A day with our school teacher after 55 years

Every so often, a miracle happens. About two weeks ago, a group of about 15 former students of Thogoto Junior School visited our primary school teacher, Mrs Ndeti, at her home in Kakuswi, Makueni, not because of social compunction but out of an abundant groundswell of goodwill.

The last time I saw Mrs Ndeti was in 1967 when I left to enrol at Alliance High School the following year.

Ten years ago, we formed a WhatsApp group for alumni of Thogoto Junior School, and we have since held several meetings and activities which have brought us together.

Mrs Ndeti was born in 1937 in Iriaini, Mathira Division. Her maiden name was Glaris Gathoni Waruinge and she attended Tumutumu Mission School before proceeding to African Girls High School (AGHS), Kikuyu, in 1953 where she was in the same class with Mrs Lucy Kibaki.

In 1954, the girls at AGHS were temporarily relocated to Machakos Girls High School due to insecurity following credible threats from the Mau Mau during the emergency.

After completing her ‘O’ Levels in 1954, Mrs Ndeti enrolled for a teacher training course hosted at AGHS, graduating with a P2 certificate in 1956.

Her first teaching assignment was at PCEA Gatondo Primary School in Nyeri after which she taught at several other schools in that region before being transferred to Kakuswi Primary School in Makueni, where her husband was working in the Veterinary Department.

In 1965, she was posted to Nyeri Township School.

In January 1967, Mrs Ndeti was posted to Thogoto Junior School where she was one of two teachers to occupy two recently completed modern staff houses. Her three daughters Valerie, Susan, and Rosa also joined us in school.

Leaving Thogoto Junior School in early 1972, she joined Karen “C” Primary School which was previously a “Whites” only school but at the time was undergoing a process of racial integration.

She served under Mr Fonseca, the headmaster, retiring after 20 years in 1992.

Shock to joy

On the day of our visit, those of us who were around Nairobi met at Invegara Club from where we car-pooled, leaving in two cars one of which was an MPV.

Arriving in Kakuswi at about 10.30 am we were joined by a group of four other former students who had travelled from Nyeri and Chogoria.

Another two who had lost their way on Mombasa Road joined us later.

Mrs Ndeti was shocked to see old men and women whom she had last seen as small children but once we introduced ourselves by name, she quickly remembered each one of us and her shock turned to joy.

She said she was proud to see the work of her hands and she felt humbled and loved that we had thought of visiting her.

As we enjoyed a session of prayer, a buffet lunch, delicious mangoes, paw paws, watermelon — all from her farm — we shared many memories from our days in school.

Many remembered that pinch from Mrs Ndeti, which hurt but put us on the straight and narrow.

She reminded us that she was still our teacher and threatened to pinch anyone who misbehaved! Others recalled how she taught us about the “birds and the bees” in a friendly way that demystified the subject altogether. We were family and Mrs Ndeti was like our mother.

We presented her with a flat screen TV, which was the desire of her heart, after which we planted two trees, one for the girls and one for the boys, to commemorate the visit.

Mrs Ndeti lives an active life on her six-acre farm where she has planted a variety of fruits and pulses. She has two wonderful dairy cows. She gets up at 6.30 every morning to attend to her chores on the farm and maintains a strict diet which keeps her in good health.

Talking to Mrs Ndeti later, she said that her years at Thogoto Junior School were incredibly special. The first comment she made when we arrived at her home was that her students were from every part of Kenya, and nobody was conscious of their tribe or of their social class.

There were also a number of white children in the school, but nobody was favoured, and we lived as one big family.

A calling

The school was run on strong Christian values by teachers who were totally dedicated. To them, teaching was not just a job but a calling. Mrs Ndeti believes that if you do not love children under your charge, you cannot make a good teacher and your product will be wanting. She says she was blessed to have Ms Cluness as her headteacher because she shared the same values.

It is important to appreciate our foundational years and those who were responsible for making us who we are today.

I also want to acknowledge the power of social media without which we would not have got together.

Our Thogoto Junior School WhatsApp group has connected us not just in Kenya but also in far away lands such as Australia, America, Norway, and Britain.

Although social media has its vices, it is a blessing for us older folks. It has enabled us to reconnect on many platforms and growing old does not feel so lonely after all.