In his article, “Values are taught, not caught,” Valese ...
Education as Mission for the Church in Kenya by Olive Kobuthi
Table of Contents
Section 1 Introduction
1. The Older Evangelical View
2. The World Council of Churches View after 1967
3. Views of Relationship between Evangelism and Social Action
Section 2. Education and Society
1. Introduction
2. The Value Based Approach
3. The Transformative Focus
4. Empowering the Disempowered
5. Conclusion
Section 3. Education and Women
1. Introduction
2. Children in History
1. Today’s Society
2. The Girl Child
3. Abusive Child Labour
4. Female Circumcision
3. The Focus on Families and Communities
1. The Role of the Church in Value Formation
2. Communities
4. Conclusion
Section 4. Education and Development
1. Introduction
2. Education and Development
3. What is Development
4. Development and Social Justice
5. Education for Social Justice
6. Education and Development
7. Conclusion
Section 5. Church, Education and the Government
1. Introduction
1. The Influence of the Church on Governance
2. Civil Society
3. International Trade Systems
2. Education for Development
3. Conclusion
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
(Page nos to be inserted after I write the acknowledgement page.
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 view
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]
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.”[29]And 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.
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 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 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 both[39] 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 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 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]
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 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
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 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 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.
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
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.
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 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
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 Testament[75] 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 ‘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]
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. .
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 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 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 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 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,” [110]and 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.
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
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]
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 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 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 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-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 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 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 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 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.
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 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 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.
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 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]
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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] 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]
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 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.
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 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. 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.
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 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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY (NOT COMPLETE
BOOKS
INCLUDE 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
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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34. W. Stanley Mooneyham (Samuel Escobar ????
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5. .“Christian Organisations Seek to Aid Kenya Famine,” Jan. 24, 2006.
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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, .
16. -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, .
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[1] David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Orbis Books, New York, 2001, p. 389
[2] Ibid.
[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, 1989
[4] Graham Cheesman, Mission Today, Bath Press, Avon, 1989, 104.
[5] Loc.cit.
[6] Cheesman, op.cit. 105
[7] ibid, 106
[8] David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Orbis Books, New York, 2001, p. 392. See also Stott, p. 18
[9] Stott, op.cit. p. 19
[10] ibid, 30.
[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. (), cited on 29 June, 2006.
[12] Ibid, p. 43.
[13] Ibid, p. 28
[14] Varghese Alangaden, Value Education: Values Are Caught Not Taught, Education as Mission, L. Stanislaus, (Ed) SVD, ISPCK, Delhi, 2004, p.215
[15] ibid, p. 222.
[16] Maharashtra Academy of Engineering & Educational Research: World Peace Centre – UNESCO Chair, accessed on 13th June, 2006 at 4.00 p.m.
[17] Loc.cit.
[18] A. Datta,, Education and Society: A sociology of African Education, MacMillan Publishers Ltd, London, 1984
[19] “Introducing Critical Reflective Thinking and Transformative Leadership Development Programmes in East Africa,” http:wgnfe/publications/abe11.html, accessed on 30/06/2006 at 3.30 p.m. p. 27
[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
[26] Patrick Johnstone et.al, op.cit, p. 381.
[27] CIA World Fact Book, , (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. 7
[30] 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 accessed on 24th August, 2006 at 10.00 p.m.
[31] Introducing Critical Reflective Thinking and Transformative Learning into Church Leadership Development Programs in East Africa, 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, accessed on 30th June, 2006 at 11.25 p.m.
[34] Paulo Freire, op.cit. p. 69
[35] Stephen Buckley, “Wife Inheritance Spurs AIDS Rise in Kenya,” Washington Post Foreign Service, Saturday, Nov. 8, 1997, . 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. 4
[37] Spielberg, quoted in Brookfield, op.cit.p.4
[38] 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.
[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.
[40]Andriy 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, 07.pdf accessed on 20th June, 2006 at 9.15 p.m.
[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. 81
[43] 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
[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. 398
[48] J Andrew Kirk, What is Mission? Theological Explorations, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, London, 1999, Kirk, 87
[49] Ibid.
[50] Kirk, op.cit.54
[51] Bosche, p. 400
[52] Kirk, op. p. 64.
[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.33
[55] 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
[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.32
[58] 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. 35
[60] Ibid. p. 36.
[61] Children at Risk: Statement of an International Consultation at Oxford, January 1997, Transformation, Vol. 14, No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 1.
[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. 11
[65] 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
[66] Children at Risk: Statement of an International Consultation at Oxford, January 1997, Transformation, Vol. 14, No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 3
[67]Sheila Gethaiga Kibuka, “African Child – An Urgent Call for Action”, Transformation, Vol. 14 No. 2, April/June, 1997, p. 11
[68] 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, . accessed on 25th 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.
[72]Ibid. pp. 27 - 29
[73] 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.
[75] J. Andrew Dearman, “The Family in the Old Testament,” Interpretation, A JOURNAL OF BIBLE AND THEOLOGY, April, 1998, p. 118
[76] 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.
