Clashes in Trans Mara South Put Learners’ Education, Transition at Risk

As schools prepare to reopen in a few weeks’ time, hundreds of school-going children in Trans Mara South are grappling with fear, displacement and emotional distress following renewed clashes in the area. Instead of preparing uniforms, books, and school fees, many families are fleeing violence, sleeping in makeshift shelters and struggling to meet basic needs.

The ongoing insecurity has disrupted the psychological and emotional stability of learners, raising serious concerns about their readiness to return to class. Children who have witnessed violence, lost homes and been forced to flee are likely to return to school carrying trauma that affects their concentration, memory and overall academic performance.

The situation is particularly worrying for candidates who recently sat the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) and are expected to transition to Grade 10 under the Competency-Based Education system. For these learners, the uncertainty caused by displacement and fear threatens to undermine a critical academic transition at a time when stability and support are most needed.

According to Trans Mara South Sub-County Commander Erik Telewa, the main flashpoints of the violence are Sachangwan, Rotik, and Erongori. Schools in and around these areas have been directly affected, with learners displaced alongside their families. Some children are reportedly unable to access learning materials, while others are living far from their schools, unsure whether it will be safe to return.

Narok County Governor Patrick Ntutu has also acknowledged that the clashes are severely affecting school-going children, warning that prolonged insecurity could have long-term consequences on education outcomes in the region. Education experts note that exposure to violence at a young age often leads to anxiety, poor concentration, absenteeism and in some cases, school dropout.

Comments

Grade 7 Girl who Cannot Read: How Years of Trauma Shaped Simaloi's Learning Journey

When 13-year-old Simaloi sits in her Grade 7 classroom at Amazing Grace Academy in Shartuka, her eyes often drift across the pages of her books, pages she still cannot read. While her classmates write sentences with ease, she struggles to form even the simplest words. Her inability to read or write is not because she lacks intelligence or willingness. It is because her childhood was stolen long before she ever held a pencil. For years, Simaloi lived a life no child should endure. At home in Kilgoris, she faced relentless beatings, harassment and emotional abuse from her parents. Instead of learning ABCs or enjoying the innocence of play, she was forced to brew chang’aa, a dangerous and illegal trade. The fumes of alcohol replaced the warmth of a home and fear became her constant companion. The torment grew so unbearable that she began sleeping in a roadside tunnel cold, hungry and alone. Her life became a cycle of survival rather than learning, danger instead of development...

Climate Action Through Citizen Science

KENAWRUA CEO Enock Kiminta explaining the importance of measuring water quality and quantity. In a bid to promote environmental awareness and climate action through citizen science, the Mara Basin Conservation Forum, in partnership with Ecolink, the Diamonds on the soles of our feet (DSF), and the Kenya National Water Resources Users Association (KENAWRUA), held a sensitization exercise in Kilgoris focusing on community-led conservation. The activity began at River Sankale, where KENAWRUA CEO Enock Kiminta led Mara Basin members through a practical session on how to measure water quality and quantity. Kiminta demonstrated how to distinguish safe water from polluted sources and emphasized the dangers posed by human activities and sewage contamination. “Measuring water quality and quantity will help us know whether the water is safe for use or not,” said Kiminta, urging participants to identify existing gaps in water management and take proactive steps to address them....

How One Woman Is Rescuing Girls from Early Marriages and Rebuilding Their Futures

In Shartuka, Narok County, school director Dorcas Tarus has turned her institution, Amazing Grace Academy, into a refuge for vulnerable girls, offering education, safety and a second chance at life. In the quiet village of Shartuka, Narok County, stands a modest school whose walls hold stories of pain, resilience and transformation. Amazing Grace Academy, founded and directed by Dorcas Tarus, is more than just a school. It is a lifeline for girls escaping early marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation (FGM). Behind many smiles are stories of survival. One of them belongs to Betty Owino, a girl whose life was changed by Dorcas’s compassion. Betty’s story begins in the Migingo informal settlement of Kilgoris town. When Dorcas first met her, Betty was supposed to be in PP1, yet she was not attending school. Her mother, a single woman struggling to raise eight children alone, lived in extreme poverty. Food was scarce, shelter unstable and hope almost gone. Her ...

GRASSROOTS FIX

Search This Blog