2008 Woodie Awards
Kenyan life influences teaching
Nick Schimmer
Issue date: 1/12/06 Section: Features
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Growing Up
Wambuii, who grew up in a nearby village, was born into a family whose way of life was chiefly concerned with the community. He did not see a television until the age of 10; he said this limited exposure to the outside world created a narrow view of the world for his community.
"We did not have a big view of the world elsewhere," Wambuii said. "We knew our position in the hierarchy, and we had our own way of thinking about things."
Growing up in the Kenyan school system was not much different than going to school in a developed nation. Wambuii said the school system modeled itself after the British, which once ruled Kenya.
That was not the only British influence. Wambuii said when he tells people his name is Henry, nobody believes him, but that's another aspect of the former rule.
A New Opportunity
Wambuii left Nyeri to pursue a bachelor's degree at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. It was there that he met a teacher that would give him an opportunity of a lifetime.
Wambuii's comparative politics teacher at Nairobi was an American who ran an internship program from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. They immediately established a very good relationship.
"I would take his students from his study abroad program and show them Kenya," Wambuii said. "I would let them come and stay at my parents' home and give them a real sense of Kenyan living."
Wambuii received an invite to spend a year of study at Kalamazoo College as a scholar in residence. He said the opportunity to study another country was impossible to turn down.
"I didn't really mix with a lot of ethnicities until I [went] to high school," Wambuii said. "I mixed with a lot of Indian students there, which really enhanced my interest in other cultures."
Wambuii set out for the United States, excited at the opportunity, but did not intend on staying.