted in Isiolo town and its outskirts before breaking for lunch for several weeks.
“We walked while holding hands in town and approached businesspeople and shops for help and we managed to raise Sh65, 000 plus my Sh1000 that I gave out to the family before the boy was flown to India,” Mrs Mwangi says, adding that the boy is an accountant at one of the big firms in Nairobi.
Unknown to her, the experience was preparing her for a more difficult but lucrative venture.
Several months into the second year of 1991, some of the local public schools agreed to enroll her about 16 pupils paving way for what she terms as a breakthrough.
She would later in the same year relocate the school to a 10-acre-land near AIPCA church where she built three timber classrooms. The entrepreneur immediately employed two teachers, one of them from Hekima Primary who wanted to leave for Nairobi and paid between Sh3000 and Sh4000 monthly.
“My late husband took a Sh150, 000 loan that we used to buy timber for constructing the classrooms, buying desks and buying food for the pupils,” she reveals.
Little Angels Academy, the Isiolo’s pioneer private school was then born.
The school was registered four years later and in 1998 did its first Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams where all the six candidates performed well attracting more learners to the school.
Fast forward, the school has for the last 20 years of its existence been among the leading in performance in Isiolo and neighbouring counties.
Little Angels Headteacher Josphat Kimathi attributes the school’s consistent dazzling performance to teachers commitment and learners discipline and hardwork.
“We ensure that syllabus is completed early so that learners have ample time to prepare for the exams. Our teachers are experienced and our pupils are disciplined,” Mr Kimathi says, adding that their learners are all rounded and shine in extracurricular activities and competitions.
In 2020 KCPE exams, the school emerged the best in the county with a mean of 372 marks. Its best pupil Nasrina Abdulrahman who scored 409 marks was the second best in the county behind St Mary’s Loreto Primary’s Eyanae Ashiki who topped with 416 marks.
Only one of the 62 candidates who sat the exams at the school got below 300 marks with five getting over 400 marks and 56 others 300 marks and above.
Last year (2021), of the 49 pupils who sat KCPE at the school, 13 scored 400 marks and above while 36 scored 350 marks and above with their mean increasing to 384 from 370 in the previous year.
Their top two pupils, Cynthia Gakii and Umulkher Jabir both scored 411 marks while the county’s best pupils Brenda June Owuor (Ikhlas Academy) and Claire Kamatha of St Mary’s Loreto both got 415 marks.
The Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) pilot day primary school has 42 teachers, more than 1200 pupils and 25 support staff.
Its four buses pick pupils in the morning and drop them home after classes in the evening.
School Director Kimathi Mwangi says besides having well equipped learning facilities such as computer and art rooms, the school prides itself in producing Kenya’s best crop of students.
Among the school’s alumni is Amina Jarso (2012) a pilot with a degree in Flight Vehicle Design and Aeronautical Engineering from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Yasmin Abdullahi who left the school the following year and who is a practicing lawyer in Nairobi, Kenya.
Also in the list is Mustafa Abdi (2014) who has pursued a Medical degree in Sweden.
“Our school provides learners with a proper foundation and quality education is key to us. Our consistent results are as a result of working smart. We educate and empower them to be problem solvers and role models,” Mr Mwangi says while revealing ongoing plans the revamp the school infrastructure.
The school, he says, has also been providing bursaries and scholarships to needy learners to ensure they achieve their dreams and become successful in life as part of corporate social responsibility.
“We have supported over 40 needy learners, who we identify through a thorough vetting process, under the program and we also issue out our buses for community activities,” he reveals.
During a recent interview at the school, the Mrs Mwangi said though initially hesitant to start off the challenging investment, she is happy to be the brain behind the self-gratifying successful business which is in her career field.
The school was at one time accused by a neighbouring public institution of encroaching into its land but was later vindicated after concerned authorities established that the allegations were baseless.
“To start a school and earn profit is not a one day event. You must be patient and be ready to baby sit the institution until it can stand on its own. You must be creative and first do away with the business mindset and focus on client satisfaction,” the 68-year-old says.
The business, she says, has taught her to be attentive to every detail and be a problem solver to issues affecting either of the three main stakeholders (teachers, parents and learners).
“You must know what is going on in the school at all time and nothing should pass you. That way, you will be able to promptly address emerging issues affecting learner, teacher or parent,” the mogul advises.
The investment is estimated to be worth Sh60 million.
She challenges women to invest in business and not to wait until they have enough money for the undertaking.
“Let them invest what they have, be creative and consistent,” she advises.
