The burning flames of KEWOTA restoring teachers’ dignity, pride in Kenya 

• The association has grown its idea to a national one, giving other Teachers’ Unions like KUPPET and KNUT sleepless nights. 
• KEWOTA has also partnered with Equity Bank, where teachers under KEWOTA can access loans payable in 96 months, with the loan being given according to one’s payslip.
• KEWOTA also believes that teacher delocalization should soberly look into those in intermarriage.

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For years, a rich dream existed within the briefcase of Benta Opande during her career in the teaching fraternity until she shared it three years later with her destiny makers and connectors, Jecinta Ndegwa and Dorothy Muthoni.

Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) was finally born three years later, in 2018.  

The association has grown its idea to a national one, giving other Teachers’ Unions like KUPPET and KNUT sleepless nights. 

Though KEWOTA has a totally different approach to benefiting teachers and filling the gap that the purported rivalry unions have not discovered, it is no threat but a very necessary association answering to all gender needs despite it having a women tag. 

KEWOTA

KEWOTA has since registered its presence in all 47 counties in Kenya, having 42 coordinators and looking for more. 

The association has its hierarchy aligned within it, Chapter leaders, including Secondary Schools, Primary Schools, Tertiary and ECD, have a male representative, People living with HIV, Retirees, and people living with Disabilities (PWD).

The national leaders include KEWOTA CEO, General Secretary Benta Opande, Treasurer Jecinta Ndegwa, and National Chairperson Modesta Akaki.

They also have a retirees desk, Tertiary and Male Representatives, Secondary and Primary Schools, and ECD.

KEWOTA, since its inception, has been serving teachers in so many ways, including building a house for a widowed teacher who was living in abject poverty, dignifying her service as a teacher in Kenya. 

The association also managed to come to the rescue of teachers affected by flooding in Nyanza by donating food, amongst other charitable work involving a Kenyan teacher whose need has been assessed by KEWOTA, thus the support.

In Baringo alone, where KEWOTA Deputy CEO Charity Ngeno comes from, it has been successful in ensuring KEWOTA pays school fees for children of needy teachers. The students are now in University. 

The process of teachers retiring and missing out on their pensions has also been a wound to many teachers whose plight ends up driving them to depression and desperation, KEWOTA has been able to follow up on such cases, which only took two months for retired teachers in Kwale County. 

Benefits

Teachers through KEWOTA have now had an opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle through the provision of medical cover. 

Mwalimu personal accident cover by Directline insurance company has been seconded by KEWOTA since it has the cheapest premium of KSh1000 and up to KSh7500 per year, and this offer is only for KEWOTA members.

The other medical covers include AON and MINET.

KEWOTA has also partnered with Equity Bank, where teachers under KEWOTA can access loans payable in 96 months, with the loan being given according to one’s payslip.

Technology has also been the biggest advantage under KEWOTA, where registered teachers are logged into a special program and given laptops that only they are the signatories. 

KEWOTA, through Estonium Consulate, manages the project, where up to 140 textbooks are in the program.

The laptops are insured by the house of procurement, which provides quality laptops for the teachers and incase of any damage, the laptop is repaired by them at a small fee.

The laptop loans are payable in 36 months. The laptops are very cheap in that one can pay as low as KSh1400 to KSh2500 per month.

KEWOTA teachers can access their textbooks and notes online and even have an online teacher assist them while teaching when they are under the weather.

The benefits of such a digital program are that even teachers without access to electricity are given solar panels to make sure that they are able to use their laptops without any problem.

The laptop models are HP, ranging between Core i3 and i7.

They have also partnered with ROODITO, a program that has helped teachers earn by setting questions and sending them online, and they are paid KSh5-10 per question. This has helped teachers to use their extra time to make money.

KEWOTA, which just concluded its first National elections held in Kisumu this August, saw Charity Ngeno re-elected as the Deputy CEO of KEWOTA in Kenya.  

She is encouraging teachers to take their time and do their research on KEWOTA.

