-Next On: Read how the suspended National Bank's CEO Munir Ahmed attempted to fraudulently sell her 20 acre land in Karen
By Joseph Barasa
The road was
rough, thorny, un-certain, traumatizing and worse still humiliating. The
going was tough with no site nor hope for the future. Thrown out by
in-laws with young children and left to the vagaries of the world.
A jobless widow
with orphaned children at the age of 30 where was she to go when those
who were supposed to give her love, comfort, consolation and above all
shoulders to cry on had turned out to be nothing but heartless
tormentors.
Armed with
nothing, not a single cent on her body but the clothes on her body and
those ones on her children, she was ruthlessly shown the door and even
the little they had been able to put together with her husband taken
away from her and his children – thrown in the cold where was she to
begin without even food to give her children?
Indeed before
being thrown out by her sisters and brothers in-laws who ganged up with
their mother, the young widow Anne Wanjiku Wado then 30 years old was
forced to sign an affidavit to completely disinherit her and children –
there was nobody to protect the widow and orphans as God decreed.
However, with a
single shilling given to her by the elderly woman neigbour who had
given her shelter, she struck on the road to start struggling for
herself and children with the journey beginning from Westlands in
Nairobi city to get back on her feet again.
This is the
story of Mrs. Anne Wanjiku Wado who through hard work, prayer, focus and
determination has conquered all odds to become the proud owner of one
of a chain of the most successful Academies in the country St. Elizabeth
Academies located right from the capital city in Nairobi all the way to
the coast and across the country.
In 1991 her
husband who was a top banker at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) passed
on after fighting cancer for a long time. But before her husband's
death, Anne had to resign from her newly gotten job to take care of her
husband whose life was threatened by the terminal disease.
Indeed very few
are ready to sacrifice their jobs to take care of their ailing
partners, particularly if that job is just new after the grueling
vagaries of hustling through university education and landing any job
for that matter in the jobless market that is Kenya.
When the
husband died she was only 30 years and Mrs. Wado says: “At such a young
age I went through difficult times.” She says that her sister in-laws
ganged up and asked her Mother in-law to let her go after swearing an
affidavit to disinherit her and her children.
In 1992 Mrs.
Wado and her children were thrown onto the streets or dumped on the
roads as it were right from the comforts of her own marital home not
knowing where to go next and with her children she says it was very
painfully traumatizing.
While on the
road a neighbour took her together with her children and gave her
accommodation. She remembers that one day in the same year of 1992 the
old lady who had offered her shelter with her children gave her one
shilling because she had only two shillings on her.
Mrs. Wado
recalls: “I left for Westlands armed with this single bob that my
guardian savior had given me and the rest are details.” Not wanting to
delve into details of the painful past of her life and children.
Mrs. Anne
Wanjiku Wado was born in Shinga location-Othaya in 1957. She attained
Division 1 at Tumutumu Girls High School in 1975 for her ‘O’ level
Secondary school education.
After her ‘A’
levels at Kangaroo Girls High School in Embu she joined University of
Nairobi where she got her 1st class honours degree in 1980. In 1982 she
went the United Kindom (UK) to do Risk Management.
Anne says that
she did the Risk management for Tana Delta Irrigation project 1 & 2,
Barclays Bank of Kenya, the prestigious Laico Regency hotel, Safari
Park and also Serena lodges in Zanzibar.
In 1999 armed
with Kshs 4million she started St. Elizabeth Academy. She used Kshs 3.2
to buy 3 acres of land and started both the primary & high school
sections. Right now she has about 8 schools spread across the country
including Nairobi's Karen area and Miritini & Bamburi in Coast
region.
She boasts of
98 teachers and 52 support staff. St. Elizabeth Academy was among the
top in Nairobi County where it got a mini grade 370 up from 320. She
says that 20% of her income goes to the orphans and the less privileged.
However, the
most important thing is that as education has become her life’s passion,
it is paramount that the government must partner with the private
sector schools to ensure that the country enjoys high quality education
both in private and public educational institutions.
“Indeed it is
paramount that the Government works closely with the private sector for
the sake of the country’s economic stability, the Director of St.
Elizabeth Academy Mrs. Anne Wanjiku Wado has says.
The director
also asked the Education Cabinet Secretary Mr. Fred Matiang’i to
consider visiting private schools to get firsthand experience of the
challenges affecting the private education practitioners.
She says: “As
stakeholders in the education sector in this country, this will give us
the opportunity to candidly deliberate on the country’s education
programmes and their effective execution which would assist the
development of the education sector.”
At the same
time Mrs. Wado congratulated the President for appointing Mr. Matiang’i
to head the education docket saying that having been in the sector for
many years she is confident that Matiang’i will steer the education
sector to greater heights.
“I therefore
appeal to my fellow heads of schools and all the stake holders to give
the CS all the necessary support for the sake of the future of our
children and the critical role education plays in their lives,” she
said.
On the banking
sector Wado expressed fears on how the high interest rates had affected
the schools especially those in the private sector saying that even as
the rates continued going up the fees on the other side remained
permanently constant making the running of schools to become very
difficult.
She
particularly pointed out school buses which she said that most of them
were acquired through loans hence the need for Government to intervene
to make the commercial financial institution’s interest rates are more
affordable.
Mrs. Wado says
that besides owning a chain of primary and secondary schools across the
Country including Nairobi and Mombasa Counties she has started the Karen
Institute of Science & Technology (KIST) set to open its doors to
students mid this month.
“I got the urge
to start the college due to the many students who were unable to join
form one and also universities,” she said adding that the college is set
to offer Agriculture and hospitality courses and a seed capital to be
given to all the students upon completion to start their own businesses.
The director
says that education is extremely important not only to the future of our
children, but also the country’s economy since any innovations,
inventions and other progressive achievements can only be done with a
strong education foundation.
St. Elizabeth Academies- 0722873115
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