In his article, “Values are taught, not caught,” Valese ...  · Web viewAccording to Enrique Dussel, ... There is need for thorough grounding in the word, ... In his article,

Education as Mission for the Church in Kenya by Olive Kobuthi

Table of Contents

Section 1 Introduction

1.1 The Older Evangelical View

1.2 The World Council of Churches View after 1967

1.3 Views of Relationship between Evangelism and Social Action

Section 2. Education and Society

2.1 Introduction

2.2 The Value Based Approach

2.3 The Transformative Focus

2.4 Empowering the Disempowered

2.5 Conclusion

Section 3. Education and Women

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Children in History

3.2.1 Today’s Society

3.2.2 The Girl Child

3.2.3 Abusive Child Labour

3.2.4 Female Circumcision

3.3 The Focus on Families and Communities

3.3.1 The Role of the Church in Value Formation

3.3.2 Communities

3.4 Conclusion

Section 4. Education and Development

4.1 Introduction

1

4.2 Education and Development

4.3 What is Development

4.4 Development and Social Justice

4.5 Education for Social Justice

4.6 Education and Development

4.7 Conclusion

Section 5. Church, Education and the Government

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 The Influence of the Church on Governance

5.1.2 Civil Society

5.1.3 International Trade Systems

5.2 Education for Development

5.3 Conclusion

6. Conclusion

7. Bibliography

(Page nos to be inserted after I write the acknowledgement page.

2

HOW CAN EDUCATION AS MISSION BE USED TO PROMOTE

VALUES TO LIVE BY? Implication for the Church in Kenya: Struggles

and Possibilities with special reference to Kenya

Section 1 Introduction

As we have discovered, the churches have in recent years experienced a shift in their understanding of

their role in missions. This role is concerned not just with evangelism but with matters of the Kingdom

of God. This has enabled the Church to be more concerned with matters of compassion, confronting

injustice and espousing the right form of development. Bosch highlights the various ways in which

mission was understood over the ages,1 but for purposes of this thesis, the starting point will be Karl

Barth’s view of missiology as missio Dei –i.e. viewing “mission as an activity of God himself,” because

of the way this approach has contributed to how mission is perceived today.2 This ‘classical’ idea of

missio Dei, though it has now taken up a totally different meaning from Barth’s, was expanded from the

concept of God sending the Son, and then God the Father and the Son sending the Holy Spirit into the

world and finally to the idea of the Trinity (i.e. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) sending the church

into the world. It is with this new understanding of the Church’s mission that the Church’s role will be

dealt with here, particularly the missiological role of the church as it relates to Education in Kenya. So

here, we will be dealing with missiology that is more concerned with social action than with evangelism

and specifically in the area of education. But first of all, let us examine the two conflicting attitudes

regarding the understanding of missiology.

1.1 The Older evangelical view1 David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Orbis Books, New York, 2001, p. 3892 Ibid.

3

This first view which sees missionaries as evangelists, was often described as proclamation of the

gospel. John Stott criticizes outright this traditional understanding of mission with regards to education

and medical work as that which served a purpose to promote evangelism and refers to it as being

“unashamedly ‘platforms’ or ‘springboards’ for evangelism.”3 However, this is countered by Cheesman

who asserts that “It is not the historical evangelical position” and that men like “Wilberforce and

Shaftesbury in the last century worked with one hand for social justice and mercy, and with the other for

the preaching of the Gospel.”4

The first difficulty with this model, when taken to mean evangelistic and social concern, is that it

somewhat requires individuals in positions of authority to accomplish social justice.

The second difficulty with this traditional view of understanding missions, if looked at from Stott’s point

of view is that it does not respond fully to the command of Christ. Missiology calls for a holistic

ministry that is body, soul, spirit and mind.

Nevertheless, this view, difficult as it is, is what ought to be generally sought by Christians who desire to

model their lives after Jesus, combining the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) and the Greatest

Commandment (Love God and Neighbour with all heart, soul and mind) so that we can come up with a

more balanced and holistic view, which includes social and evangelistic responsibility.

1.2 The World Council of Churches view after 1967

The second view was influenced by the publication in 1967 of a report entitled ‘The Church for Others”

in the World Council of Churches Conference (WCC). This view borrowed strongly from the concept

of missio Dei, that God is at work historically, and that the purpose of his mission, missio Dei, is to

bring shalom i.e. harmony peace and justice, using men both inside and outside the church.5

3 John Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World, Church, Falcon Books (CPAS) London, 1977 (1975), p. 16, and Graham Cheesman, Mission Today, Bath Press, Avon, 19894 Graham Cheesman, Mission Today, Bath Press, Avon, 1989, 104.5 Loc.cit.

4

This view was criticized because, though God can and has used non-Christians, “Mission is what he

sends his Church to do.” It also relegates evangelistic enterprise to a lesser level and allows the world to

set the agenda for the Church. Its greater emphasis is upon social justice but missions’ highest concern

should be that of the soul.

A synthesis of the above views and their relationship between evangelism and social action might

perhaps serve in enhancing the importance of the role the Church in Kenya should play in education.

1.3 Views of relationship between Evangelism and Social Action

When social action is taken as a means of Evangelism, it means all social work (e.g. medical, education,

development etc) is undertaken in order to produce converts. Many therefore come to Christ because of

what they can gain and not as a result of deep conviction, what some refer to as ‘rice Christians.’6

The second relationship is that social action is viewed as part of evangelism. Its aim is for the recipient

to see the love and compassion of Christ and through this, become a Christian. However legitimate this

might be, conversion needs to happen for conversion’s sake, and social work should be undertaken with

no ulterior motives.

The third view expressed by Ronald Sider is that Evangelism and social action are distinct but equal.

This is valid considering that Jesus Christ was involved in both. Nevertheless, it has to be pointed out

that Jesus put evangelism before social action – Evangelism in itself is primary because it determines the

soul’s destiny. Hence “Saving grace is … man’s greatest need” and “Only the Church can bring that to a

person.”7 Nevertheless, the one involved in evangelism should not be considered superior to the one

involved in social action. This wider understanding of mission is espoused to include love, and though

Bosch sounds a clear warning that ‘earthly progress’ though in the Old Testament implied political and

material prosperity, should not be confused with the ‘increase of the kingdom of God,’ it is very

important “insofar as it contributes to the better ordering of human society.”8 This can also act as a 6 Cheesman, op.cit. 1057 ibid, 1068 David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Orbis Books, New York, 2001, p. 392. See also Stott, p. 18

5

channel in bringing individuals and society into the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom of God

specifically implies spiritual renewal but to concentrate on the one, that is social change to the neglect of

evangelistic enterprise is detrimental. Stott has highlighted this discrepancy regarding the preoccupation

of Uppsala’s Conference with social change to the disregard of evangelism. He asserts that

“The Assembly has given its attention to the hunger, poverty and injustices of the contemporary world…Rightly so. I have myself been moved by it. But I do not find a comparable concern or compassion for the spiritual hunger of men…The church’s first priority…who (as Christ and his apostles tell us again and again) being without Christ are perishing…9

Perhaps we should heed what Stott says and not concentrate on either the preaching or showing interest

in the welfare of people but combine the two, and in so doing maintain the gospel’s ‘visibility’ and

‘credibility.’10 Social work is therefore a valid part of mission; it also aids in preventing insulation from

the secular world, but evangelism, not social action should be the main concern.

Education has played a significant role in the transformation of almost every society. Therefore

education was and is a pivotal part of the mission of the Church at large. This is the case because

education goes a long way in shaping the destiny of any nation. Thus studies regarding the roles and

functions of education, its impact on societies and the means of making the educational ministry of the

Church all more effective are assuming importance.

This study therefore attempts to argue that the Church in Kenya has largely abandoned its missiological

role in Education. There are attempts to identify some situations prevailing in Kenya that have

contributed to this departure. In particular, the system of education in Kenya has resulted in leaders who

have either neglected their role or are oblivious to the needs of society as related to the education

system. It is important to analyse the education system in order to see the consequences and offer

suggestions for improvement.

This thesis will examine the various facets related to the education and injustice of the system in Kenya.

It will begin by examining the education system in Kenya and seeing how this impacts society.

Chapters on society, gender, development and government follow, showing how these are impacted by

9 Stott, op.cit. p. 1910 ibid, 30.

6

education. The thesis as a whole will examine how the relevant kind of education has the power to

empower and transform. It will specifically challenge the Church to participate in all spheres of society

if changes are to come about. The underlying premise of this study is that the church needs to re-

awaken to the fact that social concern in the educational system can also become a bridge for evangelism

and development and therefore should not be ignored.

7

SECTION 2. Education and Society

Section 2:1 Introduction

This Section highlights what role the Church in Kenya should play in the education system and curricula

if it is to take its missiological task seriously. So, a closer examination of the education system needs to

be taken into consideration if improvements and amendments are to be made constructively.

Secondly, it is important to examine the church’s role in empowering the disempowered. Indeed, there

are many in Kenya who are disempowered but due to constraints of this essay it will be impossible to

look at all these categories. However, what makes all others pale into insignificance is the suffering and

indignity that resonates through the lives of women, not only in the rural areas but in urban areas as well.

In Kenya, education has always been associated with the church. Education in Kenya therefore needs to

be looked at from a missiological perspective. When missionaries came to Kenya, they realised that

without education, the task of evangelism was going to be very difficult and hence the foundation for

education in Kenya was laid. One of the key emphases of the church understandably was the value

based approach in education.

2.2. The Value Based Approach

When we talk about value based education, many questions come to mind. The word value itself can

imply different things in different cultures. Values can be good or bad, Christian or non-Christian. In

defining Christian values, taking America as an example, the motto on their banknote is “In God we

Trust.” In today’s American society, this can have different connotations. What God does the American

society trust in, and is this motto all inclusive? Since it was coined by the early American settlers, what

8

significance would it have for a diverse, multi-cultural society like America? So it is important to make

it clear as to what it would mean in a society like Kenya when we talk about value-based education. An

examination as to what this value-based approach is and how beneficial it would be if implemented in

the curriculum needs to be evaluated. Another key issue is how to integrate values where there is such

diverse ethnicity in a country such as Kenya which boasts nearly forty different ethnic groups. The first

problem with integrating values is that what is culturally relevant to one ethnic group may not be viewed

in the same way by another one. The second problem is that under colonialism, cultural diversity was

submerged by the exclusion of most African traditions from education. Woolman, however, comes up

with a solution to this problem. He suggests that in order to have an alternative approach and to

reconstruct these values, it would be necessary to “identify the common values within diverse traditions

and integrate these with modern content and skills.”11 Whilst not denying the wisdom in this approach,

it would be quite simplistic to deduce that it is easy to come up with a common thread running through

all these ethnic groups. Fortunately, the point is to identify Christian values, explicit or implicit.

Christian values are also sometimes intermingled with cultural values and thus contextualization is a a

key issue to make them relevant. Education is undoubtedly one of the main channels for transmitting

values, whether traditional or in the modern sense of formal education, thus the focus on education in

this study.

I think most important is the need to depart from seeing education as just a track for literacy and a

salaried job and even economic progress for a country.12 As Woolman profoundly states “increasingly

in modern times, economism has become a dominant force influencing education policy…in highly

industrial countries as well as in the poorest developing nations.”13 Firstly, we can conclude that this is

not just a problem that is unique to Kenya and secondly, that there is a great possibility that when this

departure is made, value based education might contribute to the individual and society more than it has

generally done in the past. This will entail a radical departure from the above three dominating factors

i.e. literacy, a salaried job and the economy to include values and transformation.

11 David C. Woolman, ‘Educational Reconstruction and post-colonial curriculum development: A comparative study of four African Countries,’ International Education Journal Vol. 2, No. 5, 2001. WCCES Commission 6 Special 2001 Congress Issue, p. 29. (http://www.flinders.edu.au/education/iej), cited on 29 June, 2006.12 Ibid, p. 43. 13 Ibid, p. 28

9

In his article, Values are caught, not taught, Valese Alengaden claims that values cannot be taught in a

classroom and has therefore rejected writing a textbook on this.14 It is worth noting that values, both

negative and positive, are present consciously or subconsciously. Alengaden is therefore right to the

extent that values ought to be lived out, but at the same time before they can be caught they need to be

taught. To put it simply, values can be communicated verbally as well as observed. Values are also

present consciously or subconsciously. I suppose this can be likened to spirituality. Direction can be

given in spirituality, text books and books can be written, yet at the core is how deeply one is affected.

Crucially, values are taught by example. A fairly simple illustration is punctuality. It is useless

reprimanding a student for lateness whilst the teacher is hardly ever punctual. The pupil might strive to

be punctual for fear of punishment but this punctuality may not carry on for the rest of their lives. But if

the teacher sets an example of punctuality, it gives credibility to the teacher and strengthens his case

about punctuality. An explanation about the importance of punctuality may also be important. Thus,

education cannot be reformed without reforming the quality of the teachers.

A failure of the system is that teachers and school heads are appointed only on account of degrees and

certificates. While making appointments, perhaps there should be a system to test the quality of life and

wisdom of the teachers more than degrees or certificates.15 The human values in our day to day life are

more conspicuous by their absence. Unless they become part of our life and way of living, the situation

will continue to worsen to the danger of humankind.16

Another way of correcting the situation is to incorporate the human values in the education system right

from pre-primary, throughout primary to higher education.17 It is important that value based education

be included in the classroom. To achieve success in this, interaction in the classroom should also be

encouraged. Gone are the days when ‘children should be seen and not heard.’ They should not be

treated like passive learners and their opinion should be valued from an early stage.

14 Varghese Alangaden, Value Education: Values Are Caught Not Taught, Education as Mission, L. Stanislaus, (Ed) SVD, ISPCK, Delhi, 2004, p.21515 ibid, p. 222.16 Maharashtra Academy of Engineering & Educational Research: World Peace Centre – UNESCO Chair, http://www.mitpune.com/wpc/value.html accessed on 13th June, 2006 at 4.00 p.m.17 Loc.cit.

10

Another failure of today’s educational system is that it advocates a different set of values and ignores

Christian morals and in many instances it is not relevant. For example in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda,

though encompassing some Christian morals, it sets others aside. There is a claim that the educational

systems in these countries have been

operating within a hierachical-elitist’ framework, and principally by means of rote methods of instruction. Thus all the educational systems emphasize such values as industry, honesty, obedience and thriftiness, while the qualities of leadership, initiative and the critical faculty are ignored.18

Perhaps this might partially explain why leadership in the Government and organisations is of a very

weak nature since the education ignores leadership, initiative and the critical faculty.

Equally important in the argument is that the education system in Kenya “depends upon the Western

education system which deals more with concepts and conjectures.” This leads to the issue of relevance

and practicality and calls into question whether contextualization is taking place. If education is not

relevant, it is almost impossible for it to transform one’s life. It also creates very passive learners

because these concepts are more related to the West and therefore perceived as irrelevant by the learner.

There is a substantial difference between teaching or learning a subject such as civics for examination

purposes and actually employing the principles in one’s life outside the classroom. Pupils often enter

what they see as a different world with different rules when they move into the school compound, and

when they return home. When they leave school they often do not or cannot apply the ‘theories’ they

have learned in the classroom.19 For positive transformation to take place, it has to be contextual and

critical. The dynamic nature of the environment in which the education process takes place has meant

that the education system itself has to be transformed regularly in order to remain relevant and useful to

the Kenyan society. In the next section, the main focus will be whether the values learnt are leading to

transformation.

2.3 The Transformative Focus

18 A. Datta,, Education and Society: A sociology of African Education, MacMillan Publishers Ltd, London, 198419 “Introducing Critical Reflective Thinking and Transformative Leadership Development Programmes in East Africa,” http:www.adeanet.org/wgnfe/publications/abe11.html, accessed on 30/06/2006 at 3.30 p.m. p. 27

11

This poses the crucial question as to what transformation means. Transformation conjures up ideas like

empowerment, justice, freedom, or even love. I find the definition from Preface to Mission as

Transformation edited by Samuel and Sugden (Regnum, 1999), Frontispiece, quite useful:

Transformation is to enable God’s vision of society to be actualized in all relationships, social, economic and spiritual, so that God’s will may be reflected in human society and his love be experienced by all communities, especially the poor. And as we relate to people so that Christ may be formed in them, through our intervention in people’s lives be it in medical treatment, teaching, adult literacy, project management, caring and having fellowship, so the Holy Spirit works through us for them. To be sustainable, transformational development needs to be linked with the church.20

From the above, it is obvious that certain issues arise as to why education does not currently impact the

life style and values of Kenyans. The first one as noted is that the education is not relevant, and

therefore lacks the power to transform. Firstly, polygamy is one great factor that can cause

disempowerment and which the church has to educate society about through value-based education. In a

previous essay, I argued that although polygamy is not expressly prohibited in either the Old or New

Testaments, there are valid grounds to prohibit it in contemporary society given the high prevalence of

AIDS,21 and socio-economic factors. The only instance where polygamy was forbidden in the New

Testament was with church elders and deacons.22 In the Old Testament, Kings were cautioned not to

have many wives, but there is no clear indication of how many the limit was to be.23 But since many

educated Kenyans, and some of them who are Christians still wrestle with this issue of

polygamy/monogamy, it calls for some attention. Even Barth says that “we can hardly point with

certainty to a single text in which polygamy is expressly forbidden and monogamy universally

decreed.”24 Mann, too declares that “it makes no difference to me if polygamists or monogamists fill our

church pews”.25 Yet, with the high rate of AIDS through polygamy and wife inheritance, the seriousness

of polygamy cannot be ignored. But to be fair to Mann, she is writing before the prevalence of AIDS

world-wide so she may not be fully aware of the seriousness of this issue.

