Back in school at 98, Kenyan woman sets example for next generation

NANDY, Feb 10 (US): In a stone classroom in Kenya’s rural Rift Valley, Priscilla Setieny, 99, on Friday, takes notes alongside her fellow pupils under eight decades of age.

Dressed in her gray school uniform and green jacket, Cetiny said she returned to class to set a good example for her grandchildren and to pursue a new career.

“I would like to become a doctor because I was a midwife,” she said, adding that her children were supportive of her decision, according to Reuters.

The government of the East African country began subsidizing the cost of primary education in 2003, allowing some older members of the community who missed out on education in their younger days to revive their dreams.

This has propelled some elderly pupils to stardom, including Sitienei, who traveled to Paris last year to shoot a film about her journey called “Gogo”. “Gogo” means grandmother in the Kalenjin mother tongue. She will also be heading to New York soon to shoot the movie.

Steni, who is a sixth grader, says her goals were much more practical than becoming a movie star.

She said she came up with the idea when her granddaughter dropped out of school after she got pregnant. “I jokingly asked her if she had any remaining fee balance at school and she said yes, so I told her I would use it to start my schooling.”

She said she had hoped her granddaughter would resume her studies, but when she refused, Cettini decided to go to school by herself.

She said that she also enjoys other school activities along with her other grandchildren, including physical education classes.

“It keeps me fit,” she said. “I can jump, though not as much as they can do, but at least I move my body. That’s my joy.”

Her teachers make use of her vast experience to keep the peace during lessons.

“I make her monitor my class looking for noisemakers in the class. So, I was able to do this work. When I go out, the class stays silent,” said class teacher Leonida Tallam.

HF