It is every parent’s pride to see their child excelling in their academic work. Isaiah Ndhiwa is one such parent. He beams with pride as he talks to us. He explains how his 15-year-old son, Paul Ochieng now teaches Maths to his peers in school.
Paul Ochieng is a class eight student at Canon Apollo primary school. He uses Shupavu291 to revise for an hour daily. Paul has been using Shupavu291 from 2016 when he first heard a student talking about it on the radio. We had some radio campaigns on Radio Ramogi, one of the popular vernacular radio stations in Kenya.
Imelda, a Shupavu291 super user was sharing her story with the listeners. Paul, then in class five, heard of how Imelda used Shupavu291 and improved her academics. He also dialed *291# and register on Shupavu291. He enjoyed the lessons, quizzes and chat with teachers so much. Since then, he has dedicated at least an hour daily to study using his father’s basic smartphone.
He has his marks to show for his diligence in the extra studies he does on his father’s phone. Before discovering Shupavu291, he used to score below 50% in Maths. Now he scores above 90% in the subject that he thought he didn’t like. The soft-spoken boy even gained the confidence to teach his classmates how to solve Mathematics problems. He likes the interactivity of the on SMS.
His mother, Joyce Nyaboke tells us that Paul now scores 450 and above in his exams. She is confident in her son’s ability to excel in his upcoming Kenya Certificate of Primary Examinations (KCPE). Paul aspires to go to Kisumu Boys’ Secondary school, and later to become an accountant because of his love for Mathematics.
Their 12-year-old daughter, Ruth Akinyi, currently in class 6 is also a superuser of Shupavu291. They use both their parent’s phones to learn after doing their homework.
The family of four lives in Eastleigh’s Blue Estate slum, in a single room house. Despite the challenges of power cuts, leading to not charging the phone or lack of airtime for the subscription, Paul’s parents prefer Shupavu291 because of the low cost. “Compared to paying tuition and buying extra books, three shillings is an affordable alternative to quality education”, Isaiah says.
Shupavu291 is an extension of the classroom experience. You too can enjoy revising on Shupavu291 by dialing *291# from any Safaricom phone, for only KES 3 a day.
About the author:
Juliet Otieno is the Communications Associate at Eneza Education. She has a journalism and Public Relations background and loves good books. You can read more articles written by this author here.