A total of 186 men and women from Rendille communities in Marsabit County have graduated from the Rendille Adult Literacy Programme, marking another milestone in a programme that has provided adult education for more than three decades.
The programme, implemented by Tirrim Trust, was started in 1992 to give adults who had never had an opportunity to attend school a chance to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony at AIC Korr Church, Tirrim Trust Director David Gargule said the programme is uniquely designed to take education closer to the nomadic pastoralist community, with classes often held under trees and in remote villages.
“For more than 30 years, we have shown that education does not need walls to change lives. Sometimes, a tree, a teacher, a book and a determined learner are enough,” said Gargule.
The learners undergo two years of basic literacy in the Rendille language, followed by two years of post-literacy education in Kiswahili. The programme also covers areas such as Mathematics, Health, Geography and Religion.
The Director said the programme has gone beyond teaching people how to read and write, with graduates gaining confidence and applying their knowledge in their families, businesses and communities.
For the graduates, the ceremony was a moment of pride and renewed confidence.
Many said learning as adults had changed how they participate in family and community activities, while others expressed excitement at being able to read, write, calculate and better understand information without depending entirely on others.
Some graduates said their new skills have enabled them to support their children with schoolwork, improve their livelihoods and participate more confidently in community activities.
The programme has also created a pathway for learners to become teachers. Nalamay Salome Dokhle, who joined the programme without previous formal schooling and emerged as the best student, later became an adult literacy teacher. She has now led her first class at Dubcha to graduation.
Her journey, alongside that of the 186 graduates, demonstrates the programme’s impact in creating a culture where learners become teachers and teachers inspire new generations of learners.
The 11th graduation marks another chapter in Tirrim Trust’s long-standing effort to make education accessible to adults living in some of the most remote Rendille communities.
For the graduates, however, the certificates represent more than academic achievement.
They are a symbol of confidence, dignity, opportunity and a new belief that it is never too late to learn.
