REVISITING MY SCHOOL


REVISITING MY SCHOOL

BY Jeremy Leariwala

On a bus from my rural home to my work station in the city, I received a call from the Head teacher of my former high school. A surprise call it was indeed. He wanted to invite me for the Parent’s day event as an old-boy of the school. How long had it been since the day I graduated from the school? I asked myself.

“I want you to come and talk to the boys and tell them your experiences out there in the world.” He said before I could ask him to clarify what exactly the school expected from me. A few seconds of silence tick by before I pick the correct words.

“That is okay with me. I will come,” I said and disengaged.

Talking to young men/women has always been my role in one way or another. The issues facing the young generation cannot be exhausted unless we are all committed to address them. I then called back the principal to inquire about his preferred topics to be covered, just to define my focus point.

The day of the event: I rise up early and prepare myself for the last moments of the big day. Nothing much has changed with me as a person, but as far as the school is concerned, it is 19 years since the day I walked out as a student. As I drive into the parking lot, I could not help but marvel at the way the school has changed in appearance.

Photo By: St. Paul's Sec School

The seedlings we watered once have grown into bigger trees that hid the blocks behind them and cast soothing shades over resting benches below. The school has a new bus and the basketball court now has a concrete slab on it unlike the dusty ground I left. The students are notably shorter and tinier compared to the stout, tall teenagers that roamed the compound 19 years ago. The multi-purpose hall together with the chairs in it evidently appear aged and in dire need of replacement. But all the same, I felt so much at home and excited to have come.

As the guest speaker of the day, I had structured my speech into four parts; the history of the school, the youths matters, my experiences after school and the parents’ responsibilities.


St. Paul’s Christian Leadership Secondary School Marsabit was founded in the early 1990’s under the De La Salle’s Christian brothers. Its main objectives were to bring together students from all the local tribes of the then diocese of Marsabit and offer them a formal secondary school education. It was also meant to train the students in holistic Christian Leadership as well as community service virtues. As an alumnus of St. Paul’s, I have never regretted the four years I spent studying in it. Serving the nation and my community has always been a gratifying task, thanks to the numerous leadership courses St. Paul’s Secondary School offered to its students.

The youths of today face a number of challenges. First there is drug abuse and indiscipline. The biggest problem with drugs use is that the earlier you start the worst it would become later in future. When young men start drinking alcohol or smoking bang at an early age, mitigating the end results becomes difficult in the long run. There is a strong relationship between drug abuse and indiscipline in the youths also. The second challenge facing the youths also is the internet abuse. Instead of using the internet to seek for knowledge or share constructive ideas, many young people use it for the wrong reasons. Social media groups without clear objectives, through which immoral content is freely accessed or circulated among the members, have become common. I appealed to the students to stay away from drugs and shun social media platforms that lead them astray or offer to help them engage in exams cheating thus corrupting their academic integrity.
Photo By: St. Paul's Sec School
 

As far as my experiences after high school are concerned I am proud to say that St. Paul’s Christian Leadership Secondary School prepared me to face the world. It taught me to serve; just do my part and let others do theirs. Talk of giving my best without complaining about what others are doing or not doing. Serving in the government provided me with an environment to give service to the whole country. It is sad to see young men and women sometimes resigning or just messing up their jobs. Without alternative, ready jobs, resigning individuals end up being a burden to their communities and families. My talent was nurtured by the library at St. Paul’s and I have been able to publish the children books under my name.

The School’s Motto: ‘For me to live is Christ’, proved true to me once. No one knows what the future holds for him or her. Dark times are there and difficult moments are never restricted to specific people only. Every young person needs to know that in times of difficulty, no matter how tough the going gets, giving up in life is never an option. Looking up to Jesus, asking God for forgiveness and believing in him, takes away the burden and provides a new approach to live. Faith works and Jesus never lets you down. He didn’t let me down too.

As a young student in St. Paul’s the school principal once gave me a challenge to form a basketball team. Since there was no pitch he tasked me to look for a ground to put up a basketball court. After reporting back to him my findings he gave me a go ahead to start clearing the shrubs on it as he ordered for the boards, stands, baskets and the balls. It was a difficult task but before long, several other students joined me. We put up a nice little court that instantly became busy every other evening that followed. Today, that court has been upgraded and improved to serve the students better. This experience and many others always remind me that a small idea, if taken positively, can grow into something beneficial to everybody. It taught me that I can always take my creativity a level higher, with action and commitment. Thanks to St. Paul’s Secondary School.

For the parents in attendance I only had a reminder for them. Parental responsibilities can never be delegated. The well-being of a nation depends on the status of the family unit. The parents need to befriend their children and teach them to be disciplined always. Befriending your child enables him/her to be confident and willing to talk to you when faced with problems. Without friendship a rift can grow between the parent and the child, giving unknown elements an opportunity to move in and fill it. Parents have a responsibility to guide their children on how to spend their free time during holidays. Lastly, every parent needs to teach their children that something good is always rewarded and mistakes are always punished.

Satisfied with my address and having handed over some copies of my publications to the principal, I sat back to enjoy the entertainments. The Boy Scouts’ performance could not be compared to anything I had seen before; even though it happened that I was the scouts’ commander of the school during our days. It was beautiful and an upgraded display of formations. The plays/skits were informative to say the least.

 

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