20 Chris Sugden, ‘Transformational Development: Current state of understanding and practice,’ Transformation, Vol. 20. No. 2, April, 2003, p. 71 – 72.21 According to Patrick Johnstone, 14% of the population between 15-49 years were infected with AIDS, See Patrick Johnstone, Jason Mandryk and Robyn Johstone, Operation World: 21st Century Edition, Paternoster Lifestyle, Cumbria, 2001, p. 380.22 1 Timothy 3:2, 12, (one wife for church overseer and deacon, and Titus 1:6 (one wife for elder).23 Deuteronomy 17:17 (restriction to having many wives).24 Karl Barth, quoted in Pamela S Mann, “Toward a Biblical Understanding of Polygamy”, Missiology: An International Review, Vol. XVII, Number 1, January, 1989, p. 21.25 Mann, op.cit. p.24

12

Secondly, sub-Sahara Africa has some of the highest numbers of Christians, with Kenya boasting nearly

78.64%. 36%, or 13 million are Evangelicals, which, according to Patrick Johnstone, is Africa’s highest

percentage and nearly equal to all Evangelicals in Europe.26 Despite these facts and figures, crime is

rampant in Kenya, and AIDS is spreading at an alarming rate. Kenya has an AIDS rate of 6.7% that is

1.2 million of its population.27 Even neighbouring countries like Rwanda and Uganda have their own

tragedies. Jeame Reapsome writes, “Like a catastrophic earthquake, tiny Rwanda has shaken the world

missions community to its roots…the headaches and heartaches caused by Christians wantonly killing

Christians.”28 This is echoed by a Roman Catholic Bishop from Rwanda who states that “The best

catechists, those who filled our churches on Sundays, were the first to go with machetes in their

hands.”29And Joseph Kony in Uganda, the leader of the “Lord’s Resistance Army”, has been fighting a

war for nearly twenty years in God’s name.

Thirdly, there is a massive imbalance with regards to wealth. This will be discussed briefly in chapter

four with regards to politician’s salaries.

Factors arising from these three issues call for inclusion in the school and college curriculum that deal

with polygamy and wife inheritance from a biblical perspective and the current situation would deepen

understanding of the issue. This would then mean that people entering polygamous relationships would

make informed decisions. An AIDS programme in the school curriuculum would also dispel certain

myths that promise cure through child rape and witch craft by teaching about AIDS prevention, and how

it can be managed if it has been contracted. 30 In order to dispel the myth that AIDS is transmitted

through witchcraft, this can be discussed in the classrooms.

26 Patrick Johnstone et.al, op.cit, p. 381.27 CIA World Fact Book, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ke.html#people, (estimated figures as at 2003) accessed on 28th August, 2006, at 8.42 p.m.28 John Reapsome, What Went Wrong in Rwanda? Evangelical Missionary Quarterly, Vol. 31 No. 2, p.2.29 Miroslav Volf, “The Social meaning of reconciliation,” Transformation Vol.16 No. 1, January/March, 1999, p. 730 L Treger writing from The University of Witwatersraand, South Africa states that “while we strive to measure and document the prevalence of HIV and sexual violence in South Africa, there are increasing reports that HIV infected men rape girl children due to a belief that sex with a virgin will cure the disease. This cultural myth exacerbates the vulnerability of girl children to HIV and contributes to the disproportionate HIV risk faced by women.” “Myths about child rape: Community perceptions around cultural myths of girl-child rape & HIV in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa”, International Conference of AIDS 2000 in http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/robot_pages/MeetingAbstracts/102254896.html accessed on 24th August, 2006 at 10.00 p.m.

13

Woolman traces the history of education in 4 countries, (Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique), but of

interest here is education in Kenya. The very diverse nature of the country makes it difficult to come up

with a uniform system of education. The system of education currently in force does not encourage

critical thought. A democratic and participatory classroom environment, on the other hand, is supposed to contribute to the development of a critical and reflective attitude among pupils…Transformative learning, that process which facilitates the critical examination of one’s assumptions and presuppositions, is unknown.31

There is hardly any controversy surrounding the fact that critical thinking has to be applied in education

in order for it to have impact on society and leadership.32 But in certain instances in Kenya, where

successful leaders went through learning by rote, no need is seen in altering the situation. “Having

succeeded in the system themselves, they are least likely to see a need for change.”33 However, I think

the more plausible explanation for this resistance may be what is offered by Paulo Freire. He states that

The more students work at storing deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of the world…they accept the passive role imposed on them … they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them. The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interests of the oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed. The oppressors use their “humanitarianism” to preserve a profitable situation. Thus they react almost instinctively against any experiment in education which stimulates the critical faculties and is not content with a partial view of reality but always seeks out the ties which link one point to another and one problem to another.34

This lack of critical reflective education, I suggest, is what is ailing many African nations, and

specifically Kenya.

Given the fact that critical thinking helps with identifying assumptions that underlie the ideas, the

beliefs, the values and actions that we take for granted, it is important to introduce critical thought into

schools in Kenya if transformation is going to be achieved. This also helps in decision making. Taking

polygamy as an example once again, one would question the cultural driving force behind it.

Traditionally, it is supposed to be for social status, for helping out widows in case of a husbands death

through wife inheritance, and for producing children to provide labour on the farm amongst many other 31 Introducing Critical Reflective Thinking and Transformative Learning into Church Leadership Development Programs in East Africa, http://www.adeanet.org/wgnfe/publications/abel/abel1.html accessed on 19th June, 2006 9.00 p.m.32 See Chapter 2 – The“Banking Concept of Education, in “The Paulo Freire Reader,” Ana Maria Araujo Freire and Donaldo Macedo (eds), The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, New York, 2001, where he extensively deals with the rote style of learning.33 Introducing Critical Reflective Thinking and Transformative Learning into Church Leadership Development Programs in East Africa, http://www.adeanet.org/wgnfe/publications/able/abel1.html accessed on 30th June, 2006 at 11.25 p.m.34 Paulo Freire, op.cit. p. 69

14

reasons. But taken in contemporary society, there is hardly land to cultivate, and the social status in

having many wives is largely non-existent not to mention the AIDS pandemic. So viewed in such terms,

it should actually be done away with. It would entail a process of education, not only in the classrooms

but in the community as well. Stephen Buckley, writing in the Washington Post Foreign Service makes

clear about how wife inheritance and AIDS are linked.35 Kenya therefore needs scientific information on

AIDS urgently to disseminate to health workers on a bigger scale. The church in Kenya is clearly at an

advantage to disseminate such information as it is not restricted in reaching out to the community is not

restricted. The church would also help the community to dispel the myth that witchcraft causes AIDS.

Surprisingly, the idea that critical learning is applicable in later life is countered by Stephen Brookfield.

He states that “indeed, there is no clear evidence that any of the skills of critical thinking learned in

schools and colleges have much transferability to the contexts of adult life.”36 This is further affirmed

by Sternberg who points out the lack of correlation between what is required for critical thinking in

adulthood and what is taught in school programs intended to develop critical thinking. He says that “the

problems of thinking in the real world do not correspond well with the problems of the large majority of

programs that teach critical thinking. We are preparing students to deal with the problems that are in

many respects unlike those that they will face as adults.”37 This may be true to the extent that the

student is currently dealing with fairly abstract material and has relatively little experience. However,

learning how to think critically prepares the student for future life experiences. Julian E Butterworth

views learning as an ongoing process which embraces the whole of life. He states that “education is a

continuous process that utilizes all experience… He adds further that it is “essential if we are to develop

an education programme of maximum effectiveness, that we study critically the opportunities and

responsibilities not only of the school but of all other significant agencies of the community.”38

Brookfield, however, appears to be contradicting his previous statement when he suggests that “research

has shown that critical reflective thought tends to encourage both cognitive and moral development.”

(Brookfield, 1986; Freire, 1973; King & Kitchner, 1994; Mezirow, 1991). Critical thinking is perceived

35 Stephen Buckley, “Wife Inheritance Spurs AIDS Rise in Kenya,” Washington Post Foreign Service, Saturday, Nov. 8, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inat/longterm/africanlives/kenya/kenya_aids.htm. accessed on 20th August, 2006 at 5.30 p.m.36 Stephen D. Brookfield, Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting, Open University Press, Milton Keynes, 1987. p. 437 Spielberg, quoted in Brookfield, op.cit.p.438 Julian E Butterworth, “The Interaction of School and Community in a Democratic Society: Current Social Problems in Rural Education,” Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol. 14, No. 7, March, 1941, p.422.

15

to broaden people’s horizon and to make them more creative. The most balanced view is when critical

reflection is applicable for the present and for the future. This is reflected in Wolterstoff’s very

insightful question as to whether the schools’ curriculum and content “should be determined by

reference to what will be of worth and importance to a student’s future life or by reference to what is of

worth and importance to a student’s present life?” To this, he responds that it should be both39 which

resonates with Butterworth’s earlier statement of continuous learning. However, critical thinking in

education is not enough if it lacks the Christian touch which enables transformation to take place.

Andriy Dubovyk (currently working for UNHCR in Nairobi, Kenya) has written a very informative

article in the Newsletter for Beyond Access: Gender, Education and Development. He sees

transformative values as being deeply ingrained in the educational system. This is reflected in the way

he views the Communist System of Government. He states that “The Communist Party agenda was

central in all corners of society and particularly in schools.” This is seen in the way certain jobs were

reserved for women, and others for men depending on their roles in life. In school they were also taught

that boys and girls were equal and were taught to respect girls.40 We can safely conclude that throughout

education, transformation takes place, consciously or unconconsciously. What we seek is that it be of a

positive nature and that it inform the individual and society unequivocally. It is the additional

missiological aspect which enables it to be positively transformative because it introduces the essence of

Christian values and ideologies into the lives of the individuals and society. However, values and

transformation are not useful in and of themselves if they are not used to empower. The final focus is

how this value based transformation is useful for empowering individuals and society.

2.4 Empowering The Disempowered

The disempowered (or marginalized) embraces various categories in society, amongst them women and

children, the marginalised nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples like the Maasai, the Turkana, Borana, and

refugees from various African countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of 39 Wolterstoff, Educating for Life: Reflections on Christian Teaching and Learning, Gloria Stronks and Clarence W Joldersma (Eds), Baker Academic, A division of Baker Book House (Publishers), Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, p.21.40Andriy Dubovyk, “Viewpoint, Half full or half empty? Reflections on Gender, Education and Post Communist States in Equals,” Newsletter for Beyond Access: Gender, Education and Development, p. 5 – 6, http://www.ungei.org/beyondaccess/files/beyondaccess_equals_no 07.pdf accessed on 20th June, 2006 at 9.15 p.m.

16

Congo, and the poor, which is of course the majority of the population (about 50% of Kenyans live

below the poverty line).

The focus here will be on women who are one of Africa’s growth reserves, their empowerment being a

crucial factor in development. They provide most of the region’s labour, but their productivity is

hampered by widespread inequality in education and access to resources. Thus greater gender equality

can be a potent force for accelerated poverty reduction.41 The missiological aspect is very important in

empowering women. Since the Lausanne Congress in 1974, many Evangelicals have come to realize

that both physical welfare and spiritual salvation are partners in the development of the whole person.42

It is also important to take into account how a knowledge of the bible and its right application of its

principles can greatly influence the lives of women.43 In the New Testament, Jesus’ attitude towards

women was different from that of the Pharisees and Teachers of the law. He treated them as human

beings, discipled them, and healed them. The Bible also teaches simultaneously the equality of the sexes

and the differences between the genders, and how they can complement each other.44

Despite the fact that there are many Christian women believers in Kenya, Christianity has not restored

the dignity that is part of the Kingdom teaching. This is partly because they don’t know their role from a

Biblical perspective. Catherwood exhorts Christians to study the Bible critically and contextually. She

says that “It is therefore important that Christians should carefully study the Bible, to find out exactly

what it says.”45 This is nevertheless not a very easy task because some of them are not very well

educated. From data gathered from research, those adults empowered display a positive spirit that they

are able to do many things in a given situation. On the other hand, those adults who have been

“disempowered” manifest overt behaviours that are mired in what might be called a “can’t do” spirit.

They are daunted by any task that is new or marginally challenging. This might explain why African

41 Shimwaayi Muntemba and C. Mark Blackden, “Gender and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Faith in Development, Deryke Belshaw, et al (Eds), Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001, p.102.42 M. R. Matthews, “The Implications of Western Theologies of Development for Third World Countries and Churches,” Evangelicals and Development, Ronald Snider, (Ed), The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981), p. 8143 Tokunboh Adeyemoh, “Africa’s Enigma,” Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Deryke Belshaw et al, (Eds), Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001, p. 37 – Here, Tokunboh states that Western civilization, open systems of government, free economies, a number of scientific inventions, and global exploration were inspired and greatly influenced by a knowledge of the Bible.44 Shirley Lees, “Starting-Points”, The Role of Women: 8 prominent Christians debate today’s issues, Shirley Lees (Ed) Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, 1984, p.14.45 Elizabeth Catherwood, “Woman in the home,” The Role of Women: 8 prominent Christians debate today’s issues, Shirley Lees (Ed), Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, 1984, p. 25

17

women, who contribute to most of the African economy, seem to only function within their boxes. They

have learnt to obey orders from others, even being told what to do and how to do it. This kind of

behaviour has very little to do with their intelligence. Is this perhaps a legacy of the education system

where people are taught what to think and not to analyze critically? A report from UNICEF (1992) has

this to say about the plight of women in developing countries:

The developing world’s women bear the care for its children, fetch and carry its fuel and water, cook its meals and shop for its needs, wash its clothes and clean its homes and look after its old and ill. It is less widely known that women also grow and market most of the developing world’s food, earn an increasing proportion of its income, and work, on average, twice as many hours a day as men.46

Another consideration that needs to be taken into account is the changing role of women and men. As

contrasted to the West where roles are now more or less interchangeable between men and women, in

Africa, and specifically Kenya, women increasingly undertake the role of breadwinner as well as

homemaker. This accounts for the greater working hours of women as opposed to that for men. Women

therefore need a voice to represent them, to make a wake-up call to men. The Church’s role in

empowering the disempowered should permeate this particular portion of society.

2.5 Conclusion

We can tentatively conclude that there is a deficiency in the education system in Kenya due to the

church’s failure to actively participate in it. This is further highlighted by the difficulties experienced in

decision making and economic progress. Bosche has emphasized the importance of recognizing that

new challenges call for new responses and the importance of not separating the ‘spiritual’ from the

‘worldly’ so that individuals can be ministered to in their total need.47 If the values we uphold are used

to justify the way we behave or the lifestyle, then they need to be re-examined in light of scripture and

prevailing norms since it is out of these values that the place of women in society, polygamy, ownership,

and the marginalized is determined.48

46 J Senavoe, “Ministry of Women in the Church: An Understanding of Some Prohibitions”, Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 17 No. 2, 1998, p. 128.47 Bosche, p. 39848 J Andrew Kirk, What is Mission? Theological Explorations, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, London, 1999, Kirk, 87

18

Therefore, the arguments presented here suggest that the church has to take up its role in influencing the

educational system.

Firstly, it would be fair to conclude that the value based approach has to be clearly defined because

values can be either positive or negative. In this instance we are looking at Christian based values,

which need to be incorporated from the early stages of life. Caution has therefore to be applied in

introducing these values given the cultural and religious diversity in the country. Kirk defines values as

the “moral principles and standards which individuals or societies find acceptable or intolerable.”49 But

how far should we go with what is acceptable by society? If it acts against the good of individuals or

society, however acceptable, I suggest it should be discarded.

Secondly, if education is to be effective, there is a need to depart from the traditional view of seeing it as

not just a track record for literacy, a salaried job or even economic progress for a country but as for

transformation. It cannot be denied that the former three things are important but they should not be the

primary emphasis for education. Education’s primary goal should be that of impacting the individual

and society so that as they think issues through critically, they can make informed decisions based on

Christian values. These as a matter of fact should have a transformative effect in their lives and that of

society. It is therefore important to have teachers who are competent, diligent and good role models for

the students if significant progress in impacting students is to be achieved. Further, value-based

education should commence from the very early stages of education. This can be done by encouraging

interaction in the classroom. Children should not be treated like passive learners and their opinion

should be taken and analysed in what Nouwen refers to as a free and loving space.

Thirdly, I have dwelt extensively on critical thinking in education which is a factor that is lacking in the

educational system in Kenya. Sadly, when this is lacking it hampers peoples’ creativity and does not

broaden their horizon. It denies individuals the ability to achieve their highest potential and make

informed decisions. It has to be “involved in every action that restores, even partially, wholeness to

human life” and “help to give people the dignity of self-confidence through appropriate education”50 or

49 Ibid.50 Kirk, op.cit.54

19

as Chris and Sugden indicate, transformation has to permeate all areas of life in order for all to

experience God’s love particularly the poor. This call to mission therefore includes the social aspect.

Fourthly, some societal practices like polygamy are not called to question because they act in favour of

the male. This also leads to disempowerment of society through loss of life caused by a high incidence

in AIDS, high medical bills or no availability of health care, widows and orphans and loss of man-

power. Insistence on the practice being abandoned without explanation is useless but when reasoned

out, there is hope that it may be well received and reasonable decisions arrived at. This is where the

Church is called upon to introduce change, therefore in a sense providing release or as Bosche says this

would still be providing ‘salvation,’ so that people can be set free from a pattern of life which has

completely gripped them.51

The last and final issue in this chapter signals the importance of empowering disempowered individuals

and society as a whole. J. Andrew Kirk describes this as freeing the individuals by “creating

spaciousness” by freeing people “from whatever confines them or restricts their ability to flourish as

God intends.”52 Once again, this lack of empowerment or freedom is manifested through the education

system where teaching is done on what to think and no critical analysis is undertaken. Conversely, this

should not be viewed as a strong feminist movement which has had adverse effects in the West. Rather,

it should teach women to recognise their rights and how best to maximize their potential through their

God given abilities, and seek to restore their dignity considering that they too are made in the image of

God. It is to this that we turn to in the next chapter.