[79]Leopold 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
[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. 62
[82]ibid, 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. 62
[85] Pamela S Mann, op.cit. p. 13.
[86] ibid, p. 23 Mann
[87] Ibid, p. 13. Mann
[88] Emmanuel Gbonigi, op.cit. p. 79.
[89] Leopold A Foullah, “A Socio-Theological Evaluation of Polygamy”, Evangelical Review of Theology, Vol. 19/1, January, 1995, p. 77
[90] Emmanuel Gbonigi, op.cit. p. 80.
[91] Sam Gonza, “Kenyan Bishop Calls on Widows to Take Stand Against Wife Inheritance: Bishop Joseph Wasonga,” . cited on 15th July, 2006, at 7.25 p.m.
[92] Pamela S Mann, op.cit. p.16.
[93] Leopold A Foullah, op.cit. p. 77
[94] 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.
[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.77
[98] Emily A Onyango, “A challenge to the Christian understanding of family in Kenya,” Transformation 19/1, January, 2002, p. 80.
[99] Stephen G Barton, “Living as Families in the Light of the New Testament,” Interpretation: The Family, A JOURNAL OF BIBLE AND THEOLOGY, p. 132
[100] 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.
[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.
[108] Kirk, op.cit. p. 207
[109] ibid, p. 206
[110] Jonathan Hayes, op.cit. p. 21.
[111] Rosemary Kinyanjui, op.cit. p. 76.
[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. 90
[113] Ibid, p.109
[114] Kirk, op.cit., p. 104
[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. 664
[116] 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. 440
[118] 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
[119] Schlossberg, op.cit. p. 103
[120] 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. 2
[121] Schlossberg, op.cit. p. 95
[122] 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. 23
[123] ibid, p. 23
[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. 80
[126] Isaiah 5:7b
[127] W. Stanley Mooneyham, What do you Say to a Hungry World? Waco: Word Books, 1975, p. 117.
[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.
[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, 1978
[134] Sheffield, op.cit. p.8 – 12.
[135] Lettie Stuart, op.cit. ?????
[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. 25
[137] 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
[141] ibid, p. 2.
[142] Ibid, p. 11.
[143] Herbert Schlossberg, op.cit. p. 112 - 113
[144] Ibid, p. 93.
[145] Ibid, p. 93.
[146]Pinnock, 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. 21
[148] 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.
[150] -england.htm., cited on 30th June, 2006, at 4.30 p.m. no author’s name
[151] 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.
[153] Lettie Stuart, “The Church and Education,” in African Challenge, Transafrica Publishers, Nairobi, 1975, p. 79
[154] Loc.cit.
[155] John Simmons, op.cit, p. 8.
[156] Ibid. p. 13.
[157] Ibid, p.13
[158] 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.
[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
[164] Kirk, op.cit. p. 110
[165] Kirk, p. 78
[166] Galatians, 3:28
[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. 1
[168] 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. 4
[170] 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. 74
[172] 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,….
[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.
[177] Paul Gifford, op.cit, p. 18
[178] Christian Rice in Nairobi, The Guardian, As Millions Face Starvation, Kenya’s MPs Demand Pay Rise,” 26th April, 2006, accessed on 5th August, 2006, at 10.00 p.m.
[179] Paul Gifford, op.cit, p. 19
[180] Ibid. p. 18
[181] ibid, p. 18
[182] 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.
[186] David Holloway, ibid. p. 249
[187] 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
[191] Paul Gifford, op.cit., 1998, p. 13
[192] Macharia Gaitho, ‘Obama, I speak what is true and say it best,’ Daily Nation, dated 1st September, 2006.
[193] Kirk, op.cit. p. 100
[194] 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.
[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 African
[198] 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.
[199] Cheru, op.cit. p. 75
[200] Gifford, op.cit. p. 348
[201] Cheru, op.cit.81
[202] ibid, p. 83
[203] 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.
[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] , “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.
[207] Amartya Sen, “Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopoedia Britannica Premium Service. 12 Aug. 2006 . 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.). , accessed on 11th August, 2006, at 4.00 p.m
[209] “Christian Organisations Seek to Aid Kenya Famine,” 24 June, 2006 at 12.00 p.m. .
[210] The State of the Church in Kenya, Moses Kibe Kihiko., , 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,. , cited on 12th August, 2006, at 11.45 p.m
[213] Moses Kibe Kihiko, “The State of the Church in Kenya,”, , accessed on 14th August, 2006 at 11.30 p.m.
[214] Paul Gifford, op.cit. p. 347
[215] ibid, p. 347
[216] Paul Gifford, op.cit. p. 345
[217] John Shao, op.cit. p. 27
[218] Stott, op.cit. p. 26
[219] Bosche, op.cit. p. 402
[220] ibid, p. 403
[221] Kirk, op.cit. p. 97
[222] Kirk, p. 79
[223] Bosche, 393
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