As current and future Africa prospects advocates, we share a commitment to educating people about Africa through understanding how various social, economic, political, historical, and numerous other complex factors influence the current state of Africa. I believe that by educating ourselves, we have the ability to make the people around us aware of what is happening around the world.
My passion for teaching about African cultures and tradition started with my own family background and further fueled by majoring in history during my undergraduate course in Kenya. Perhaps my strongest passion comes from my commitment to my children, as a parent determined to influence the course of their African identity despite being born in the diaspora.
My family background: I grew up on a small farm (2 acres) in a very small rural village in Kenya. My dad was never present (“as most African men”) and my mom was a subsistence farmer who besides raising 11 children without my dad’s help also managed to buy produce from the “farmers” and sell them in the nearby village markets. She managed to educate my older sibling. So, by the time I was in school; my older brothers and sisters helped me with paying my school fees. Every generation of both sides of my family, including my parents, all lived in “poverty” (as per western definition of poor -But they will be very offended if you ever called them poor though). My dad worked here and there but he never used any of his earnings to support us. He was a very loving and caring dad in one way or the other though. According to my, mom she noticed the changes after he returned from World War II in Burma where he provided logistics support to the British soldiers. Well, we probably now understand his mental situation better than my mom did given what we have seen in most returning soldiers.
It was fun to grow up in the village but it was not as easy as it sounds, sometimes we only had corn on the cob for dinner. “Poverty” forced me to study so hard to help and improve my family social economic status. In my immediate family, I have a lovely wife and we have two kids a boy and a girl. We enjoy anything outdoors but personally, I enjoy most what nature has given us for free.
My educational background: I earned a bachelor's degree in Education (Kenya- Kenyatta University), a master’s in education in (US- Lewis & Clark), MPA (US- PSU) and have added others that are not so relevant to mention here.
My Teaching background: My teaching career began in 1997 with teaching Swahili and history in secondary schools in Kenya. In 1998, I moved to USA to pursue further education (the way we describe it in Kenya). After graduating, I decided to stay for a while so I could save some money before returning home. I am not sure if I will ever save anything as my kids are now my savings but my dream is still alive. I also believe I can make more impact at home from here than when I am there since when I am there my resources will be limited.
I started working with Portland public schools as a Special Education teacher and later joined PSU in 2003. Currently, I work part-time with Black Studies and also work part-time with World Language and Literatures to share the love for our beloved mother Africa.
My philosophy in teaching is purely based on my own experience of experiencing the world on my own. I am a very strong believer of heuristic approach in teaching. I consider myself as a course facilitator rather than an instructor. Due to my little background in computer technology, I am now only teaching online targeting a wider audience worldwide.