KIMANI
MARUGE: THE CAPTAIN WHO LIVES FOREVER 3
Today, we travel to Kenya located in East Africa to visit
a superhero that has sent a powerful message to the world which is: It’s not too late to go to school.
Let me introduce you to Kimani Arthur Maruge.
Kimani
Arthur Maruge claimed to be born in 1920 and holds the Guinness World record
for being the oldest person to start primary school – he enrolled in the first
grade on January 12, 2004 at the age of 84.
Maruge attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret,
Kenya; he said that the government's announcement of universal and free
elementary education in 2003 prompted him to enroll.
Maruge met resistance from the staff of the school, when
he tried to enroll in school after the Kenyan government declared free public
education for all Kenyans.
They told him that
he has no pencil and all students need a pencil and notebook. (The truth of the matter is that the school
provided pencils and notebooks for the students)
When he returned with a pencil and notebook, he was told
that he must have a school uniform – which included shorts, knee socks and
shoes.
Maruge sold one of his goats to buy pants that he cut
into shorts.
He purchased a pair of knee
socks and shoes. He returned to the
school – an 84 year old man dressed as a child. Local drunks taunted him, but
he continued in his quest to get an education.
Two years after he enrolled into school, precisely in
2005 Maruge, who was a model student, was elected head boy of his school.
In the same year 2005, September to be precise, Maruge
boarded a plane for the first time in his life, and headed to New York City to
address the United Nations Millennium Development Summit on the importance of
free primary education.
Today,
Maruge is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person to ever
matriculate in a primary school.
He is best known for his quote which says: “If I can’t
read, I am like a goat.”
In 2008, he lived in a refugee camp during the 2007-2008
Kenya post-election violence and he trekked four kilometers from the camp to
school every day, but still attended classes every day.
In June 2008, Maruge was forced to withdraw from school
and relocated to a retirement home for senior citizens.
However, soon after, on June 10, 2008, Maruge enrolled
once again into Standard 6 at the Marura primary school, located in the
Kariobangi area of Nairobi.
Maruge died on August 14, 2009 of stomach cancer, at the
Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. He was buried at his farm in Subukia.
Speakers gave a glowing tribute to Maruge describing him
as a hero and an inspiration to learners.
Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat Director General Mugo
Kibati said Maruge’s curtain had closed with a string of achievements, which
will significantly inspire Kenyans and the world.
"If we stay
focused like Mzee Maruge, we shall exceed the goals of Vision 2030 and indeed
become a global powerhouse," he said.
The Nakuru Town MP Lee Kinyanjui said a monument would be
erected at the burial site in the hero’s honour.
My
Conclusion: Maruge is a super hero who will be remembered after his death for
his humility and for inspiring the United Nations and the world that it’s never
too late to go back to school.
So I ask you this salient question: when last did you go back to the school to acquire new skills?
My humble advise is never stop learning, in fact I recommend
that you invest 10% of your earnings
into buying books, attending seminars and trainings to get to know more.
That’s wisdom that you will also find in 18th
century classic: “The richest man in Babylon”
Thank you for reading.
P.S:
If you want to know more about Maruge’s travails, please kindly get a copy of Justin
Chadwick’s video titled: “The First Grader”
Culled
from Many sources ranging: from Wikipedia, Google, BBC, standardmedia.co.ke and
budbilanich.com.
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