Section 3. Education and Women

51 Bosche, p. 40052 Kirk, op. p. 64.

20

3.1 Introduction

When considering the low status of women in the Kenyan society, it is obvious that there are many

factors that cause this anomaly. Some of these are education, traditions and the community set up. The

disempowerment women suffer can clearly be seen in the way they are conditioned right from their

childhood. This marginalized group lacks “every form of active and even passive participation in

society.”

This chapter will attempt to demonstrate some key factors particularly in the area of education that lead

women to become second-class citizens in Kenya. It is therefore important to trace how this comes

about right from their childhood. Secondly, I will examine the role of children (both boys and girls) in

society. Thirdly, I will examine the status of the girl-child and how this role influences her future and

why it is important for her status in society to be elevated. I will include the role of the church, family

and society in education in order to empower, first of all with regards to children in general, and then

specifically the girl child and women.

There is a consensus that this task of educating and reaching out to the children and women is very

important. It originally started with the missionaries, but has now largely been left to the Government.

However, if education is to have a transformative effect, the church, the family and society need to be

more involved. The first question to ask is why the church should take this task so seriously. It has to

be acknowledged that in some respects, the church in Kenya does take this issue of educating children

and women in society seriously, but in some other respects, it has failed miserably.

Firstly, the right to be a child and to restore dignity to children has been lost. One of the questions to be

asked is how and why this right and dignity can be restored. One of the reasons suggested as to how it

can be restored is through education. It is the church’s mandate to educate the next generation and this

is the best legacy that can be left to them. Paul McKaghan, a commentator, as quoted in the Journal

Transformation spells this out quite clearly. He says that “The children and the youth are the pillars of

21

society as well as the future Church.”53 Secondly, if their dignity is not restored, children, when fully

grown into adulthood, fail to achieve their God-given potential.

The Church in Kenya therefore has a missiological imperative in ensuring that girls are given an equal

opportunity in education. This will not just be any education but good quality education. Apart from

that, the church also has a mandate to train them in sound biblical morals and to protect them from abuse

which can be done through community awareness educational programmes.

In approaching the issue of education, one of the main aspects is that of gender. This issue has been

greatly debated for many years in different communities. In China, for example, a law was passed

restricting families to one child. The preference was for boys because other than the belief that boys

were superior, there was monetary gain that came with it. Parents who had a boy were paid a certain

amount of money. We see a parallel practice in the Greco-Roman period where girls were vulnerable to

death. Gundry-Volf cites a letter from a husband to a pregnant wife: “If by chance you bear a child, if it

is a boy, let it be, if it is a girl, cast it out.54 In Kenya, the birth of a girl is celebrated nearly as much as

that of a boy, but the status accorded a girl thereafter is what is questionable.

So from the outset, though all children are generally at risk, it must be said that girls are significantly

disadvantaged as compared to boys. This is also seen in the fact that girls generally have inadequate

education. A report from UNICEF links inadequate education to child labour. Children, like- women,

have suffered from the same or related social and cultural distortions of human rights and public policies

for many decades. It is therefore important to recognize that children have God-given rights and are

fully human rather than being the “property of their parents…and are capable of taking responsibility

commensurate with their development.”55 This issue of child labour is not just unique to Kenya and

other developing and undeveloped countries but existed even during the Industrial Revolution in Europe.

However, this is not the point of our discussion here. A brief historical overview regarding the

53 Paul McKaghan quoted in Martha Ngugi, “Called to Restore Lost Humanity,” Transformation No. 15 Vol. 1, January/March, 1998, p.11.54 Judith M Gundry-Volf, “The Least and the Greatest: Children in the New Testament,” in The Child in Christian Thought, Marcia J. Bunge, (ed), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.3355 Bonnie J Miller-McLemore, “Let the Children Come” Revisited: Contemporary Feminist Theologians on Children, in The Child in Christian Thought, Marcia J Bunge (Ed), Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2001., p.32

22

perspective of different peoples and a biblical view of children might help better understand and help

reconcile these differences.

3.2 Children in History

Firstly, in the Greco-Roman world, children were valued and loved but also seen as economic channels

for the family and society at large. Gundry-Volf states that “parents loved…in their children…” and that

“the state considered children indispensable for economic, cultural and military purposes.”56 Children

occupied a low rung in the social ladder, since they were considered fundamentally deficient and not

fully human.57

Secondly, in contrast to the Greco-Roman world, the Old Testament Jewish tradition portrays children

more positively. They are seen as both a “blessing and a divine gift from God,” just like in the African

tradition as asserted by Sheila Kibuka,58 “The African child is still cherished as a manifestation of God’s

blessings…” When God created Adam and Eve, he blessed them and said to them to be fruitful and to

multiply.59 The more numerous the children, the greater the blessing (Psalm 127:3 – 5; 128:3-6) and

childlessness was viewed as a curse. The blessing to Abraham came through the promise to make him

the Father of a great nation and promised him innumerable descendants (Gen. 12:2, 13; 15:5). Jewish

parents were also expected to teach their children these commandments all the time. “Impress them on

your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie

down and when you wake” (Deut. 6:7). In contrast to their Greek contemporaries, Jews distinguished

themselves by upholding a positive attitude and avoided brutal attitudes towards children like exposure

of new babies and abortion. They also had limited powers over their children.60 This should therefore

be a precedent for the church to hold children in high esteem irrespective of gender, and to teach

Christian values and commands.

56 Judith M Gundry-Volf, “The Least and the Greatest: Children in the New Testament,” in The Child in Christian Thought, Marcia J. Bunge, (ed), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan.57 ibid, p.3258 Sheila Gethaiga Kibuka, “An African Child – An Urgent Call for Action,” Transformation, Vol. 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 10.59 Judith M Gundry-Volf, “The Least and the Greatest: Children in the New Testament,” in The Child in Christian Thought, Marcia J. Bunge, (ed), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, p. 3560 Ibid. p. 36.

23

Thirdly, in the Gospels, Jesus emphasises the value of children in a way that was not done in the

practices of his time. He blesses the children brought to him, embraces them and touches them. In His

teachings, he uses children as models, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to

such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom

of God as a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:13-16; Matt. 19:13 – 15; Luke 18:15 – 17). They

are also a picture of greatness in the Kingdom of God. In order to be great in God’s Kingdom, you must

become as one of these, what … refers to as eschatological reversal. This is a clear indication that

Jewish and New Testament value of children was a re-discovery of the value of children.

Scripture explicitly indicates that God is angered by what is happening to children. He continually

warns “do not take advantage of …an orphan.” (Exodus 22:22a cf; Ezekiel 16:4-14 and Psalm 68:5).

Jesus further indicates terrible consequences for anyone who harms his children: “It would be better that

a millstone be hung around his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

3.2.1 Today’s Society

Today’s society is a far cry from this re-discovery. The society around does not cushion them from

traumatic experiences and they are exposed to many harmful things. They are exposed to the wrong

kinds of music, they desire goods, experience exam pressure and peer pressure. This puts enormous

pressure on their young lives which leads to emotional and mental stress. Little wonder then that in the

article on “Children at Risk”, it is stated that “Today’s children face a level of psychological pressure

totally unknown to previous generations. Faced with unattainable goals and a culture with few answers,

many see suicide as the logical way out.61

TV images make them desire what is unattainable in most spheres of Kenyan society. Children grow up

with an awareness of designer goods because of the mass media. In the past, the Kenyan society was

poor but did not realise it but now, that awareness has been re-awakened by these TV images, and

having wealthy neighbours next to slums. This is perhaps what has elicited the comment that

61 Children at Risk: Statement of an International Consultation at Oxford, January 1997, Transformation, Vol. 14, No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 1.

24

While poverty has always been with us, and children have always been at risk, children today are growing up in a different context from previous generations. Today’s post-modern paradigm has caused adults and children not only to abandon hope but to embrace despair. The context of child poverty and crisis has always been spiritual as well as physical, and today is no exception.62

3.2.2 The Girl Child

So far, we have only examined the fact that historically, girls were discriminated against and were not

given an equal chance as boys. This relationship between boys and girls even presently remains

disproportionate and unjust. Even in the education during the pre-colonial period, women’s education

was limited or non-existent because many families did not see the value of sending girls to school. Even

today in Kenya women and girls do not enjoy the same rights of inheritance, and opportunity in

employment as that rendered to men and boys.63 There are several factors that give rise to this anomaly.

The first issue to point out is that the girl child is more vulnerable than the boy for various reasons.

Some aspects of the African culture can be very oppressive. When decisions are to be made between

educating a girl or a boy in a family, it is usually the boy who gets educated. Girls also fall prey to

teenage pregnancies – where the education policy does not allow a girl to go back to school even after

having a baby. The problem with this is that even if the girl was allowed to go back to school, then who

would be left to look after her baby in a system where there are no social benefits? Her parents probably

have many other children to look after and are probably eking out a living. Then there are forced early

marriages, child labour and female circumcision.64 Child prostitution in Kenya is also rampant. Mwiti

states that “…Kenya is developing a reputation to rival Thailand, which is known as the world’s sex

capital.”65 All these factors hamper the development and progress of the girl-child.

62 Children at Risk: Statement of an International Consultation at Oxford, January 1997, Transformation, Vol. 14, No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 3.63 G Mdimi Mhogolo, “A Vision of Full Humanity: An African Perspective”, Transformation Vol. 15/1, p. 7.64 Sheila Gethaiga Kibuka, “African Child – An Urgent Call for Action”, Transformation, Vol. 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 1165 Gladys K Mwiti, “The need for training among Child Care Workers as highlighted by situations affecting children in Africa,” Transformation, Vol. 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 13

25

As it is impossible to deal with all these issues that cause disempowerment, I will focus only on child

labour and female circumcision.

3.2.3 Abusive Child Labour

As highlighted in the article on “Children at Risk”, child labour (which affects girls as well as boys) is

viewed as a developmental process in families; that is recognizing that “child labour is not necessarily

unjust and that in many cultures family relationships are strengthened when children work alongside

their parents.” One should, nevertheless consider the problem from another angle. Poverty means that

an increasing number of young children are being pressured into finding work so that millions of

children are currently involved in forced labour which denies them basic human rights.66 Kibuka views

it as an exploitative situation, putting the health of many children at risk. She states that “Many

(children) are working under extremely harsh and detestable conditions in factories, mines, farms, [and]

with no protection at all.”67 However, the girls usually have to work harder at home than the boys.

Furthermore, it is the girls who are likely to be taken out of school to tend to sick and dying parents

(particularly through the AIDS scourge).68 These children cannot afford school fees either. This

situation applies to most sub-Sahara Africa, where most girls are disempowered because of their over-

involvement in labouring at home. The Church cannot stay silent about these injustices and suffering.

Many prophets spoke against injustices and evangelicals have worked through the political systems to

“achieve Christian aims such as slavery and child labour.”69

3.2.4 Female Circumcision

This issue that contributes to disempowerment has been ignored in the post-colonial era until highlighted

in the last couple of decades because of women migrating to the West and requiring this rite for their

daughters.70 This age-old custom was viewed by the early missionaries as a stumbling block to 66 Children at Risk: Statement of an International Consultation at Oxford, January 1997, Transformation, Vol. 14, No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 367Sheila Gethaiga Kibuka, “African Child – An Urgent Call for Action”, Transformation, Vol. 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 1168 The United Nations General’s Special Envoy, making a speech in Zambia about child labour in Africa.69 Cheesman, p. 108, and Bosche, p. 296.70 Nancy Carey, BIS 490 Project, “Web Resources for Intercultural Women’s Studies, George Mason University,” September, 2000, The Wallace Global Fund, http://www.gmu.edu/student/mrrc/FGM%20PROJECT.html. accessed on 25th

26

Christianity and no clear-cut answer has arisen for its eradication. Currently in Kenya, it is being

tackled mostly as a human rights issue. Even the early missionaries who sought to eradicate it at the

turn of the last century found it very difficult with cultural nationalism taking root in the independent

schools which were not mission run. Opposition by missionaries to female circumcision and polygamy

were two issues amongst many traditional practices which conflicted with Christianity.71 The Africans

boycotted missionaries who opposed female circumcision and polygamy and set up their own schools.72

Kinyanjui, however, argues positively for the practice of female circumcision in that it provided training

for girls. She states that “The main significance of circumcision was not the actual operation but rather

the instructions, teachings and counselling offered to the initiates at the time…”73 She does not ignore

the alarming and destructive elements resulting from this practice like AIDS transmission through

sharing knives, the trauma of such an operation with no anaesthesia and the obstetric complications at

childbirth. Unlike the missionaries who condemned it as a ‘barbaric practice’, coupled with the fact that

they failed to study the history behind it, Kinyanjui seeks to highlight the bridging of the gap that was

left with the efforts to eliminate female circumcision. The formal education did not prepare girls for

adulthood in the way traditional education did. Fortunately, the church in Kenya has now started

programmes in churches to educate girls about this without them having to go through the rite of

passage.74 This is exactly what Kinyanjui is arguing for and hopefully it will make a change. As a

human rights issue, it is a wake up call to Kenyan Christians and the Kenyan Church to get involved in

matters which are not just evangelistically/spiritually geared but in matters pertaining to individuals in a

wholistic manner. They are also better equipped to understand the cultural implications of female

circumcision better than missionaries and should therefore be in a better position to interpret them in

light of scripture.

3.3 The Focus on Families and Communities

August, 2006, at 1.30 a.m.71 For more examples, see James R Sheffield, Education in Kenya, Teachers College Press, Columbia University, New York and London, 1973.72Ibid. pp. 27 - 2973 Rosemary Kinyanjui, “The Hidden Cost of Rejecting Female Genital Mutilation [FGM], Transformation 19/1, January, 2002, p. 73.74 There are ongoing programmes by NGOs, the Churches and Government in order to try and curb this practice. See the article by Rosemary Kinyanjui, ibid, p.74 – 77.

27

Another key player in empowerment is family and communities. The measure of a communities’

wellbeing can be measured by the stability and strength of the families in that particular community.

Someone stated that family is the core of society or as John Dearman states, “The family’s significance

and influence are everywhere in the Old Testament75 and Bruegguemann in support of the Bible and

family concurs by stating that “it is clear that in the world of Biblical faith, the family is the primary

unit of meaning which shapes and defines reality.”76

In examining the structure of families in Kenya, perhaps we can glean an idea as to the country’s

wellbeing. The idea of community and family in Kenya is very important and is built around ethnic and

nationalistic lines. It is also a very complex idea particularly for those not used to such diversity with

Kenya having 40 different ethnic groups. Another difficulty arises when one tries to separate family

from community in Kenya because the two are intertwined so here I will deal with both side by side.

Traditionally, the family in Kenya consists of not just the nuclear family but the extended family as

well.77 The African constitution of family is continually affirmed by the bible. But how far can we go

with the examples of family from the Bible?

Firstly, the families in the Bible like the African families were patriarchal and secondly, they were

generally polygamous. Sally Purvis rightly points out that “insofar as problems facing the family

include abuse based on patterns of dominance and subordination, the Bible must be seen as a profoundly

problematic heritage.”78 Polygamy in Africa has been widely condemned as being immoral and

throughout history, scholars have not agreed on a uniform manner of dealing with polygamy in the

church.79 According to Enrique Dussel, “polygamy was unremarkable for long stretches of biblical

history and can find much more support in biblical texts than can the isolated contemporary Western 75 J. Andrew Dearman, “The Family in the Old Testament,” Interpretation, A JOURNAL OF BIBLE AND THEOLOGY, April, 1998, p. 11876 Walter Brueggeman quoted in Roland D Martinson, “The Role of Family in the Faith and Value Formation of Children,” Word and World, Volume XVII, Number 4, Fall 1997, 77 See for example Johnson Maringa’s definition of family amongst the Embu and the Mbeere in Kenya in “The Impact of Social Change on the Embu and Mbeere, Kenya,” Transformation 19/1, January, 2002, p.77, and Rosemary Kinyanjui, “The Hidden Cost of Rejecting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Transformation, 19/1 p. 72.78 Sally Purvis, “A Question of Families,” Interpretation: The Family, A Journal of Bible and Theology, April, 1998, p. 148.79Leopold A Foullah, “A Socio-Theological Review of Theology,” Evangelical Review of Theology, Volume 19/1, January, 1995, and Julius Muthengi, “Polygamy and the Church in Africa: Biblical, Historical and Practical Perspectives,” Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 14/2, 1995, p. 75

28

‘nuclear family.’”80 However, Muthengi argues pursuasively that polygamy should be viewed as “man’s

convention rather than God’s ideal for marriage,”81 concluding that God’s norm from the beginning was

monogamy,82 or as Emmanuel Gbonigi cautions that “…one must be careful not to confuse the Hebrew

tradition with Jehovah’s wishes for his people.”83 Unlike Dussel, Muthengi states that though

polygamous situations have been recorded in the Bible, “a line should be drawn between what it records

and what it endorses.84 Yet, on the other hand, can we argue that the Western nuclear and monogamous

family is more faith based than the traditional polygamous African family?

