The Hatua ya Kwanza programme, under the Community Service Department in collaboration with Challenge Aid and Reli Africa, is a service-based initiative designed to connect Strathmore University students with real classroom experience in underserved communities. The programme helps students secure meaningful Service-Based Learning (SBL) placements, while equipping them with the skills needed to teach numeracy and literacy in primary schools.

It is within this framework that Benir Omenda’s journey begins. Not as a fully qualified teacher, but as a student stepping into the delicate space between theory and practice, instruction and impact.

On a typical morning in Loresho, the city is still waking up. For Benir, an Informatics and Computer Science student, that is when the journey begins: a 30-minute walk that gradually shifts from the calm, leafy suburb of Loresho to the vibrant rhythm of Kangemi. “It wasn’t just a commute. I could literally see the change in environment as I walked. Every morning, I knew I wasn’t just going to teach. I was going to enter a completely different reality,” he recalls.

That reality became his SBL placement through Hatua ya Kwanza to New Kihumbuini Primary School. What began as a teaching assignment soon evolved into a lesson in resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of small victories.

On his first day, Benir expected structure; classrooms ready, lessons planned, and learners waiting. Instead, he encountered a school still settling into routine.

“There was movement everywhere. Desks were being arranged, learners were organizing themselves, and I quickly realized teaching is not just about standing in front of a class,” he says.

That experience became his first lesson: adaptability.

The deeper transformation came through his interactions with learners. During one of his early sessions, he spoke about campus life and was surprised to see students carefully taking notes.

“I saw them writing down everything. Then the questions started coming. How do you study better? How do you improve in school? That’s when I realized they weren’t just listening. They were hungry to grow,” he remembers.

Through the programme, Benir taught numeracy concepts yet the challenge was not simply teaching numbers. Many learners had already developed a fear of mathematics. Some believed they were incapable of succeeding, while others participated quietly, lacking confidence in their abilities.

One learner remains especially memorable. She struggled with addition.
“She was very quiet and rarely raised her hand,” he says. Over time, however, he witnessed a remarkable transformation. By the final sessions, she was asking for more questions, progressing from addition to multiplication and eventually attempting division. “Even when she failed, she kept trying,” he says.

For Benir, success became less about correct answers and more about watching confidence emerge. It was about seeing a learner begin to believe in themselves.

Although the programme focused on numeracy, the realities of the classroom demanded much more. “We were not just teachers. We were part of their environment,” he says. He rearranged desks, supported learners who needed extra attention, and worked alongside teachers to create a better learning experience.

Through these interactions, he gained a deeper understanding of education. “Learning is not just academic. It’s emotional. It’s about whether a child believes they can try again after failing,” he reflects.

What struck him most was not simply what the learners knew, but what they carried with them. Through conversations with teachers, he learned that many of the children faced significant challenges outside the classroom. Some experienced hardship and instability at home, yet they continued to show up each day with energy, curiosity, and determination. “That was emotional for me. I started seeing them as people who are already fighting battles you don’t know about,” Benir admits.

Like any meaningful experience, the journey was not without challenges. At times, teachers were unsure how the programme fits into the school schedule. The first week felt loosely coordinated, and support from leadership was not always immediate. But these difficulties became lessons for Benir. “I had to adjust quickly. I learned that impact doesn’t come from perfect systems. It comes from persistence,” he says.

The daily walk from Loresho to Kangemi also became part of the experience, giving him time to reflect on what he was learning and witnessing.

One of the most memorable moments came during his final days at the school. The learners organized a small celebration and shared a cake they had baked through their CBC programme. “It was simple but it meant a lot,” he says smiling.

By then, the learners were no longer just participants in a programme. They had become stories he carried with him, faces he would remember long after the placement ended.

In the end, Benir believes he learned the most, not them. “They taught me patience. They taught me that progress takes time. They also reshaped my understanding of success,” he adds.

Before Hatua ya Kwanza, teaching was simply an idea, a profession and a possibility. After the experience, it became something far deeper. “I realized teaching is psychology. It’s about how people think, how they feel, and how they process the world,” he says.

More importantly, Benir appreciates the profound influence education has on a person’s life. “Education can either build confidence or break it. That is how powerful it is.”

If there is one lesson he carries from Kangemi, it is that learning is never linear. “It is a curve, you don’t just move forward. You struggle, you improve, you fall, and you rise again,” says Benir.

When asked what Service-Based Learning ultimately meant to him, he paused, then said: “It taught me that you cannot change people without understanding them first. I went there to teach numeracy. But I left learning about life.” That is the true purpose of Service-Based Learning.

For Benir, the journey may have begun with numbers, but it ended with a deeper understanding of people, purpose, and the transformative power of believing in someone’s potential.

Article written by Nekesa Teresa