From an early age, Kevin Paul Mirikwa knew that teaching was his true calling. This is because teaching is a two-way street which would allow him to improve himself and impact the greater society right from the very beginning. “I want to use my skills towards the betterment of myself, my family, society, my nation and impact the globe positively at an individual level.”
Growing up in a low-income household was difficult, and it threatened to rob Kevin of the one thing that held the key to his future – his education. While in his final year of high school at Shika Adabu Secondary School in Likoni, Kevin’s father and step-mother separated. Kevin was now all alone, fending for himself. “I decided to drop out of school because I had no family members in Kenya to hold my hand”, Kevin says.
His absence at school didn’t go unnoticed by his teachers. His class teacher and mentor, Mr Mutuku, and the school’s deputy principal organized a team to go look for him and later took on a guardianship role in his life. “They brought me back from the streets and helped get my education back on track by connecting me with Hatua.”
In 2013 Kevin received a Hatua scholarship that supported him through high school and university. With the scholarship came renewed hope and determination to succeed. He found comfort and inspiration from a popular Bible story, “When I was a child, I loved the story about David from the Bible,” he says. “David, the king of Israel, was just a normal shepherd boy who tended to his parents’ flock of sheep and seemed like he had no future. In the end, he rose up from his humble background to become the greatest king in the land.”
Kevin, like David, overcame his personal circumstances and scored a B in his final high school examination. After this, he enrolled to study for a Bachelor in Education at Moi University in Eldoret.
Kevin’s mentor and high school teacher Mr. Mutuku played an important role to play in helping him chart his career path. “He has been my role model from day one as a Chemistry and Physics teacher. He always went the extra mile and cared for his students beyond the classroom.” Just like his mentor, Kevin chose to specialize in teaching Pure & Applied Chemistry and Physics in high school.
“Mr. Mutuku is very proud that I have followed in his footsteps,” Kevin says. “When I worked with him, he used to introduce me to his colleagues as his replacement when he retires from teaching. Even when I was working as a library assistant at Hatua, he offered me a lot of personal tutoring jobs so I could be able to support myself financially.”
In 2021, Kevin graduated from university and was keen to be in front of a classroom doing what he was passionate about, but found it hard to land his first paid role as a high school teacher. Kevin chose to take on a part-time role teaching at a primary school at Bethel Junior Academy in Likoni. He admits that it wasn’t the dream job that he envisioned as a fresh-faced teenager in awe of his high school chemistry teacher and mentor. Undeterred, he continued to demonstrate his dedication and resilience, which led to his confirmation as a full-time employee.
While he waits to be placed in a secondary school under Kenya’s Teachers Service Commission, Kevin believes that he can learn a lot of transferable skills by immersing himself in teaching younger children. At his school, Kevin found another mentor in the school’s Director. “The Director is a big inspiration to me because we share the same career aspirations. He is a business person as well as a teacher, and has been fundamental in helping me grow in business and teaching.”
Kevin epitomises the popular saying, ‘start from anywhere’. He is steadily turning his dream into reality, a feat that others may have given up on at the first sign of difficulty. The Hatua community has no doubt that Kevin will make a remarkable value-oriented teacher and guide for future generations!
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