Nevertheless, a few reflections need to be made regarding polygamous families. Firstly, it is of utmost

importance to understand that the Bible does not explicitly condemn polygamy though it provides

numerous examples about its failings. However, the approach of endorsing polygamy does not take into

account the emotional structures in such families. It is not possible for a polygamous father to be always

available for the many wives and numerous children regularly. Most scholars are agreed about the

emotional deprivation that children and wives suffer in polygamous homes. A case in point is Pamela S

Mann, who comments that “Husbands and wives do not expect to be intimate friends because deep

personal friendships happen only among one’s own gender.”85 Further, she adds that she has not “seen

plural marriages meet the needs of spouses in a way that monogamy can.”86 Conversely, we cannot deny

the fact that there are problems in monogamous marriages as well. This is seen clearly in Pamela S

Mann’s remarks about monogamous situations in the United States: “…households are filled with

jealousy and quarrelling…”87 However, from my observation, these seem to be more rife in polygamous

households.

Secondly, the economic reasons that motivated polygamy in Kenya are quickly losing ground. Rearing

children is becoming an awesome responsibility. “Apart from Christian ethics, the desire to train a few

children in the best schools and colleges has curtailed the desire for many wives.”88

80 Quoted in Sally Purvis, op.cit. p. 150.81 Julius Muthengi, “Polygamy and the Church in Africa: Biblical, Historical and Practical Perspectives,” Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 14/2, 1995, p. 6282ibid, p. 75, See also Genesis 2 and Matthew 19:4 – 5.83 Emmanuel Gbonigi, “Christian Ethics versus African Cultural Values,” Transformation 19/1, January, 2002, p.79.84 Julius Muthengi, “Polygamy and the Church in Africa: Biblical, Historical and Practical Perspectives,” Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 14/2, 1995, p. 6285 Pamela S Mann, op.cit. p. 13.86 ibid, p. 23 Mann87 Ibid, p. 13. Mann88 Emmanuel Gbonigi, op.cit. p. 79.

29

Thirdly, another reason that led to acquisition of many wives was that it would “increase the labour

force and care for widows through wife inheritance”.89 Some equate this with the Levirate law, where a

man inherited his brother’s wife (Deut. 25:5 and the book of Ruth are a good example of this). This

motivation in itself is becoming invalid because as observed by Gbonigi, “most Christian widows in the

cities are educated and they have jobs that can help them to be self-sufficient in a society that is tending

towards monogamy.”90 Another problem that has arisen with wife inheritance as alluded to in the

previous chapter is that of AIDS. A man might die of AIDS and his brother is required to inherit the

dead man’s wife. This automatically leads to infection not only of the man who inherits her but his wife

or wives. Archbishop Joseph Wasonga of Western Kenya cautioned his congregation against this

practice citing the above wife inheritance issue as one of the main causes of the proliferation of AIDS.91

To illustrate this point, Mann has listed some Old Testament polygamists and the negative and positive

effects of polygamy. From the list it is obvious that there are more negative implications than positive

ones. However, if one were to examine some polygamous generations like Jacob, Judah, David,

Solomon, and Rehoboam, one cannot deny that God has redeemed it for the sake of bringing Jesus into

the world. 92 No matter what opinion one holds on polygamy, the church has a role to help it define its

place in the community.

So, how does this affect families and societies as a whole? We see boys who will some day be heads of

households growing up with no role models. Girls also grow up deprived of parental love where the

mother is probably too busy to nurture all her children emotionally in the absence of a father and where

discipline is most probably lacking. Families are not only the core of society but they significantly

shape faith and values so if these trends of abuse are to be addressed, a closer examination needs to be

paid to the Bible. The church’s missiological role should be to educate both boys and girls regarding

their central role in society. If this is done, it will positively impact the future families. .

89 Leopold A Foullah, “A Socio-Theological Evaluation of Polygamy”, Evangelical Review of Theology, Vol. 19/1, January, 1995, p. 7790 Emmanuel Gbonigi, op.cit. p. 80.91 Sam Gonza, “Kenyan Bishop Calls on Widows to Take Stand Against Wife Inheritance: Bishop Joseph Wasonga,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/135/56.0.html. cited on 15th July, 2006, at 7.25 p.m.92 Pamela S Mann, op.cit. p.16.

30

In light of the above arguments, this places the Church in Kenya in a position to empower girls and

children because it has insight into the Bible and can give an understanding of the negative impact

polygamous households have had on biblical characters. Education can be carried out regarding

polygamy which is an issue that is really rife in Kenya and what the church’s response is.

3.3.1 The Role of the Church in Value Formation

The role of men and women in traditional Kenyan society was clearly defined. However, with the

changes taking place in pre- and post-colonial Kenya, these roles are slightly blurred with women taking

on the bread-winning role, but the men, unable to find formal employment, are finding it hard to adjust

to helping out with domestic chores in the home. Others are simply reluctant to do so even if the

situation demands it. This therefore leaves the Kenyan woman over-burdened, whether it is in the urban

or rural area where one’s measure is equated with what one does. These women contribute to the work

force and are valued for what they can produce rather than for who they are. “They cease to be what God

designed them to be and are often subjected to treatment that makes them less than human beings,

helpmates and companions.”93 Again, what resonates in the idea of the community’s failing is the issue

of polygamy filtering through here as we saw in the previous chapter. This is echoed by Bernard T

Adeney, who states that

polygamy is problematic for Christians…because it undermines the goals of the community. These goals include the development of the full humanity and dignity of each of its members and the formation of a just society characterized by fidelity and faithfulness to all its members.94

Women toil and work during the day and in the evenings they still have their families to

look after. I think the quote by Jean Bethke Elshtain is very timely and quite appropriate for the Kenyan

situation. She profoundly states that “We have been taught to find our value in work …but work now

consumes and does not give. Jesus offers a gift economy that can free us for meaningful service.”95 Yet

it is through work that families can contribute to society. But this affects women so much so that after

93 Leopold A Foullah, op.cit. p. 7794 Bernard T Adeney, “Polygamy: how many wives in the Kingdom of God?,” Transformation, 12/1, January/March, 1995, p. 1.95 Jean Bethke Elshtain, “Thinking About Women in Family, Church, and Society,” Word & World, Volume XVII, Number 4, Fall 1997, p. 353.

31

work and attending to family, what Nancy T Ammerman refers to as a “second shift”, they have very

little time to contribute to society.

In illustrating the importance of living out what one teaches, Martinson asserts that it has been proven

over and over again that children learn by example. That the learning in the home is also very important

is demonstrated by a research carried out in the mid-1980s in the USA, whereby a father and mother

who modelled the faith and had interactive family life contributed to the mature faith of the children.

This was also combined with good ministry in the church.96 This is clearly lacking in the Kenyan

Church and society where there are no good role models for children. These children, being the future

generation, continue the cycle on and on.

This is reflected in the numerous families that have broken down in Kenya. Unlike the West, it is very

difficult to get data regarding single parent families but a glaring sight is what can be witnessed in the

streets of many towns and villages with orphans left to fend for themselves. Many tribes in Kenya have

also experienced unexpected expansion of families particularly through daughters having children

outside marriage.97 Emily A Onyango echoes Maringa on this issue of the proliferation of single

parents. Her reasons, however, for this phenoma are different. She cites a “global culture which has

popularised values from the West.”98 This point of aping cultures of the West is disputable because

single mothers have been long on the scene even before current media. However, such families are

considered outcasts and do not fit either in the traditional cultural life or in the church. Maringa seems

to wrestle with whether to accept these single mothers as communicants by relaxing church rules and

church discipline whilst discouraging the more faithful members who have had to endure a faithful life.

I would suggest that there is no adequate teaching carried out by the churches. Usually, warnings not to

have children outside marriage and the consequences is all they are aware of. There is need for thorough

grounding in the word, and the consequences of sin from the Word of God and not just the fear of

punishment, in this case excommunication or becoming a non-communicant member. Inevitably this is

where the Church family comes in. By carrying out instructions on the morals one is expected to uphold

96 Roland D. Martinson, “The Role of Family in Faith and Value Formation,” Word & World, Volume XVII, Number 4, Fall 1997, p. 402 – 403.97 Johnson Maringa, “The Impact of Social Change on the Embu and Mbeere, Kenya,” Transformation 19/1, January, 2002, p.7798 Emily A Onyango, “A challenge to the Christian understanding of family in Kenya,” Transformation 19/1, January, 2002, p. 80.

32

is very important but of utmost importance is the support given to the individuals by the church family.

This is why we cannot talk about what it means to be a family from a scriptural point of view without

also asking what it means to be the church.99

From the above, one can surmise that it is inevitable that most people are raised in relatively

dysfunctional situations. “Modern readers might continue this line of interpretation and conclude that it

is evidence of grace that family dynamics like those of the ancestral history can become vehicles for

divine activity and testimony to God’s resolve to bless “all the families of the earth.” If so, then perhaps

there is also hope that God’s resolve to bless will be accomplished through the difficult circumstances of

family life in modern society.”100

3.3.2 Communities

Community is described as that ‘which implicitly places value on consensus and the common good.’101

It is there for caring for others “…on a one-on-one basis, to make them members of [our] community, to

count them as full moral people… and share and reach out to them.”102 One of the most essential features

of the African heritage is the sense of community. It is within community that everyone functions. “…

everyone is under obligation to be loyal to one’s family or clan, and family….”103 In order to form a

community, there has to be cohesion among the members. But from the above issues, one quickly

realises that community in Kenya is rapidly deteriorating.

Kofi Asare Opoku enumerates the beginning of Christian communities in Africa. These new

communities were created in order to avoid contamination with the African traditions which the

missionaries viewed as dangerous to their new found faith. Rather than make genuine attempts to hold

dialogue with the Africans and seek a greater understanding of their African religion and heritage, they

99 Stephen G Barton, “Living as Families in the Light of the New Testament,” Interpretation: The Family, A JOURNAL OF BIBLE AND THEOLOGY, p. 132100 J Andrew Dearman, “The Family in the Old Testament,” Interpretation: The Family, A JOURNAL OF BIBLE AND THEOLOGY, April, 1998, p. 120.101 Jonathan Hayes, “The Practice of Community, Third Way, 18/4, May, 1995, p.21.102 Roy McCloughry, “Finding the Right Balance,” Third Way, 20/5, June, 1997, p. 17. 103 Kofi Asare Opoku, “Communalism and Community in the African Heritage,” International Review of Mission, Vol. LXXIX No. 316, October, 1990, p.488 & 489.

33

segregated these new communities. They forgot what Opoku refers to as “God, [is] the God of all, and

his self-disclosure is not confined to a segment of humankind; there are deep insights in other religious

heritages that God in his own wisdom has placed there and which can enrich Christian thinking.”104

Furthermore, “traditional education gives primacy to personal relations and to be human is to be in

relation not only with members of one’s family, ethnic group, clan or community, but also with the

spiritual beings and realities in the community, as well as with nature.”105 One should, however, not

forget that adhering completely to the traditional forms could pose problems especially where Opoku

alludes to spiritual beings. This is particularly so because some of these practices “support a worldview

in which people live in constant fear of witchcraft and evil spirits.”106 Here we could perhaps go further

and ask ourselves whether “the regenerative power of new life in Christ can bring a real liberation?”107

instead of the syncretism which Opoku seems to imply by his statement. This suggests that it was

inevitable for the Africans to be moved to new communities where they could express their faith without

reference to their African traditional religion. This however, robbed them of the ability to be ‘salt and

light’ to the community of other unbelieving Africans, and was perhaps the beginning of the non-

involvement of the African Christian communities in the life of society as a whole.

It is in light of the above facts that the community is called to be a Christian community. This calls for

the family, and extended family but those who are family in the household of God to find ways of

assisting the society to maintain and strengthen communities because they provide priceless support to

individuals and give society the necessary solidarity.

3.4 Conclusion

From these facts, one may conclude that the low social status of women in Kenya is as a result of their

being undervalued, and overworked right from childhood. This undervaluing results in their generally

104 Kofi Asare Opoku, “COMMUNALISM AND COMMUNITY IN THE AFRICAN HERITAGE,” International Review of Mission, Vol. LXXIX No. 316, October, 1990, p.488.105 Kofi Asare Opoku, “COMMUNALISM AND COMMUNITY IN THE AFRICAN HERITAGE,” International Review of Mission, Vol. LXXIX No. 316, October, 1990, 489.106 Willem Berends, “African Traditional Healing Practices and the Christian Community,” Missiology Volume XXI/3, July, 1993, p.283.107 Willem Berends, “African Traditional Healing Practices and the Christian Community,” Missiology Volume XXI/3, July, 1993, p. 283.

34

being given little or no education at all. It means that later in life, many girls have little chance of

attaining reasonable employment which in turn affects the quality of the families they raise. Kirk has

stated quite succinctly that one of the failures of the Church is to recognize the democratic space that

should be given to all. He cites the example of the Church’s poor record in its treatment of women

despite its claims of having rediscovered the vital equality of men and women in all aspects. Thus he

states that “if God’s mission is largely tied to the Church then God’s freedom is seriously

compromised.”108

Secondly, it is the church’s role to educate community and families as to their role in society because the

Church has been placed in a special position to bring healing and wholeness to individuals in the

community. Jesus himself placed a huge amount of importance in community. This is reflected in his

calling of the twelve, and the extension of his kingdom to embrace people of every tribe, tongue and

nation, who put their faith in him. This is very well stated by Kirk. He says that, “The Church exists in

mission because the restoration of a damaged humanity to wholeness can only happen in community.”109

In order for the Church to bring about change and healing, it can re-inforce traditional values which are

commensurate with biblical values which embrace such “concepts as justice and oppression,” 110and

discarding values that are destructive and damaging to individuals and society. The families and society

will in turn provide support structures for all children, mainly ensuring that boys are not favoured over

girls in all areas of life and for women as well so that they can grow up in a healthy and safe

environment. Families and communities will also be required by the church to set up good moral,

biblical values that girls can emulate.

Thirdly, the community of believers needs to take on the role of educating children and youth more

seriously. As Kinyanjui succintly puts it, “in times of serious social crisis the people look on the church

as a guide.”111 Currently, from reading the dailies, there are campaigns running in Kenya educating

youth about AIDS, female circumcision and empowering women. It is important that the community

seriously take the initiative and get involved in guiding the young in society.

108 Kirk, op.cit. p. 207109 ibid, p. 206110 Jonathan Hayes, op.cit. p. 21.111 Rosemary Kinyanjui, op.cit. p. 76.

35

It is with these few facts in mind that we move to the next chapter which illustrates how much

development has been hampered by inadequate education or no education at all and how re-focusing on

this could lead to a change in the economy.

Section 4. Education and Development

4.1 Introduction

36

It is generally agreed today with regards to economical development that the West, particularly in

relation to the colonial heritage has seriously damaged the poor countries. But the world offers us

numerous examples of prosperous countries which were once colonies and some poor countries

that were never colonized. Bauer disagrees with Myrdal and specifically thinks this view is

unfounded.112 But whether we agree with this view or not, it is important to see that an urgent

solution, with long-term benefits is required. On the one hand, if it is oppression that leads to

poverty, both political and missiological some effort needs to be applied to bring about justice.

Furthermore, Herbert Schlossberg warns us against listening to rhetoric, calculated to elicit foreign

support due to guilt, without examining it from a biblical perspective.113 Kirk endeavours to

differentiate social justice viewed from the world’s lenses from social justice viewed from a

biblical perspective. The former is often self-seeking whilst the latter should emanate from love of

God, that is, it should “spring from the nature of the God who is. [For] Justice is what God does,

for justice is what God is.”114

The first section begins by exploring development and the sort of development aimed for, and why

Christians should engage in education for social change.

The second section deals with development and social justice and how it relates to missiology. It seeks

to find out how eliminating disparities in income differences could contribute to development.

The third section examines education for social justice, and the role the church should play in order to

help accomplish this. It also looks at some aspects that hinder development like cultural beliefs,

‘Christian’ beliefs, and gender disparity, and an uneducated civil society.

The last section examines the relationship between education, employment and ethnicity and how

Education is one of the most important mechanisms of social control in Kenya and how it has become

the central issue because of its relationship to social mobility.115

112 The Free Economy: P.T. Bauer’s Empirical Analysis, Herbert Schlossberg, in Freedom, Justice and Hope, Toward a Strategy for the Poor and Oppressed, p. 90113 Ibid, p.109114 Kirk, op.cit., p. 104

37

4.2 Education and Development

4.3 What is Development?Development in its simplest form is change, both good and bad. There are always winners and

losers when development occurs, i.e. it benefits some while it harms others.

Development in its simplest form can be thought of in three ways:

1. As a vision of a desirable society.

Because people have different visions of what they want society to become, development

becomes a value-based conflict.