“Teachers should make their decisions to join KEWOTA on individual assessment and will, they should not accept to be corrupted by hearsays here and there,” says Ms. Ngeno.

Ms. Ngeno, who has been the champion of the girl child too, has been involved in supplying sanitary towels to children living with various conditions and disabilities, engaging their parents on the importance of having the patience to keep up raising such children.

She says there is a continuous need to supply sanitary towels to needy communities and help retired teachers out of dire situations.

Self-dependence

“We as KEWOTA have already started table banking with our chapter leaders. Here, only teachers within the association in the county benefit. We do not need their profits at the national level. 

This is one way of ensuring teachers do not only depend on payslips but also have a side hustle where they can earn extra money to keep their needs answered financially and avoid teachers suffering,” says Ms. Ngeno.

Ms. Ngeno adds that KEWOTA will only charge KSh200 monthly after one has registered. 

The payment, she says, goes through a pay bill number that will be given to them upon registering to be KEWOTA members.

“These kinds of side hustles are what we are targeting as KEWOTA to make our teachers keep away from those expensive app loans that are milking people,” Ms. Ngeno explains. 

In the recently concluded KEWOTA election, the chairperson Modesta Akaki won unopposed, Joyce Ningala from Kilifi won as National Deputy Chairperson, while Deputy CEO, General Secretary Nditu Ruth from Makueni won as Deputy National Treasurer.

Truphena Ombwayo won the National Coordinator retirees desk, Anich Charles is the National Male Representative of people living with disability (PLWD) while Retirees John Ashilaka won Male Representative, and Principal Thogoto won the National Representative for Tertiary.

The positions were very competitive, showing the growth that is evident within KEWOTA.

Baringo County

“We are behind in many things; peace issues in Tiaty has affected many schools; we need schools like Makutano Girls to be reopened; we need our teachers back to work comfortably and have our programs running.

 …we already have Non-Governmental Organisations willing to sponsor any aspiring teacher from the Tiaty Community through the teaching college to have local teachers keep classes open when there are such security situations and teachers from other regions have gone back,” says Charity Ngeno the Deputy CEO KEWOTA.

The region still faces early girl-child marriages and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). 

KEWOTA says it is willing to build rescue centers because teachers are aware of such banned practices still happening and that there is a need to have the teacher rescue the children.

“Mwalimu ndiye anaelewa mtoto vizuri (the teacher is the one who understands the child),” she adds.

KEWOTA in Baringo is planning to have teachers about to retire go through a retirement program.

In it, they are taken through ways of coming back to exist in the community, how to manage their finances, how to continue earning a living in various ways, and how to keep sustaining their families and also maintain their great health.

Through the various project in line for KEWOTA members in Baringo, key for Charity Ngeno is that all children belonging to teachers should have the advantage of going to school and continuing their education in order to have a sustainable future.

Regarding politics affecting a falling education giant Mercy Girls High School, now Eldama Ravine High School in Baringo County, KEWOTA Deputy CEO Charity Ngeno firmly states that a teacher can work anywhere. 

Delocalization

She says the issue of delocalizing teachers will drain the school’s performance if not carefully thought of. 

KEWOTA also believes that teacher delocalization should soberly look into those in intermarriages.

Charity Ngeno has stated that politicians should only be involved in school matters for developments such as CDF and great proposals and ask for performances but not dictate to teachers as the Teachers Service Commission has a role in that.

Mercy Girls High School, once an academic giant in the region, has caught the attention of the region as its standards in terms of performance have watered down its glitter as the community in Baringo stares in pity as the school is torn apart.

“The concerned parties have to have a sit-down and amicable solutions reached upon. Leadership comes from God, you cannot force yourself or people in positions. We are destroying our schools,” says Ms. Ngeno.

Take no sides

She has cautioned teachers taking sides with politicians to be very careful as they are in a permanent and pensionable job and dismissal from the service is the worst that can happen to one. 

In contrast, the politician will keep enjoying his pay as a politician.

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KEWOTA says it does not stand with any parties that seem to threaten teachers and urges teachers to take advantage of the association.