My Kunoni Days

Bien Aime Baraza was a classmate of mine at Kunoni Educational Centre, a private primary school I have mentioned in the caption of the photo above. I don't know why my mind conjured up images of Bien visiting me in the dream I have told you about. Maybe it's because of the way Kunoni was a school dear to me in my boyhood days.
Well, my immediate elder brother Paddy was the first sibling in my family to attend Kunoni Educational Centre. He was transferred to the school in 1998 at the beginning of his Standard 7 education. I heard it that he was transferred to the school due to his brilliance. And I also heard it that I wasn't taken to Kunoni at the same time with Paddy because I wasn't that bright.
While Paddy was in Kunoni, he would sometimes entertain us with tales about the school. At one time, he teased me that I had never seen a computer which they had at Kunoni. Those tales and teases by Paddy must have fuelled my desire to also join Kunoni. I pleaded with my parents to take me to the school but somehow, they were reluctant to transfer me even after I threatened them several times that I would commit suicide if I wasn't taken to Kunoni. Eventually, I gave up pleading with my parents that I be transferred to Kunoni and I settled on finishing my primary school education at a public primary school where I had began schooling in 1993.
But guess what! Sometime in September 2000 when I was in my final term in Standard 7, my parents suddenly changed their minds and decided to avail to me the same opportunities they had accorded Paddy. So my Mum went to Kunoni and told the headmaster of the school about me. The headmaster asked Mum to take me to Kunoni for an interview. I took several exams during the interview. And as I headed back home on the evening of that day I took the interview, I liked the way some of the Kunoni pupils carried themselves.
I must have done well in the interview exams because the Kunoni headmaster admitted me to his school as a sponsored pupil, just like my brother Paddy had been. And if my memory serves me well, I remember him saying that I should have joined Kunoni earlier on in the year.
Learning at Kunoni turned out to be a great experience for me. For the first time since I began schooling, I had to wear a tie, a pair of socks and black shoes. And the shoes had to be polished everyday. I felt some pride in wearing the Kunoni uniform, especially the tie which was a first for me. The other firsts for me at Kunoni were keeping a diary, going for half-term breaks, having end-term parties and learning how to use a computer.
Even though I fared well in class during my time at Kunoni, I have to confess that I never understood anything in the computer lessons we were receiving in the school. I just thank God that Computer Studies was not part of the examinable subjects. If it had been, I would never have made it to Starehe Boys' Centre - the prestigious institution where I had my high school and college education. And it wasn't until several years later in 2006 when I was in Starehe Institute that I got to understand how a computer is operated.
As I have said, I was admitted at Kunoni as a sponsored pupil. It doesn't bother me now to let that fact be known to the world but back in the days when I was in Kunoni, I never wanted my fellow classmates to know that I didn't pay fees. I recall vividly my classmate Timothy Kassamy inquiring from me at one time whether I paid fees after he noted I wasn't receiving receipts for school fees like other pupils. Though I can't recollect the response I gave to Timothy, I am sure I must have felt afraid my classmates might discover I was a sponsored pupil. Thankfully, no classmate ever found that out during our time in the school.
My classmates at Kunoni, I must tell you, were from well-off families. Some used to be dropped at school in the morning in their parents' cars. I could also tell how wealthy some of my classmates were from the quality of food they brought to school for lunch. Theirs were delicious, well-cooked meals - the kind that would make you look forward to eating.
The day before we sat for our final national primary school exams known as KCPE, I visited the home of my classmate Nicholas Onyancha together with several other classmates. During the visit, I was envious of the way Onyancha's family had juices and biscuits in a cupboard in the living room of their mansion. Here at home when we were growing up, we never used to have such delicacies as biscuits in the cupboard; we would feast on them as soon as they were brought home, never sparing a morsel for another day.
Another classmate of mine at Kunoni I wish to tell you about was Eric Chege who loved telling us about his relatives in America. He made me admire America because of the way he used to speak so highly of it. I am looking forward to the time I will first set foot "in the States", as Eric Chege liked calling America.
It has been ages since I last interacted with my Kunoni classmates face to face. But I am glad to be in touch with a few of them via Facebook. Others like Bien Aime Baraza, who I have mentioned at the beginning of this story, have moved on to distinguished careers that make them difficult to contact. As for me, I am still trying to carve a niche for myself as a writer and a musician. I believe I will succeed. So help me God.
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story on my Kunoni days, you might also enjoy another one I wrote sone time back on "Lessons I learnt From Books". Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.
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