2. As a historical process of social change as seen in post-colonial countries.

3. As deliberate efforts at improvement.

Today’s NGO’s and foreign aid regime make attempts at this.116

So in summary, development occurs when people learn, grow and change as they take charge of

their own lives and solve their own problems.117 It is also important to recognize that “economic

health begins with the recognition that human beings are not simply creatures of nature, fully

subservient to our environments”118 but that they are created in the image of God. People also

115 David Court, “The Education System as a Response to Inequality in Tanzania and Kenya”, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 14 No. 4 (Dec. 1976), pp. 661 – 690, p. 664116 For a more concise explanation of these three aspects see Alan Thomas, “Meanings and Views of Development,” Poverty and Development into the 21st Century, Tim Allen, Alan Thomas (Eds),The Open University with Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 48. 117 Daniel Rickett, “Preventing dependency: Developmental Partnering,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Oct. 1998, p.438 -445. p. 440118 Herbert Schlossberg, “Imperatives for Economic Development,” in Freedom, Justice and Hope: Toward a Strategy for the Poor and the Oppressed, Marvin Olasky (Ed), Crossway Books, Illinois, 1988, p. 103

38

respond to situations “in terms of values not instincts.” These values therefore need to be

cultivated in individuals and communities.119

It is also important to define what sort of development we are aiming for. Is it development that is

geared towards catching up with the West both economically and technologically, or is it development

that aims to lift the very poor from that state of poverty so that they can at least have the basic

necessities? Samuel and Sugden have defined what I believe is the development that Kenya and even

other developing countries should be aiming for. They refer to Mahatma Gandhi, whose ideology was

to see grinding poverty ended, whilst at the same time opposing development which would create

material affluence, because he was convinced that affluence would lead to cultural erosion and moral

bankruptcy.120 Kenya will need to develop in such a way that it lifts people from grinding poverty and

reduces the gap between the rich and the poor in the country. The dream to reduce the gap between the

rich and the poor nations is perhaps unrealistic at this point and perhaps unnecessary. Yet it might mean

for the rich to do with less so that the poor can have more. The same is true between the rich and the

poor nations. This would come in terms of foreign aid to poor nations and world trade balance. Whilst

foreign aid is not bad in itself, it can sometimes lead to attitudes that are detrimental to development. It

also encourages people to always look to outside help forgetting that their “economic development is

dependent on their performance.”121 In such a case, “new structures are needed, both within the country

and internationally, because the oppressor groups maintain their position by alliance with international

structures of injustice (e.g. terms of trade, multinational companies, and capitalism).”122 It has to be

noted that even strong economies like India and China are still grappling with the question of poverty

amongst the majority of their population. “What people need, to attain this goal of control of their own

destiny to fulfil their God-given potential, is liberation from the bondage of economic structures which

prevent this.”123 That is why Christians should engage with developmental experts by not “accepting

uncritically ideas on development advanced by experts who disagree with fundamentals of Christian

119 Schlossberg, op.cit. p. 103120 Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden, “Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change”. Contemporary Issues in Social Ethics, Development: Its Secular Past and Its uncertain Future, Volume 2 , Ronald Sider, (Ed), The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981, p. 2121 Schlossberg, op.cit. p. 95122 Vinay Samuel & Chris Sugden, Theology of Development: A Guide to the Debate, Theology of Development: A Guide to the Debate, Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change, THE PATTERNOSTER PRESS, 1981, p. 23123 ibid, p. 23

39

faith. Expertise is almost always mixed with value judgments based on worldviews.”124 Foreign aid, as

Escobar puts it,

has become a euphemism that covers a multitude of sins in international relationships today…It is a fact that charity is no substitute for justice and that justice sometimes makes charity unnecessary. The time has come for the Christian community to apply the justice of the kingdom inside her universal dimensions.125

Nevertheless, it has to be noted that this cannot happen without opposition. The question that arises is

whether the church has the power to do this. Power is relational and thus development will infinitely

lead to compromise even amongst many Christians who initially would want to operate sincerely. This

leads to the issue of development and social justice.

4.4 Development and Social Justice

The prophets in the Old Testament frequently pleaded the cause of the poor and the oppressed in society.

Isaiah said, “…And he [God] looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of

distress.”126

In approaching this issue, it is important to acknowledge that many scholars agree that at the centre of

the problems of poverty and hunger, injustice and inequity, are human systems which ignore, mistreat

and exploit man who is made in the image of God. If these systems are to be dismantled or altered, then

there is the possibility that some equity might be achieved.127 Systems here refer to a structural cause for

the inequality. However, people are involved in these systems, and there is a strong element of human

agency involved as well. Again it comes down to power. These systems are in place because there are

people that need them. Perhaps there are more people that do not want them, but these people lack the

power to change the situation. And what do you change the system to? There is no consensus here.

Even looked at remotely, an example would be the major international organisations like World Health

Organisations, the World Bank and many other United Nations organisations. Indirectly, these

124 Herbert Schlossberg, op.cit. p.99.125 Samuel Escobar, “Reform, Revolution, and Missions,” in Christian Mission and Social Justice, Samuel Escobar (Ed), Herald Press, Ontario, 1978, p. 80126 Isaiah 5:7b127 W. Stanley Mooneyham, What do you Say to a Hungry World? Waco: Word Books, 1975, p. 117.

40

organisations need a lot of manpower particularly in times of crises. They also provide employment and

income. If situations in the world improved drastically, which is the goal of these organisations, they

would trim their employees rendering many jobless. Closer to home in Kenya, because of corruption,

business deals go through easier, with payment of bribes, and the rich manage to get the children into

better schools and therefore attain good grades ensuring good education and the cycle continues.

However, to take the latter example, if there was a level playing field in education for both the rich and

the poor, the cycle would be broken. I suggest that the majority of the rich would like to hold on to

these unjust structures because they are of benefit to them. This is where the church is called to focus on

fighting for the poor.

On the other hand one can criticize Evangelicals for being particularly reluctant to accept the idea that

poverty is caused by injustice and that the poverty of millions could be directly linked to the existence of

a system that is basically unjust. This is why it is important to perceive that the social system in which

people are educated is the cause of the injustice. 128

Let us first start by considering the implications of eliminating such disparities as income differences.

Would this then not be the true meaning of economic and social justice, and therefore, a prime concern

of development policy. For by stating that “…inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth are

not only morally repugnant, but they also militate against the orderly evolution of our society”129

Kodwo Esuman Ankrah implies that society’s progress is retarded because of these disparities. We

could, however, go further and ask whether Ankrah is advocating a socialist state, though he is by no

means a socialist but which is unfortunately beyond the scope of this essay. Such disparities are not just

restricted to Kenya or even East Africa as illustrated below.

The East African recently carried an article where Kevin J. Kelley stated that, despite East Africa’s

generally strong economic performance, it is failing to produce significant progress toward anti-

128 Samuel Escobar, “The Need for Historical Awareness,” in Christian Mission and Social Justice, Samuel Escobar (Ed),Herald Press, Ontario, 1978, pp.25-27, & Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden, “Theology of Development: A Guide to the Debate”, in Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change:Contemporary Issues in Social Ethics, Vol. 2. Ronald Sider, (Ed), The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981, p. 25.129 Uganda Development Five Year Aid Plan quoted by Kodwo Esuman Ankrah in “The Church and National Development in Africa,” African Challenge, p. 32.

41

poverty goals, and economic improvements are largely confined to better off segments of society

and are generally not filtering down to the poorest citizens.130 The Indian, Chinese and East

African situation call for economic growth being accompanied by social justice. Another factor

that is assumed to assist in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor is education. It would

appear that educational policies raise political questions and these questions in turn serve in

influencing the educational policies.131 This then calls for education that will bring about social

justice.

4.5 Education for Social Justice

How then would education help in bringing about social justice? Adam Curle profoundly states that

“Education as it is practiced does not so much free men from ignorance, tradition, and servility, as fetter

them to the values and aspirations of a middle class which many of them are unlikely to join…”132 One

of the ways in which education could assist in this venture is by “raising consciousness to social

injustices and by contributing to the creation of social conscience”133 and free from ignorance and

traditional values that are binding. This is in keeping with obeying the Great Commandment, to love

God and neighbour as oneself. Right from its inception in the last century, this was done through

education as well as religious instruction.134 However, the Church seems quite uncertain as to the role

which it should play. However, in the past three or four decades, the church in Kenya seems to have lost

its missiological focus in education, what Lettie asserts as “a prevailing sense of diminishing authority

on the part of the Church in the sphere of education.”135 This is why it is important that as evangelicals

seek to develop biblical principles for social change, it is crucial for them to educate society to recognize

that attempts to improve society through education, grants and training may be counterproductive if they

do not perceive that the social system itself, within which the people are educated, may be the cause of

130 Much as social justice is such an important factor, it is going to be impossible to deal with this given the length of this essay.131 John Simmons, “Introduction and Summary,” in The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s, John Simmons (Ed), The World Bank, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1980.132 Adam Curle quoted in The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s, The World Bank, John Simmons, (Ed), Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1980.133 John Driver, “The Anabaptist Vision and Social Justice,” in Christian Mission and Social Justice, Samuel Escobar (Ed), Herald Press, Scottdale, 1978134 Sheffield, op.cit. p.8 – 12.135 Lettie Stuart, op.cit. ?????

42

injustice.136 This solution poses several difficulties. One is that it assumes that the evangelicals have the

capacity to educate society. Secondly, it assumes that there are resources available for such an

education to be carried out and a willingness by the learners. Thirdly, it assumes that the learners have

the time to take up education, whether formally or informally. Were the education to succeed, however,

it would end up as a vicious cycle because the very education reproduces the social system that needs to

be changed. Nevertheless, Jesus was notably “…critical of accepted values and hypocrisy and

pharisaism of contemporary practice,” James Downey, quoted in Kodwo Ankrah, p.34 and so

evangelicals should not tire of criticizing the educational system and calling for change. But the change

should start with them.

Does the above then contradict the belief in recent years that education is a basic human right?

Proponents of this view state that every child is entitled to education in whatever society he or she is

born. When a child is denied basic education, they argue, that child is denied the chance to reaching his

or her greatest human potential.137 This is despite some perceiving that the “primary role of schooling is

to produce a workforce, not to develop the capabilities of individuals to their fullest potential.”138 It has

to be said that in most cases, the economic rules over human potential and what we see here is

essentially two competing visions, or perhaps two visions which are mutually exclusive. John Simmons

advocates a system whereby most funds are shifted from secondary and higher education to improve the

quality and quantity of the first nine years of schooling, including non-formal education for adults.139

This, he contends, would “increase the rate of economic growth and reduce social inequality.”140 The

difficulty with Simmons’ suggestion is that firstly, Kenya, like most developing countries, has problems

raising revenues even for providing basic schooling. Despite the introduction of free primary education

in Kenya in 2002, not every child is able to access schooling due to lack of books, uniform and activity

fees which have still to be paid for. The classrooms are also overcrowded with not enough books and

desks for the pupils. This calls into question the quality of education being provided in the free primary

136 Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden, “Theology of Development: A Guide to the Debate,” in Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change”. Contemporary Issues in Social Ethics, Development: Its Secular Past and Its uncertain Future, Volume 2 , Ronald Sider, (Ed), The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981, p. 25137 John Shao, “Alleviating Poverty in Africa,” in Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Deryk Belshaw, Robert Calderisi, Chris Sugden (Eds), Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001, p. 21.138 For further information on this, see John Simmon’s presentation of the two theories of the proponents of education, i.e. incrementalists and structuralists, John Simmons, “Policy Issues in the 1980s,” in The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s, The World Bank, PERGAMON PRESS, Oxford, 1980, p. 24 – 27.139 Ibid, p. 2 - 3.140 ibid, p. 2

43

schools. The second issue raised by Simmons is that there would be dissatisfaction amongst the “upper

income parents whose children will be denied access to the schooling deemed appropriate for their

socio-economic status… as well as angry teachers’ associations who see their job security threatened.”141

Already, this is happening in the many government primary schools where parents who can afford are

now sending their children to private schools, in effect channelling more of their disposable income to

fees which they could spend on other things. This is not all bad because it means it eases the burden on

the government and fees that could be spent on a child from the upper income home is now channelled

to that of a child from a lower income or no income home. It also means less over-crowding in the

classrooms and more jobs for teachers who are paid from private funds in the private schools.

An important aspect which is worthy of note is that the stability of families affect the outcome of a

student’s performance more than the facilities of a school. Simmons states that the studies in developed

countries, which are consistent with those of developing countries “indicate that the school inputs tend

to be less important in predicting student achievement on standard school tests than family and other

out-of-school factors.”142

A factor which strongly affects socio-economic progress is the cultural beliefs of a people.

Schlossberg continuously challenges the failure of Christian Churches and organizations in not

realizing that it takes a healthy culture for a people to be faithful to God.143 In Chapter Two, I

examined how the girl-child was disadvantaged by not being given sufficient education or no

education at all. This discrimination obviously plays a major role in the future of women in such

societies. However, the Bible has often been used to subjugate women. In some views, the bias

against girls is interpreted as biblical. Thus there is a lack of consensus even in the “Christian”

viewpoint. Much as it is important to heed Myrdal’s warning not to adopt “uncritically the

educational practices and policies of the West”144 I would agree with Bauer who says that “the idea

of modernization without Westernization is self-contradictory.”145 This departure from traditional

Kenyan norm, in this instance, would obviously mean giving the girl child an equal educational

opportunity with that of the boy. Clarke Pinnock calls for church leaders to speak out on behalf of

141 ibid, p. 2.142 Ibid, p. 11.143 Herbert Schlossberg, op.cit. p. 112 - 113144 Ibid, p. 93.145 Ibid, p. 93.

44

peace and justice for the people. He states that when they do this, “their witness can be the

inspiration and source of hope for millions of Christians.” 146 Re-interpreting the bible therefore

calls for the church to fight for justice towards the girl child.

In concluding the above, recognition has to be made that in order to achieve significant success in

development, firstly, citizens must be better able to manage themselves and make their appropriate

contribution to the progress of their society. For this, the quality of civic and moral education must be

upgraded and made more relevant, in order to enable citizens to recognize and acknowledge their rights

as well as non-disruptive ways of claiming those rights.

Secondly, development could also be done through in-service training by using teachers as leaders in

community.147 Closer co-operation between the government and developmental agencies could also

accelerate the process and curb duplication. No doubt this is not an easy task because often it is not the

host government (Kenya) that funds these agencies. Thus the host tends not to dictate goals. In

addition, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) often like automony-they do not like to be told what

to do. Thus co-ordination becomes difficult, not to mention that there is often competition between

NGOs.

Thirdly, women are one of Africa’s growth reserves, their empowerment being a crucial factor in

development. They provide most of the region’s labour, but their productivity is hampered by

widespread inequality in education and access to resources. Thus, greater gender equality can be a

potent force for accelerated poverty reduction.148 Investment in appropriate education for women could

improve productivity and incomes as well as women’s employment opportunities and decision-making

within the household. Women’s education also improves health in the home and reduces child

mortality.149 This is not without its difficulties. It is time consuming, expensive, energy sapping and

requires willingness and commitment. The women may therefore lack the time to be educated. They

146Pinnock, p.81 147 Kenneth Watson, “Colonialism and Educational Development,” in Education in the Third World, Kenneth Watson, (Ed). Billing & Sons Ltd, Worcester, 1982, p. 1 – 46, p. 21148 Shimwaayi Muntemba and C. Mark Blackden, “Gender and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, Faith in Development, Deryke Belshaw, et al (Eds), Regnum Books International, 200l, p.102.149 Agnes Abuom, “Women’s Issues in Health and Education”, Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Deryke Belshaw et.al. (Eds), Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001, p. 113.

45

are often so busy that education becomes a nuisance and it is difficult to invest in long term, when there

is short term need.

There is also a need for education of citizens on their civic roles so they can fully participate in the

government. We see in England concern about the poor at its greatest being in Elizabethan times. So

what the government did was to make every parish responsible for the poor and unemployed within that

parish. The Justice of the Peace in the Parish was allowed to collect the “Poor Rate” tax from every one

who owned land in the parish which used to help the poor. This benefited the poor by firstly making

them feel that something was being done for them and secondly, they felt a sense of worth by being

given something to do in the Parish (i.e. by being appointed to collect tax from the Parish

landowners).150 This poses the question as to what responsibilities need to be undertaken by the Kenyan

Churches were they to be given responsibility. Firstly, they need to be educated in their civic

responsibilities about sharing with the needy and hence they will begin to see changes in the society.

John Driver states that“…the church acts in the world to change society. Christians see themselves as

God’s agents for ending injustices and bringing about social justice in the world. The Church has been

charged with a very important task and this is very normative. Yet today’s church has the same value

system when it comes to materialism. The Church pays lip-service to justice and does not challenge the

status quo. Nevertheless, according to Driver’s vision a Christian minority, if it has access to power, can

change society for the better.”151 Tokunboh Adeyemo concurs with Driver by giving an illustration of

when England was small and weak and there was grinding poverty, corruption, bribery and

mismanagement in public office just like Kenya today. But by the beginning of the 19th century, things

had changed and Britain was transformed into a superpower. This happened when the population was

willing to be transformed through powerful preachers.152 However, he is either oblivious of the

industrial revolution which was beginning to take shape in the 18th century which turned around the face

of Britain, impacting people’s lives and providing jobs for the population or chooses to ignore it to make

his point.

150 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/poor_in_elizabethan -england.htm., cited on 30th June, 2006, at 4.30 p.m. no author’s name151 John Driver, “The Anabaptist Vision,” in Christian Mission and Social Justice, Samuel Escobar & John Driver (Eds), p. 105.152 Tokunbho Adeyemo, “Africa’s Enigma,” in Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Deryke Belshaw et. al. (Eds) Oxford, Regnum Books Publishers, 2001, p. 36 – 37.

46

It is perhaps not possible to get the people involved in the same way that the Elizabethan Parishes did

but the church needs to be “more closely identified with reviews of educational policy and practice, and

their conclusions on what will be conducive to development.”153 A greater involvement with projects is

also very important, so that Christians can critically evaluate issues.154 It is also important to note that

spiritual and structural changes need to go hand in hand in order to revolutionise people’s lives. The

church also needs to take stock of its attitude towards wealth and prosperity even before speaking out

about injustices.

4.6 Education and Development

The issue of education in Kenya is an on-going dilemma. Changes continue to be made, some of which

are politically motivated. More education, as evidenced by the Kenya situation does not create jobs

outside the education sector, and most scholars, amongst them John Simmons, Martin Carnoy, and Mark

Blaug hold this opinion.155 Simmons suggests that a solution to this would be the “reduction of

unemployment at all levels of the labour force”156 which in turn would reduce the demand for

education.”157 Simmons, however, does not provide a solution about how this reduction of

unemployment could be undertaken. Mark Blaug suggests that “the problem is that education absorbs

resources that might have been devoted to creating employment opportunities.”158 The difficulty with

this position is that it suggests a socialist system of education where “the goal of social justice consists

less of equalising rewards than of providing everyone with an equal chance to demonstrate and be

rewarded for his ability.”159 As noted earlier, “expanding free adult literacy and primary education

would enhance the social mobility of the poor.”160 This is seen in Tanzania where there has been “a 153 Lettie Stuart, “The Church and Education,” in African Challenge, Transafrica Publishers, Nairobi, 1975, p. 79154 Loc.cit. 155 John Simmons, op.cit, p. 8.156 Ibid. p. 13.157 Ibid, p.13158 Mark Blaug, “Common Assumptions about Education and Employment” in The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1980, p.248.159 David Court, “The Education System as a Response to Inequality in Tanzania and Kenya”, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 14 No. 4 (Dec. 1976), pp. 661 – 690, p. 667.160 John Simmons, “Introduction and Summary”, THE EDUCATION DILEMMA: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s, PERGAMON PRESS, OXFORD, 1980, 21.

47

reduction in the proportion of the total education budget going to secondary and tertiary education, and a

corresponding increase in the proportion going to primary and adult education.”161 This is in stark

contrast to Kenya whereby Court states that people accept wealth inequalities because they “believe they

have a chance to enter the school system, will be judged by objective criteria within it, and will have an

equal chance to enter employment outside it.”162 This belief in equal opportunity in education leading to

equal opportunity in the job market and self-employment is eroded because contrary to his belief, people

are now beginning to see the disparities in wealth and job creation and government support to certain

types of schools.

Equally relevant to the issue is ethnicity in Kenya. Since the quality of education depends to a large

extent on the quality of teachers, it is important to ensure that qualified teachers are equally distributed

throughout the country, and perhaps more highly concentrated in regions of long-standing educational

disadvantage. It is interesting to note that the regions that have had a President, i.e. Jomo Kenyatta

(1963 – 1978 (Central Province) and Daniel Arap Moi 1978 – 2002 (Rift Valley), have had good

development and greater educational initiatives. This is perhaps what leads Court to conclude that “as

long as access to higher quality schools is visibly related to factors other than individual ability and

regional and ethnic disparities in the provision of educational facilities are not redressed, it is difficult to

accept that the Kenyan Government follows an ethos of equal opportunity.”163

4.7 Conclusion

In summary, this chapter has examined the kind of development that the Church should aim for. It is the

sort of development that should not aim at only transforming materially and lifting individuals and

society from abject poverty and seeking to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor but it should

focus on enabling the individual to reach their fullest potential. This calls for Christians to engage with

161 David Court, op.cit. p. 668.162 Ibid. p. 668.163 David Court, quoted in Alwiya Alwy & Susanne Schech, “Ethnic Inequalities in Education in Kenya,” International Education Journal Vol. 5 No. 2, 2004, p. 267

48

developmental experts and the government. Nevertheless, this is not without its challenges because all

sides have different agendas.

The above also pre-supposes that the Christians would be well versed with issues of social justice but

this is not always the case. Kirk is right in pointing out the fact that “part of the difficulty is that the

Churches do not always examine and judge carefully the various secular discussions of development

which… tend to see it in the quantitative terms of the latest technology, manufacturing capacity , gross

national product, levels of income and so on…”164 since these are not the right criteria of weighing up

issues of justice. Not only are many quite ignorant about issues relating to social justice but they are

likely to even actively promote such structures. There are some who are very materialistic and grasp

equally for power. Modelling the right kind of lifestyle is really essential before Christians can fight for

justice. This not only calls for a greater awareness of socio-economic and political issues but the

selflessness that is required in bringing about change and a total transformation in their lives.

One major issue that comes to the fore is that there is a crisis in the education system in Kenya and that

there are many frustrations as to how the church can be involved in bringing about transformation.

Firstly, the church needs to understand that education in Kenya cannot be left wholly to the government

because God has called the Church to be involved in all spheres of society.

Secondly, the Church needs to be involved in decision making with regards to education, the drawing up

of the curriculum and providing grants and bursaries to less able students. Tying up education with

employment is not unique to Kenya but occurs in developed countries as well. It is only worsened when

jobs are offered along tribal and ethnic lines. Ethnicity, however, is not necessarily a wrong thing

because it provides a rich diversity and gives people a sense of security when they belong to a particular

community which they can identify with. The problem is when it leads to tribalism and job

discrimination and wars fought across tribal lines.165 Thus Paul recognizes the divisions that are caused

by such differences and sounds a warning to the Church in Galatia saying that “there is neither Jew nor

Greek,…male nor female…”166, to indicate how God transcends such boundaries when all are in Christ.

164 Kirk, op.cit. p. 110165 Kirk, p. 78166 Galatians, 3:28

49

Finally, the Church needs to be aware of issues that hinder development and seek to educate the civil

society respectively. Nevertheless, it is important to note that there are no easy answers to any of these

problems, and that changes can often be painful and slow.

It is with these few thoughts that we turn to the next chapter that seeks to evaluate how education is tied

up with the government and the Church’s missiological role in influencing governance.

Section 5. Church, Education and the Government

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 The Influence of the Church on Governance

In the previous chapter, I alluded to the fact that Kenya’s problem is not just political and economic but

it is socio-cultural as well. It was mainly concerned with the role of the Church in education that aids

development. The focus of this chapter will be the role that the Church in Kenya plays either directly or

indirectly in influencing the Government. It is also important to take into account the growth of

churches in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya included and what part they play. Paul Gifford agrees with

50

David Lamb that “Today…the Christian church is probably the most powerful institution in sub-Saharan

Africa”167 and seeks to expound this further.

However, what is disturbing is that unlike David Holloway who states that “it is not true that economic

and social modernization and faith in God are incompatible,”168 Paul Gifford implicitly seems to argue

for a more structural orientated society for development. Whilst he may be right to an extent, it is rather

traumatic to exclude God in the agenda. It is therefore not in vain that Holloway sees the great

catastrophe in excluding the moral and spiritual dimension from the political and economic order and

argues that these three should go hand in hand in order for a society to thrive.169

From a general historical overview of Kenya, it can be seen that the Church in Kenya has been firmly

entrenched within the government right from its inception in the early 20th Century in the areas of

education, health-care, social welfare and economic training and development during the first phases of

missionary expansion. David Throup also comments that important key government positions were held

by influential church leaders. He states that “This very social involvement-with its concomitant social

influence-continues to this day…”170

Unlike Calvin who desired a “co-operative relationship between Church and State”, Martin Luther

wanted the “State to be more minimal and primarily there to curb the worst excesses of sinful men and

women.”171 The Kenya Government sought to restrict the political arena to the politicians and sought to

have the Church concentrate only on its spiritual role. This was expressed in terms like the following:

“religion and politics are two separate and independent domains and we will never allow the Church to

run the government.”172

167 David Lamb, The Africans, London: Methuen, rev. edn. 1985, 141 quoted in Paul Gifford, African Christianity: Its Public Role, Hurst & Company, London, 1998, p. 1168 David Holloway, Church and State in the New Millenium: Issues of Morality for the 21st Century, HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2000, p. vii.169 David Holloway states that “for a society to function in a healthy way, there needs to be, first, a sound political order; secondly, a good economic order; and thirdly, a true and correct moral and spiritual order, ibid, p. 4170 David Throup quoted in Galia Sabar-Friedman, “Church and State in Kenya, 1986 – 1992: The Churches’ involvement in the ‘Game Change”, African Affairs, Vol. 96, No. 382, January, 1997.171 David Holloway, op.cit, p. 74172 Shariff Nassir, the Mombasa KANU (Kenya African National Union), quoted in Galia Sabar-Friedman, “Church and State in Kenya, 1986 – 1992: The Churches’ Involvement in the Game of Change, African Affairs Journal,….

51

It is important that the Church gets involved in governance for various reasons. Firstly, David

Golloway, with reference to humanistic tendencies, says the humanists

are not denying the existence of God. By their silence they appear to leave the possibility open, but the presumption is that trust in God can have no practical effect. Whether or not God is thought to exist, mankind must live, they imply, as though he did not exist.173

It is also quite clear that it is through the document on the Humanist Manifesto that John Dewey was

able to spread his thinking through modern education. Golloway states that “his [John Dewey] views

have shaped modern education in the West to a profound degree, steering it away from its Christian

roots and off in a secular humanist direction.”174

Secondly, because of the nature of most groups in Kenya and the state of the political situation,

individuals cannot speak out openly. In practice, democracy did not exist in the government since it was

being run by one single party, Kenya African National Union (KANU). That is why Mwai Kibaki, the

then minister of education, stressed the moral obligation of the church to speak out against social evils in

the forms of unlawful structures and practices which deprived, dehumanized and oppressed the people.

He affirms David Throup by stating that “A modern church is expected to be outspoken because other

groups in society must be cautious…I cannot think of any other organization or better place than the

church to play the role.”175 In this regard, this statement raises a critical issue. Outspokenness is fairly

acceptable in democratic countries but in Kenya, where democratic space is not fully operational, this

cannot be tolerated. A case in point is the recent drama that took place when armed and hooded men

operating on orders from the government raided Standard Newspapers printing press in Kenya, disabling

the press and burning thousands of newspapers.176 It is interesting to note that it is the same Mwai

Kibaki, the present president, who ordered this operation. However, it has to be said that with the

multiparty system of government, democracy has improved considerably despite this incident which

attracted a lot of media attention.

173 David Holloway, CHURCH AND STATE IN THE NEW MILLENIUM: ISSUES OF BELIEF AND MORALITY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, HarperCollinsPublishers, London, 2000, p. 96. For further information on this, see pp.81 – 96.174 ibid, p. 96. 175 Mwai Kibaki, the then Minister of Education in Kenya, and currently President addressing the NCCK (National Council of Churches in Kenya) quoted in Galia Sabar-Friedman, “Church and State in Kenya, 1986 – 1992: The Churches Involvement in the ‘Game Change,’ African Affairs, Vol. 96, No. 382, Jan. 1997.176 Standard Team, “Angry Kenyans condemn raid on ‘Standard’ and KTN,” Friday, March 3, 2006.

52

A third problem that arises is the disparity in salaries between the Government officials and the ordinary

people which leads to a thirst for power. This has led to people going into Parliament for the monetary

rewards other than a service to the community. In Britain in the middle of the 18th century this

predicament was solved by remunerations to government officials which were disproportionate to the

average citizen. Gifford states that

Previously, since the state provided a source of power and wealth entirely disproportionate to that available from any other organised force within society, political power had been fought for with some ferocity. But now leaders were no longer paid out of all proportion to all others; on the contrary, their rewards became relatively feeble and nothing much out of the ordinary. Positions of power came to be rotated like all others.177

So, how is this issue relevant to Kenya? In Nairobi, Kenya, a security guard earns about £40 a month

and teachers and nurses slightly more. But an MP earns nearly £4,000 a month and a cabinet minister

earns more than £7,000 a month and only £1,600 out of this is taxable for MPs and ministers, whilst

their workload and performance is questionable. More than half of Kenyans live on less than a dollar a

day. This is what provoked Maina Kiai to comment that “Leaders simply don’t understand that they are

supposed to serve the people.”178 Undoubtedly, this calls for the education of the civil society, so that

they know their rights and how to go about claiming those rights.

5.1.2 Civil Society

Gifford points out that the civil society in Africa is not strong enough to “force the state to cater for their

interests”.179 This is in contrast to what happened during the industrialisation in Western Europe where

the people were well equipped to fight for their rights. He further states that “Economic growth for its

part required cognitive growth.”180 This in itself implies that there is no cognitive growth in Africa.

How far is he right in this thinking? He is right in thinking this because Africa’s problems will require

African solutions or whole-hearted westernization. It also brings to mind the critical thinking dealt with

in the first chapter. It is for this reason that he cautions against taking Western concepts and applying 177 Paul Gifford, op.cit, p. 18178 Christian Rice in Nairobi, The Guardian, As Millions Face Starvation, Kenya’s MPs Demand Pay Rise,” 26th April, 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,,1761332,00.html accessed on 5th August, 2006, at 10.00 p.m.179 Paul Gifford, op.cit, p. 19180 Ibid. p. 18

53

them to Africa where historically, things are very different. On a more positive note, Gifford

acknowledges that the churches in Africa are ‘possibly’ the equivalent of civil society as it was in

Europe in the mid-18th century.181

Despite this, the civil society should not be viewed as being all gloom and doom but can be re-

awakened. Christian involvement is important in order to influence structures in government and

society that is not conducive for growth, whether it is spiritual, physical or economical. Holloway calls

for Christian involvement in the spheres of “education, health care, social services and government –

particularly those which work against the Christian faith…for the well-being of the State it is now time

for committed Christians to speak out.”182 When looked at more carefully, one characteristic of many

poor countries that emerges is rampant injustice in governance which is a major hindrance to economic

development.183 For economic growth to take place, conflict is inevitable and may lead to physical

force/violence. Nevertheless, violence against a government is not an option.

This calls for a heightening of conscience and an increase in self-control both in the government and in

civil society. In the government structure where beliefs are nurtured or destroyed, a significant number

with values and beliefs contrary to Christian values has cropped up disproportionately in important areas

like education, the media and social work departments. These are areas or agencies which are modern

carriers of values.184 Nietzsche, the anti-Christian German philosopher, saw through Mill’s privatization

of religion and morality in a free society. He said that “These ‘moral fanatics’ do not realize how

dependent their morality is on the religion they want to discard.”185 It would be unwise to conclude that

ignorance is the problem, not sin or that deep moral corruption that exists in every human heart.

There is a great deal that can be learned historically from the relationship between Church and State in

the Western nations. Obviously, everything cannot be taken on board uncritically. The previous chapter

alluded to Tokunbho Adeyemo’s illustration of a need for just a few people to change a situation. In

spite of the fact that his illustration excludes the backing of the Industrial Revolution, implying the

necessity of changing the spiritual condition of the heart and the structures, it is important to see how

181 ibid, p. 18182 David Holloway, op.cit, p. 11.183 Herbert Schlossberg, op.cit. pp. 105- 106. 184 David Holloway, op.cit p. 42.185 Quoted in David Holloway, ibid, p. 43.

54

these two, when taken side by side can alter society.186 The view put forward by Tokunbho implies that

masses are not required to cause a revolution. He states that “I used to think that Christians have to be a

majority and control political power before they can influence their nations positively. But sociologists

have convinced me this is an error. They say that it takes only 3 to 5 percent of the people in any society

to change it.”187 Holloway warns against Church-State passivity in Britain which has led to what he

terms as a ‘spiritual drift’. He echoes Adeyemo in acknowledging that “wherever there is a sufficient

number of Christians there will sooner or later be a Christian society to some degree.”188 Otabil refutes

the faith premise upheld by Adeyemo and Holloway as the sole factor for development. He reasons in

terms of the structures that hinder development “an individual cannot succeed if his surroundings do not

permit it.”189 This is seen in the international trade systems that do not favour developing countries.

5.1.3 International Trade Systems

It would be unfair to criticise the Kenyan government without taking into account the International

Trade Systems. Despite the fact that many countries in the developing world, including Kenya are

trying to meet world trade standards, fair trade has not been realised. Developed countries have failed to

open up their markets to the developing countries which continues to widen the gap between the rich and

the poor.

There are certain obstructions to this trade system one of them being:

1. Putting up trade barriers once African products have penetrated other markets.190

It is no wonder then that Paul Gifford points out that

Many of the most eloquent critics of the African state fail to take into account that the international trade systems so stacked against Third World countries. They also ignore the undeniable fact that African states have lacked the base levels of national unity, the entrepreneurial classes, the organisational capacities and social controls on which

186 David Holloway, ibid. p. 249187 Tokunbho Adeyomo, “Africa’s Enigma,” Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Deryke Belshaw, Robert Calderisi, Chris Sugden (Eds), Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001, pp.36 – 37.

188 ibid, p.37.189 Paul Gifford, op.cit., p. 339.190 Fantu Cheru, AFRICAN RENAISSANCE: ROADMAPS TO THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALIZATION, Zed Books Ltd, London, 2002, p. 2

55

Japan and Korea, or even Germany and France in an earlier era, could build. So the degree to which Africa’s plight can be attributed to mismanagement is disputed.191

This can only be realised through education that is geared towards development. A great understanding

of development issues and the realisation that Kenya has to be self-sustaining instead of donor

dependent is crucial at this stage. Much as corruption and bad governance plays a big part in poverty,

there is need for the church and the state to work together in order to provide society with an education

that is geared for development. However, it must be pointed out that the International Trade System is

not fully at fault. Even when former US President Bill Clinton signed the AGOA (African Growth and

Opportunity Act), it did not benefit Kenya significantly because Kenya lacks a competitive edge. This

has been articulated by Barack Obama, a US Senator by stating that

“Kenya might be competitive with Europe when it comes to horticulture, for example. But when it comes to grains, textiles, other staples and basic commodities, it’s very hard for Kenya to compete against China or some other Asian countries right now. They are just more competitive producers. No matter the terms of trade, if a country doesn’t have a good education system, is under-educated, if it doesn’t have a transparency in Government and good solid leadership, the infrastructure, then it isn’t going to be able to compete. We can come up with a bunch of good trade arrangements, like AGOA, but the fact is if there were no tariffs whatsoever and every trade barrier was knocked down right now, Kenyan textiles couldn’t compete with textiles from Asia.192

It is obvious that Kenya cannot compete given the current trade regulations imposed by the more

developed countries. According to Kirk, these trade barriers are erected to and to ensure that there are

“no level playing fields in the world trade.”193 Such a situation is beyond the Kenyan Church but calls

for the global church community’s intervention which organisations like Fair Trade in the West have

been seeking to address.194

5.2 Education for Development

It is very important to recognize the importance of education if the church is to adequately influence the

government in bringing about change. Many scholars are agreed that human development through

education is vital for progress and influence. Notably, Fantu Cheru re-affirms this by asserting that

“education is the cornerstone of human development in every society” and devotes a whole chapter to

191 Paul Gifford, op.cit., 1998, p. 13192 Macharia Gaitho, ‘Obama, I speak what is true and say it best,’ Daily Nation, dated 1st September, 2006. 193 Kirk, op.cit. p. 100194 Fair Trade, however, is not solely Christian but this is an example of how even non-Christians are willing to participate in promoting justice for the poor.

56

this. He further adds that “A sound development strategy aimed at promoting economic development,

democracy and social justice must be fully cognizant of human resource development.”195 Much as this

is acknowledged by the majority, the level and quality of education have not been adequate to meet the

growing development challenges and empowering the search for solutions to the development problems

confronting Kenya. Through the universal free primary education in Kenya, many children now get to

school. But sadly this is being achieved at the expense of quality and relevance. In particular, the

education has not adequately been geared to integrating the individual into the community and to launch

him into entrepreneurship and remunerative self-employment which is a key factor in development.

According to Gifford, some of the driving forces of development in Japan, Korea, Germany and France

as stated earlier are the base levels of national unity, the entrepreneurial classes, the organisational

capacities and social controls.196 With regards to entrepreneurship, graduates must have access to loans,

training on how to set up, market and run a business and put controls in place.197

From these disparities, the church has an enormous task in educating citizens so that they can better

manage themselves and make appropriate contribution to the progress of their society. In order for this

to happen, the quality of civic and moral education must be upgraded and made more relevant, in order

to enable citizens to recognize their rights as well as learn non-disruptive ways of claiming those rights.

Past deprivations have often led citizens to feel that they must take the law into their own hands and

demand their rights with violence.198 Sometimes disruption is the only way that works. Perhaps it is not

rights that should be emphasised but responsibility. Nevertheless, the church itself, having gone through

a similar system may not be well equipped to educate, but hopefully, as it liaises with the government,

some changes can be brought about.

On the issue of relevance of education for development, according to Kodwo Esuman Ankrah, churches

are aware of the fact that they are irrelevant and inadequate yet seem to take no steps. He boldly asserts

that

they continue to wallow in a system whose consequences for our people can be described as evil. The Churches do realize that education for development aims at giving the community a clear awareness of the

195 Fantu Cheru, op.cit., p. 64. See also Chapter 3, Reforming African Education for the Twenty First Century, pp. 64 – 88.196 Paul Gifford, op.cit. p. 12. See also note 22? above.197 Fantu Cheru, op.cit. p. 64. See also Chapter 3, Reforming African198 Christopher Kolade, “Corruption in Africa: Causes, Effects, and Counter-Measures,” Faith in Development, Deryke Belshaw et.al., (Eds), Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001, p. 84.

57

fundamental causes of underdevelopment, and they are immobilized by lack of prophetic courage and vision to break out of the status-quo.

However, this requires proper leadership and resources.

Whilst not denying that governments sometimes have a hidden agenda in not providing adequate

education, Cheru asserts that “virtually every African state has taken initiatives to link the world of

school with the world of work.”199 He has failed to realise that though the governments realise the

shortcomings of the education system, it is mainly the fact that no better alternative than that has been

found. There is some suspicion that the church in Kenya generally may not have come to grips with the

idea that it is the social structures that might be at fault, as frequently voiced by Gifford: “...African

socio-political systems just as certainly need radical restructuring, and it is not self-evident that these

churches will contribute much in this direction.”200 [Gifford, referring to the ‘popular churches’ in

Africa]. One valuable suggestion that Cheru has offered is that of the government having dialogue with

the citizens and civil society organizations “to contribute to the planning, implementation, monitoring

and evaluation of education…in order to foster the development of accountable, comprehensive and

flexible educational management frameworks.”201

An important issue that needs emphasising if development is to take place is the education of women.

Women are one of Africa’s growth reserves, their empowerment being a crucial factor in development.

They provide most of the region’s labour, but their productivity is hampered by widespread inequality in

education and access to resources. Cheru asserts the fact that the availability of education for women

particularly in the tertiary level is generally quite limited in Africa. This is also reflected in the

disciplines they pursue, being particularly over-represented in humanities and vocational schools like

commercial/secretarial training.202 If gender equality can be re-dressed, it would be a potent force for

accelerated poverty reduction.203 Investment in appropriate education for women could improve

productivity and incomes as well as women’s employment opportunities and decision-making within the

household. Women’s education also improves health in the home and reduces child mortality.204

199 Cheru, op.cit. p. 75200 Gifford, op.cit. p. 348201 Cheru, op.cit.81202 ibid, p. 83203 Shimwaayi Muntemba and C. Mark Blackden, “Gender and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, Faith in Development, Deryke Belshaw et.al. (Eds), Oxford, Regnum Books International, 2001, p. 102.

58

Unfortunately, this correlation between women’s education and health has been countered by The

Global Report, 2000 and points out specifically to South Asia where

analysis of cross-country data shows that the exceptionally high levels of low-birth weight babies in South Asia cannot be fully explained by such usual determinants as income, health care, female education, female literacy and female age at first marriage.

Nevertheless, this is an exception to the rule. In this report, these results are attributed more to

“discrimination against women in households, allocation of food and health-care discrimination due to

the weaker socio-structural rights of women in patriarchal society.”205 This is a strong indication that

education alone cannot transcend these difficulties. It is also fair to state that this situation is not unique

to South Asia since there are women in Kenya who have attained an education yet continue manifesting

the above symptoms. If such hindrances are to be overcome, women need to be empowered so that they

can have freedom to express themselves and participate fully in the civic and political life to enable a

fair presentation.

Again, as stated above regarding the women being a crucial factor in development, this is reflected

mainly in the agricultural sector where there is lack of fair labour distribution between men and women.

So, because of their time-consuming responsibilities in the household as well as farming, women are not

adequately involved in policy making. It is also doubtful whether they would be listened to given the

gender discrimination they experience. This is not just due to the Kenyan culture but can be attributed to

a biblical culture which in many ways promotes subjugation of women. Secondly, due to traditional

values, few women in Kenya own land. This is further hampered by discrimination in agricultural

education, training and extension for women since this is viewed as mainly a male-oriented field. It is

therefore reasonable to see why Cheru concludes that in the absence of aggressive government policy to remove the legal obstacles to women’s equal participation in the rural economy, women continue to depend on informal associations such as labour groups, rotating credit associations and funeral associations to increase their economic and social welfare.206

204 Agnes Abuom, “Women’s Issues in Health and Education,” in Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Deryke Belshaw et.al.(Eds), Oxford, Regnum Books International, 2001, p. 116.205 http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/pdf/hdr_2000_ch4.pdf, “Marginalization of poor countries from the bounty of the World Economy: The income gaps between the poorest and richest countries are widening.” The global 2000 Report to the President (U.S.) accessed on 11th August, 2006, at 4.00 p.m.206 Cheru, op.cit. p. 108. Cheru also includes more information on Gender disparatities in rural development policies, See pp. 107 – 108.

59

A further dilemma in Kenya which is closely related to the state of the civil society is that of famine. It

could be concluded that the civil society is either ‘ignorant’ of their rights or unable to articulate them

that this issue of famine has been ongoing in Kenya. Amartya Sen, the Indian economist, carried out a

thorough study after the Bengal famine in which he saw the relationship between civil awareness and

eradication of famine. He argued that in many cases of famine, food supplies were not significantly

reduced but were due to a number of socio-economic factors such as lower wages, unemployment, high

cost of food, and poor food distribution systems.207 One can clearly see the fact that though policies had

been made to protect groups at risk during famine, the people had no representation politically to

demand for their rights. This obviously boils down to a weak civil society. But after independence,

India had a democratic government because of pressure from various political groups and the mass

media and the presence of an active civil society which is able to articulate the needs of the people.208 In

Kenya, the absence of a truly democratic government was clearly evidenced during the famine in the

early part of 2006. However, the media, both local and international were able to highlight the plight of

this marginalized groups which were mainly the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of the north and

bring aid to them. According to the magazine, Christianity Today, Hopefully, the new educational

programmes being put in place to encourage the pastoralists to engage in farming and introducing

drought-resistant crops like sorghum, millet and cassava as well as their traditional cattle rearing will

serve to alleviate the drought situation.209

5.2.1 The Ignorance of the Church

It is very difficult for the church in Kenya to influence the government given the Church’s depth of

spirituality. From statistics given by Patrick Johnston, Kenya is nearly 80% Christian. Yet, as someone

succinctly stated, the “church in Kenya is one mile wide and one inch deep,” that means it is so widely

spread yet it has no depth to even impact the daily social life. This also affirms Gifford’s opinion of the

church in Africa in his book African Christianity: Its Public Role. Despite the fact that Gifford’s

207 Amartya Sen, “Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopoedia Britannica Premium Service. 12 Aug. 2006 <http.//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9126420>. Cited at 5.00 p.m.208 “Marginalization of poor countries from the bounty of the World Economy: The income gaps between the poorest and richest countries are widening,” (see box 4.2 by Amartya Sen),The global 2000 Report to the President (U.S.). http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/pdf/hdr_2000_ch4.pdf, accessed on 11th August, 2006, at 4.00 p.m209 “Christian Organisations Seek to Aid Kenya Famine,” 24 June, 2006 at 12.00 p.m. http://www.christiantoday.com/news/africa/christian.organisations.seek.to.aid.kenya.famine/404.htm.

60

reference is to other parts of Africa, this is relevant to Kenya. What has enhanced the church is the

freedom to preach the gospel with no persecution and this has enabled a remarkable growth of the

church. However, this has happened at the detriment of discipleship. Moses Kibe Kihiko rightly

observes that there is lack of discipleship and follow-up in the country. He further states that

there are fervent evangelistic efforts which results in many souls to Christ. Few of these new believers stick to their faith but many go back to their old ways while majority go on combining their new faith with their old ways. Many believers are ignorant or not trained in disciple-making and this work is usually left to the already overloaded and overworked pastor who may be equally ignorant on the same.210

Undoubtedly, lack of discipleship has led to nominalism in Kenya where only 12% of the population in

Nairobi go to church.211 This is coupled with theology that does not address day to day issues.

With a country like Kenya that has over 40 ethnic groups,212 there is bound to be major diversities which

in many instances lead to disunity. For instance in 1992 and 1997 there were tribal wars that were

politically motivated. These wars not only exist in the political arena but in churches as well. Kihiko

cites instances where one is awarded church leadership simply because of ethnicity.213 It is in such

situations that “churches can play a role in breaking down ethnic barriers, since the intensity of

conversion bestows a new identity which transcends other identities.”214 Gifford says that this “can help

foster democratic virtues like tolerance, respect, moderation, co-operation and compromise.”215

5.3 Conclusion

Firstly, this chapter argues for the church to influence moral and spiritual values so that they go hand in

hand with development as well as altering the structures so that they can contribute to a conducive

climate for economic growth. Initially this was re-inforced by the Kenyan Church which took up this

role but seems to have largely abandoned it in post-colonial Kenya. It is a Christian imperative of the

Church to speak out against any excesses. If the Church takes the unfortunate attitude of not speaking

out, a lot could go wrong. Though not directly related to Education, the genocide witnessed in Rwanda

is a case in point when the Church was silent and nearly a million Rwandans were massacred.210 The State of the Church in Kenya, Moses Kibe Kihiko., http://www.intothelight.org/kenya.asp, cited on 25th June, 2006 at. 3.30 p.m. 211 Figures quoted from Patrick Johnston’s “Operation Mobilisation”, op.cit. p.???212 List of ethnic groups,. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tribes_of_Kenya, cited on 12th August, 2006, at 11.45 p.m213 Moses Kibe Kihiko, “The State of the Church in Kenya,”, http://www.intothelight.org/kenya.asp, accessed on 14th August, 2006 at 11.30 p.m.214 Paul Gifford, op.cit. p. 347215 ibid, p. 347

61

Secondly, by keeping silent and not contributing to Education, a situation could arise where Education is

steered away from Christian values as is seen in John Dewey’s humanist document, (though quite

remarkable in some respects) which has largely shaped western education and steered it from its

Christian roots and given it a humanist dimension. Attention needs to be paid to Nietsche’s warning that

the morals in Society are largely due to the Christian faith.

Thirdly, the Church has a missiological imperative to address excessive materialism and the disparity

between the rich and the poor in society. A sad scenario which perhaps plays a great part in the church

not influencing the government is prompted by many who are in church leadership without a genuine

call. In his arguing about the life of the church in Kenya, Gifford highlights the link between Africa’s

economy and church membership and/or leadership. “As economic circumstances have deteriorated,

many are led to a life in the church, as one of the few opportunities available. Rev. Timothy Njoya, the

outspoken Kenyan Presbyterian, has expressed this bluntly: ‘Over 90% of the clergy in Kenya today

have no call at all. They come to the ministry because they could not have achieved a better career.”216

This is why it is important to look more closely at action, not rhetoric.

Fourthly, when the Church heeds its call to strengthen the civil society, it is one of the best platforms for

education in Kenya. Great attention must be paid to sound theology, and the audience which is mostly

very gullible should not be taken advantage of.

Fifthly, until fair trade is realized internationally, the problem of dependency will persist. This

dependency is not only in the government but is to be found in churches which depend on overseas

churches for support. There is a need to put in place and sustain a partnership between church leaders

and universities in producing well-educated people who are capable of addressing and articulating the

issues of poverty in Africa. In the last century, it was those societies that enjoyed influence that were

able to exercise and manipulate that power to their own benefit.217 This trend, however, needs to be

reversed, and a balance has to be struck.

Sixthly, the importance of educating women cannot be emphasized enough. They contribute a great deal

to development and the importance of the role they play in alleviating poverty and famine if well trained

would be a key factor in the economy. The Church has a great task of addressing issues relating to

216 Paul Gifford, op.cit. p. 345217 John Shao, op.cit. p. 27

62

women even in sermons and seeking to redress the way they have been treated in the past so they can re-

gain a sense of worth.

Finally, many issues arise as to the ability of the Church to educate society. Firstly, there is relative

ignorance even among Church people and secondly a lack of spiritual depth. It seems like a case of the

blind leading the blind.

6. Conclusion

I started with a few remarks regarding the relationship between evangelism and social action and

concluded that though evangelism is the most important because it determines one’s eternal destiny,

social action cannot be relegated second place. As someone succinctly pointed out, “a hungry man has

no ears.” Since education is so closely tied to one’s development, and ability to earn a living, it is

important that it is given the place of prominence that it deserves. Nevertheless, this has to be carried

out completely selflessly and lovingly, irrespective of whether a bridge for evangelism is built or not,

because “if good works are visible preaching, then they are expecting a return; but if good works are

visible loving, then they are expecting nothing in return.”218

This thesis has examined the various facets related to education and has attempted to show that the

Church in Kenya has largely abandoned its missiological role in social justice and therefore left the

system in shambles and the country greatly underdeveloped. There are, however, some situations

prevailing in Kenya that have contributed to this departure. Firstly, the system of education in Kenya

has resulted in leaders who have either neglected their role or are oblivious to the needs of society as

related to the education system. Secondly, there has also been the fear of the Church being

contaminated by society because of evangelism being viewed as spiritual and the education as secular.

218 Stott, op.cit. p. 26

63

Thirdly, the Church has been relatively shut out from participating in matters of social justice. But

before we examine the situations which have largely contributed to the failure of education, it is

important to briefly look at missiology from a global/historical perspective. It is therefore important to

critically analyse the education system in order to arrive at a consensus.

Bosche offers a valuable insight into the Church’s departure from social action in its missiological role.

He attributes this to the way in which the Church perceived social justice as a non-New Testament

concept. This was due to the fact that Old Testament prophets were able to challenge the authorities

(unlike their New Testament counterparts) given their pre-supposed common belief in Yahweh, hence

making the fight for justice appear like an Old Testament ideology. But since Christianity came into

existence during the Graeco-Roman period, it made it all the more difficult to speak against unjust

structures and social systems since their was no common religious point of reference. This was made

even harder in the time of Constantine when Christianity became a state religion and compromise was

rampant. For this reason, Bosche concludes, “…the innate justice dimension of the Christian faith has

been overlooked, mainly because it was-in the prevailing circumstances-couched in terms which differed

from those encountered in the Old Testament.”219

Of equal importance is the distinction between evangelism and social responsibility, because the former

leads to eternal salvation whilst the latter, though not inferior, is temporal. Nevertheless, this calls the

Church to responsible participation in human society including working for human well-being and

justice.220 That is why the Christians should be at the forefront challenging the secularisms of modern

education and other injustices. What then should the Church do to be once more an important force in

Kenyan Education and so fulfil its missiological imperative for the good of society?

Firstly, the Church needs to be at the forefront advocating for changes in the education system which

requires a major overhaul from the rote system to one that is based on Christian values with a

transformative focus. The new education system should be critical and able to empower individuals as

well as society. This critical based approach will free the individual from acting uncritically on others’

interpretations or doing what one has always done without questioning, or as stated above ‘thinking in a

box’. It will also help one be more aware of oneself, conscious of conditions in the society and seek

solutions for change or improvement.219 Bosche, op.cit. p. 402220 ibid, p. 403

64

Secondly, the Church as an arm of the government should step in to address issues which bring about

disempowerment when families break down or when they are dysfunctional as seen in cases of

polygamy and wife inheritance which in turn breed situations of the AIDS pandemic. Added to that

there many single parent-households and generally the families, communities and the Church become

disabled because of the responsibility laid on them. This group of disempowered individuals lack

representation in society and have no access to decision making processes which ensure that they are

genuinely involved in deciding their future. The missiological role of the Church should ensure that

they are well catered for with respect to accessibility of “relevant and well-resourced education and

training” and that they are engaged in work that is useful and rewarding to them.221

Thirdly, the Church should transcend cultural barriers by setting an example as to what the family of

God’s people should be. Whilst endorsing monogamous relationships in the Kenyan Church, the

Western nuclear family must not be viewed as an alternative in the Kenyan setting because in Kenya,

there is lack of support structures like the welfare states in Western European. In Kenya, the extended

family plays a crucial role in providing the support but in the last couple of decades, the extended family

is becoming ‘too extended’ because of premature deaths through AIDS and other preventable diseases

due to lack of proper medical care. The Church Community therefore has a role to play in possibly

being this ‘extended family’ to the needy. The Church’s missiological role should therefore be to

impact, empower and exhort the Church community and families to be those support structures and

speak out for these oppressed groups.

Fourthly, cultural beliefs and misinterpretation of the Bible cause whole families and societies to be

disempowered. This has caused the girl-child and women to be suppressed and subjugated We have

seen the importance of the Church’s role in educating society and helping these individuals and society

to re-capture the true vision and be used to their maximum God-given potential. If the Church fails to

do this, development is hampered directly and indirectly. This only serves to highlight the mammoth

task that the Church has to undertake in order to educate the citizens. If the quality of civic and moral

education is to be raised, the Church needs to be at the forefront, pointing out these needs to the

government and generally participating because it is too huge a task to be left to development experts

and the government. To this end, it is crucial to develop ecclesial communities which derive their main

221 Kirk, op.cit. p. 97

65

inspiration from the gospel and are capable of bringing health and wholeness to individuals and

communities, whilst at the same time seeking to empower them.

Fifthly, a thorny issue which has existed over many decades, particularly in post-colonial Kenya is the

way jobs are offered along tribal lines. This nepotism ultimately locks out individuals from positions

that they are capable of and ensures employment to less able individuals because of ethnicity. This

factor largely contributes to underdevelopment and leads to abuse and feelings of inferiority and

superiority which can in turn lead to maltreatment. Nevertheless, as we have seen in the preceding

pages, and as Kirk has pointed out ethnicity has positive factors which help in giving a sense of identity,

and this wonderful diversity should not be ignored for the sake of uniformity. In a mature community,

these differences will be allowed to exist “within the confines of a coherent political and legal system”

but the community “will investigate as dispassionately as possible all claims of wrongful treatment on

cultural or ethnic grounds.”222

Sixthly, and most importantly, the Church needs to be transformed from within before changes in

society can be made. This will require great awareness of the socio-political and economic issues as

well as cultural awareness and calls for these to be examined against scripture.

Finally, Bosche clearly argues about how our concept of missiology will greatly influence our approach

to mission. He states that “One’s theology of mission is always closely dependent on one’s theology of

salvation; it would therefore be correct to say that the scope of salvation – however we define salvation

– determines the scope of the missionary enterprise.”223 Bearing this in mind it would therefore be fair

to charge the church with the responsibility of educating members regarding mission with a view that it

will be understood as a holistic ministry.

Unless the Church seeks to meet the needs of society as it is now it does not fulfil its function. Yet, we

have to acknowledge that the situation cannot be turned around in a few years. There are many hurdles

that the Church would have to surmount like coming to terms with the fact that the secular cannot be

separated from the Holy. Secondly, the Church has to recognize that its very presence and living a life

that is truly devoted to God can be a witness and respect is reasonably accorded to the one who speaks

and makes suggestions for change.

222 Kirk, p. 79223 Bosche, 393

66

BIBLIOGRAPHY (NOT COMPLETE

BOOKSINCLUDE STOTT, CHEESMAN, BOSCHE, KIRK, THOMAS

1. Alangaden, V. “Value Education: Values are caught, not taught,” in Education as Mission, ISPCK, India, 2004, pp. 215 – 234.

2. Allen, T. & Thomas A., (eds), “Meanings and Views of Development” in Poverty and Development into the 21st Century, The Open University with Oxford University Press, 2000.

3. Araujo Freire and Donaldo Macedo (eds), where he extensively deals with the rote style of learning.

4. Batchelor, P., People in Rural Development, The Paternoster Press, Exeter, 1981.

5. Belshaw, D., Calderisi, R., Sugden, C., (Eds), Faith in Development: Partnership between the World Bank and the Churches of Africa, Regnum Books International, Oxford, 2001.

6. Best, K.Y., African Challenge, Transafrica Publishers, Nairobi, 1975.

7. Bunge, M. J., (Ed), The Child in Christian Thought, Marcia J. Bunge, (ed), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, ??????

8. Datta, A., Education and Society: A sociology of African Education. London: MacMillan Publishers Ltd, 1984

9. Deuteronomy 17:17 (restriction to having many wives).

10. Escobar, S., Christian Mission and Social Justice, Samuel Escobar (Ed), Herald Press, Scottdale, 1978

67

11. Elizabeth Catherwood, “Woman in the home,” The Role of Women: 8 prominent Christians debate today’s issues, Shirley Lees (Ed), Inter-Varsity Press, ??????

12. Fantu Cheru, AFRICAN RENAISSANCE: ROADMAPS TO THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALIZATION, Zed Books

13. Freire, P., See The Paulo Freire Reader, chapter 2, The “Banking” concept of Education, Ana Maria

14. Gifford, P., African Christianity: Its Public Role, HURST & COMPANY, LONDON, 1998, p. 18

15. Holloway, D., Church and State in the New Millenium: Issues of Belief and Morality for the 21st Century, HarperCollinsPublishers, London, 2000, p. 42.

16. Holloway, D., Church And State in the New Millenium: Issues of Belief and Morality for the 21st Century, HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2000.

17. Kaminsky, J. S., Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible, Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.

18. Lamb, D., The Africans, London: Methuen, rev. edn. 1985, 141 quoted in Paul Gifford, African Christianity: Its Public Role, HURST & COMPANY, LONDON, 1998.

19. Lees, S., (Ed), “Starting-Points”, The Role of Women: 8 prominent Christians debate today’s issues Shirley Lees (Ed) Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, 1984.

20. Matthews, M. R., “The Implications of Western Theologies of Development for Third World Countries and Churches,” Ronald Snider, (Ed), Evangelicals and Development, The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981.

21. Patrick J., Mandryk J., & Johnstone, R., Operation World: 21st Century Edition, WEC International, 2001, p. 381.

22. Pinnock, C. H., “The Pursuit of Utopia in “Freedom, Justice, and Hope: Toward a Strategy for the Poor and Oppressed,” Good News Publishers, Crossway Books, Westchester, Illinois, 1988.

23. Sachs, W., The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Knowledge as Power, Zed Books Ltd, London, 2001.,

24. Schlossberg, H., “The Free Economy: P. T. Bauer’s Empirical Analysis,” Freedom, Justice, And Hope: Toward a Strategy for the Poor and the Oppressed, Marvin Olasky et.al. (eds), Crossways Books, Illinois, 1988, p. 93.

25. Scott, W., Bring Forth Justice: A Contemporary Perspective on Mission, WM.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., London, 1982.

68

26. Sheffield, J. R., Education in Kenya, Teachers College Press, New York and London, 1973.

27. Simmons, J., The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s, The World Bank, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1980.

28. Spielberg, quoted in Brookfield, p.4

29. Stephen D. Brookfield, Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting, Open University Press, Milton Keynes, 1987.

30. Samuel, V., & Sugden, C., “Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change”. Contemporary Issues in Social Ethics, Development: Its Secular Past and Its uncertain Future, Volume 2 , Ronald Sider, (Ed), The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981.

31. Samuel, V., & Sugden, C., Theology of Development: A Guide to the Debate, Evangelicals and Development: Towards a Theology of Social Change, (???editor) The Paternoster Press, Devon, 1981, p. 23

32. Taylor, W. D. Global Missiology for the 21st Century: The Iguassu Dialogue, World Evangelical Fellowship, USA, 2000.

33. Timothy 3:2, 12, (one wife for church overseer and deacon, and Titus 1:6 (one wife for elder).

34. Watson, K., Education in the Third World, Kenneth Watson, (Ed). (Billing & Sons Ltd, Worcester, 1982).

35. Wolterstoff, Educating for Life: Reflections on Christian Teaching and Learning, Stronks, G., & Joldersma, C. W., (Eds), Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002.

Articles in Journals

1. Adeney, B., ‘Polygamy: how many wives in the Kingdom of God?,’ in Transformation, Volume 12 No. 1, January/March, 1995, pp. 1 - 4.

2. Alwy, A., & Schech, S., ‘Ethnic Inequalities in Education in Kenya,’ in International Education Journal Volume 5 No. 2, 2004. ??? (check on Internet).

3. Barton, S. G., ‘Living as Families in the Light of the New Testament,’ in Interpretation, Volume 52 No. 2, The Family, A Journal of Bible and Theology, pp.140 – 144.

4. Berends, W., ‘African Traditional Healing Practices and the Christian Community,’ Missiology Volume XXI No. 3, July, 1993, pp. 275 - 288.

69

5. Children at Risk: Statement of an International Consultation at Oxford, January 1997, Transformation, Volume 14, No. 2, April/June, 1997, pp. 1 – 6.

6. Court, D., ‘The Education System as a Response to Inequality in Tanzania and Kenya,’ in The Journal of Modern African Studies, Volume 14 No. 4, Dec. 1976, pp. 661 – 690.

7. Dearman J. A., ‘The Family in the Old Testament,’ in Interpretation, A Journal of Bible and Theology, April, 1998, pp. 117 - 129.

8. Elshtain, J. B., ‘Thinking About Women in Family, Church, and Society,’ in Word & World, Volume XVII, Number 4, Fall 1997, pp. 353 – 357.

9. Foullah, L. A., ‘A Socio-Theological Review of Theology,’ in Evangelical Review of Theology, Volume 19 No.1, January, 1995, 74 – 80.

10. Gbnonigi, E., ‘Christian Ethics versus African Cultural Values,’ in Transformation, Volume 19 No.1, January, 2002, pp.79 – 80.

11. Hayes, J., ‘The Practice of Community,’ in Third Way, Volume 18 No. 4, May, 1995, pp.21 - 24.

12. Isaiah 5:7b

13. Butterworth, J. E., ‘The Interaction of School and Community in a Democratic Society: Statement of Principles,’ in Journal of Education Society Volume 14, No. 7, Current Social Problems in Rural Education, March, 1941 pp.422. ??? page nos. on internet.

14. Kibuka, S. G., ‘An African Child – An Urgent Call for Action,’ in Transformation, Volume 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, 1 – 12.

15. Kinyanjui, R., ‘The Hidden Cost of Rejecting Female Genital Mutilation [FGM],’ in Transformation, Volume 19 No.1, January, 2002, pp. 72 - 78.

16. Maringa, J., ‘The Impact of Social Change on the Embu and Mbeere, Kenya,’ in Transformation, Volume 19 No.1, January, 2002, pp. 77 - 78.

17. Martinson, R. D., ‘The Role of Family in Faith and Value Formation,’ in Word & World, Volume XVII, Number 4, Fall 1997, pp. 396 – 404.

18. McCloughry , R., ‘Finding The Right Balance,’ in Third Way, Volume 20 No. 5, June, 1997, p. 14 - 17.

19. Mhogolo, G. M., ‘A Vision of Full Humanity: An African Perspective,’ in Transformation Volume 15 No.1, pp.6 - 10.

70

20. Miroslav Volf, ‘The Social meaning of reconciliation,’ in Transformation Volume 16 No.1, January/March, 1999, pp. 7 – 12.

21. Muthengi, J., ‘Polygamy and the Church in Africa: Biblical, Historical and Practical Perspectives,’ in Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Volume 14 No.2, 1995, pp. 55 – 78.

22. Mwiti, G. K., ‘The need for Training among Child Care Workers as highlighted by situations affecting children in Africa,’ in Transformation, Volume 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, 13 – 14.

23. Ngugi, M., ‘Called to Restore Lost Humanity,’ in Transformation. Volume 15 No. 1, pp.11 – 12.

24. Onyango, E. A., ‘A challenge to the Christian understanding of family in Kenya,’ in Transformation Volume 19 No. 1, January, 2002, pp. 80 – 82.

25. Opoku, K. A., ‘Communalism and Community in the African Heritage,’ in International Review of Mission, Volume LXXIX No. 316, October, 1990, p.488 & 489.

26. Mann, P.S., ‘Toward a Biblical Understanding of Polygamy,’ in Missiology: An International Review, Volume XVII Number 1, January, 1989, pp. 11 – 26.

27. Purvis, S., ‘A Question of Families: The Bible and Contemporary Challenges Facing the Family,’ in Interpretation: The Family, A Journal of Bible and Theology, April, 1998, Volume 52 No. 2 pp. 145 - 160.

28. Reapsome, J., ‘What Went Wrong in Rwanda?’ in Evangelical Missionary Quarterly, Volume 31 No. 2, p.2. ??? Check big green book in library.

29. Rickett, D., ‘Preventing dependency: Developmental Partnering,’ in Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Oct. 1998, p.438 - 445.

30. Sabar-Friedman, G., ‘Church and State in Kenya, 1986 – 1992: The Churches’ involvement in the ‘Game Change’, in African Affairs, Volume 96, No. 382, January, 1997.

31. Senavoe, J., ‘Ministry of Women in the Church: An Understanding of Some Prohibitions,’ in Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Volume 17 No. 2, 1998. ???

32. Standard Team, “Angry Kenyans condemn raid on ‘Standard’ and KTN,” Friday, March 3, 2006.

33. Sugden, C., ‘Transformational Development: Current state of understanding and practice,’ in Transformation, Volume 20. No. 2, April, 2003, p. 71 – 72.

34. W. Stanley Mooneyham (Samuel Escobar ????

71

ELECTRONIC ARTICLES

1. CIA World Fact Book, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ke.html#people visited on 28th August, 2006, at 8.42 p.m.

2. http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/pdf/hdr_2000_ch4.pdf , “Marginalization of poor countries from the bounty of the World Economy: The income gaps between the poorest and richest countries are widening.” The global 2000 Report to the President (U.S.) accessed on 11th August, 2006, at 4.00 p.m.

3. Amartya Sen, “Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopoedia Britannica Premium Service. 12 Aug. 2006 <http.//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9126420>. Cited at 5.00 p.m.

4. http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/pdf/hdr_2000_ch4.pdf , “Marginalization of poor countries from the bounty of the World Economy: The income gaps between the poorest and richest countries are widening,” (box 4.2 by Amartya Sen),The global 2000 Report to the President (U.S.) accessed on 11th August, 2006, at 4.00 p.m.

5. http://www.christiantoday.com/news/africa/christian.organisations.seek.to.aid.kenya.famine/ 404.htm.“Christian Organisations Seek to Aid Kenya Famine,” Jan. 24, 2006.

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tribes_of_Kenya , List of ethnic groups, cited on 12th August, 2006, at 11.45 p.m.

7. Kihiko, M. K., http://www.intothelight.org/kenya.asp, The State of the Church in Kenya.

8. Maharashtra Academy of Engineering & Educational Research, http://www.mitpune.com/wpc/value.html accessed on 13th June, 2006 at 3.55 p.m.

9. Rice C., in Nairobi, The Guardian, As Millions Face Starvation, Kenya’s MPs Demand Pay Rise,” 26th April, 2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,,1761332,00.html viewed on 5th

August, 2006, at 10.00 p.m.

10. Carey, N., BIS 490 Project, Web Resources for Intercultural Women’s Studies, George Mason University, September, 2000, The Wallace Global Fund, http://www.gmu.edu/student/mrrc/FGM%20PROJECT.html. Viewed on 25th August, 2006, at 1.30 a.m.

11. Gonza, S., “Kenyan Bishop Calls on Widows to Take Stand Against Wife Inheritance”; Bishop Joseph Wasonga, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/135/56.0.html. cited on 15th July, 2006, at 7.25 p.m.

72

12. Dubovyk, A., VIEWPOINT, HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? REFLECTIONS ON GENDER, EDUCATION AND POST COMMUNIST STATES IN EQUALS, Newsletter for Beyond Access: Gender, Education and Development, p. 5 – 6, http://www.ungei.org/beyondaccess/files/beyondaccess_equals_no07.pdf accessed on 20th June, 2006 at 9.15 p.m.

13. Introducing Critical Reflective Thinking and Transformative Learning into Church Leadership Development Programs in East Africa, web page. http://www.adeanet.org/wgnfe/publications/abel/abel1.html viewed on 19th June, 2006 9.00 p.m.

14. Buckley, S., “Wife Inheritance Spurs AIDS Rise in Kenya,” Washington Post Foreign Service, Saturday, Nov. 8, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inat/longterm/africanlives/kenya/kenya_aids.htm. viewed on 20th August, 2006 at 5.30 p.m.

15. Woolman, D.C., Educational Reconstruction and post-colonial curriculum development: A comparative study of four African Countries, International Education Journal Vol. 2, No. 5, 2001. WCCES Commission 6 Special 2001 Congress Issue, http://www.flinders.edu.au/education/iej.

16. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/poor_in_elizabethan -england.htm.

17. Treger, L., “Myths about child rape: Community perceptions around cultural myths of girl-child rape & HIV in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa”, International Conference of AIDS 200. The second myth that HIV/AIDS is transmitted by witch-craft can also be dealt with in the classroom, http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/robot_pages/MeetingAbstracts/102254896.html.

18. Gaitho, M., ‘Obama, I speak what is true and say it best,’ Daily Nation, dated 1st September, 2006.

73