Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in July 2010 undergraduate student Ryan Covington interviewed Oscar Juma, a 2010 graduate of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School. Juma lost his father and mother in 1995 and 1997, respectively, and now lives with his aunt and cousins in Kibera—a slum of Nairobi and debatably the largest slum of sub-Saharan Africa. In this conversation, he shares his background and his thoughts on a number of subjects, which highlight the powerful role St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School played in his growth academically, personally, and spiritually.
What do you view as your greatest accomplishment since you’ve been at St. Aloysius?
Since I have not done my national exam, what I have achieved so far can be seen in my academic growth. I’ve also grown in terms of writing, as there was a teacher who introduced us to journalism and different types of writing. I now have the ability to write feature stories, so that is one thing I think I really have achieved. Also, I have grown very strong in terms of my spirituality, as one of the goals of St. Aloysius is to gain a holistic education. I have really grown spiritually as I have become a member of St. Aloysius. Every month we have Mass, and the way that Father Terry [Charlton] conducts these Masses—always very encouraging, inspiring, and motivating—keeps you going when you are discouraged. I was religious person before I came to St. Aloysius, but not that strong in faith. Now that I am a student here, I’m seeing myself believing and the things I am believing happen; my belief is growing stronger and stronger.
What are your aspirations for after St. Aloysius, and how has St. Aloysius prepared you for these aspirations?
One of the things that is currently a part of my dreams is being a part of St. Aloysius forever. This school has changed my life, and I hope to be a part of it and change the lives of others. Having been helped by St. Aloysius, I won’t live to see it fail. I will join the St. Aloysius Alumni Association—a continuous family of the school—and live to see it grow, become bigger, and help more people.
Two, I would like to be an economist. Seeing the economic situation of Kenya—the disparity of the rich enjoying so much and the poor suffering so much—I dream of working on these problems. I want to see how much I can do to uplift the poor people, and I believe that by studying the economy, I will at least have ideas of how to help these people improve their economic lifestyles. You find that very many organizations come up and receive funds to help people, but here at St. Aloysius they don’t have much funds, but they are improving thousands of lives and inspiring so many people. I believe that if you are to change the life of somebody, then you must uplift this person economically. Even the spirit cannot grow if somebody cannot get the basic needs. Currently we are in a commercial world where everything goes to the side of money value, so would you believe to tell somebody to have faith even if you cannot put food on the table? Putting food on the table means that this person must have money. If you look at St. Aloysius, with the little that they have they are changing lives. That is the kind of thing that I am interested in doing. In the future, our country may have very little, but if you bring in some very basic and fair economic policies, then it can benefit everybody.
The person who has inspired me the most is my chaplain, Father Terry Charlton. From his lifestyle, this is a person who works so hard for the sake of the school. He is a person who goes around collecting every ‘little’ from every corner and bringing it together for the sake of the people who are in need. He has inspired my life in the sense of seeing somebody able to bring resources together and using them for the benefit of the community.
What has been your biggest obstacle since beginning your studies at St. Aloysius?
I haven’t experienced any major obstacle, but one of the things is that in the former school building, we had an environment that was not conducive. That was solved by the school coming to the new building and location where we are now.
What is the schedule of a normal day like for you?
I leave home by 5:00 a.m., so that by 5:30 a.m. I am in school. I study up to 8:00 a.m. and then lessons begin. Before leaving for home, I do my homework from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. at the school, so when I get home, I only have personal studies. When I go home, I have to help my cousins who I stay with their homework and my aunt with other duties like ironing.
What role has faith played in the success of your studies while here at St. Aloysius?
Basically, one of the things that has kept me going is having faith. Other students say that a certain subject is too hard, but I look at it with the attitude that it is not too hard. I have faith, so it is not too difficult, even if I find that one class is harder than another. I find myself to be inspired in my work.
What are the core values St. Aloysius tries to teach you, and how have you applied these core values to your life and studies?
“To Learn, Love, and Serve” [the school motto] in everything you acquire is what we are learning here at St. Aloysius. In everything that we acquire in learning should be applied in the form of love. It should not separate us, but bring us together in the form of love. In everything we do, we must considered it in terms of its effect. After learning and applying it with love, we must serve the community. We should not be driven by our desires, but in everything we do, it must be for the good of the community. The people who came up with St. Aloysius did for their aid to benefit the entire community. One of the ways that St. Aloysius can achieve that is through community service program you do after you finish Form Four. Recent graduates go out there and help some other people, and with the little they learned from high school, they can branch out and help people. That is where we are brought into something you don’t have to gain another school subject to help.
What is your greatest strength?
Faith. Faith keeps me going and gives me a lot of hope. In everything I experience, I believe that tomorrow is a better day for everyone. If we are together, tomorrow is a better day for everyone.
Do you feel that since coming to St. Aloysius you have become more open? If so, to what do you attribute this change?
Where I studied for Form One and Form Two, you could see in the students the gap between the rich and the poor. Coming to St. Aloysius, we are people who are grown together by our similar backgrounds. You know each and every person deeply because you know the problems they can experience. The other places, they view your problems as your own. Here, this is a family that views your problems as the same thing. In that regard, I have grown more because I am with people—students, teachers, and the rest of the institution—who are more understanding and more concerned.
What clubs are you a part of, and how does it contribute to your education outside of the standard curriculum?
I am interested in journalism and want to do freelance journalism. In my desire to be an economist, I want to be able to communicate and spread my opinions and policies that I believe are the most economically viable for this country, so this means I must be a good writer. That is what I wanted to learn from the journalism club and especially freelance writing. I also love photography, so I am one of the photojournalists for the school. I am a photojournalist because maybe it will help me raise funds for the people who need it. Through the power of photography you can show the work of the school, and maybe somebody will say, “I can help these kids.”
I’m also a footballer. Football is a social game bringing people together from different parts of the world. Brining people together can be a venue of spreading your ideas. When people come together to play soccer or watch soccer, this can be a time to chat about their problems with society.
How do you think the Kibera community views St. Aloysius?
The view that they have given St. Aloysius is like a savior who has come at the very right time. You can see how many students St. Aloysius has, and how many students would have gone without secondary education had St. Aloysius not been there. People in the slum view St. Aloysius as help from God. Through an outside partnership and the journalism club, we went across the slum conducting a series of interviews asking people what they thought about St. Aloysius, and everybody was positive. Everybody’s dream is that St. Aloysius will grow bigger and help more people.
What does St. Aloysius offer to prepare you for tertiary level education?
One of the things that St. Aloysius offers is quality education. In Kenya, if I pass my high school education, then I’m guaranteed a chance in university even if I don’t have the money. St. Aloysius gives me the education that is enough for me to pass my exams. Apart from that, St. Aloysius has the graduate program. If I pass my exams, and maybe I don’t get a chance to do economics at university, St. Aloysius can finance my college fees to do the same things that I so desire. At the same time, St. Aloysius gives us career guidance, so through some of this that I’ve gone through, I consider what I’m good at, the people I need to reach out to, and the situation our country is in to go into what I want. The guidance and what we have here at St. Aloysius will prepare me for that.
Do you have any other insights, stories, or comments about St. Aloysius that capture its mission or how important the school is?
Generally, for the world outside, or those who don’t know about St. Aloysius, what they need to know is that St. Aloysius’ dream is to change the face of Kibera. Changing the face of Kibera might not take a day or two, but it can be done slow and be achieved over a period of years. Maybe somebody will not see the effect immediately, but the days are coming for the dreams of St. Aloysius to come true: those who are learning in St. Aloysius will come back, and indeed, I have hope and I believe that we people will change the face of Kibera slum.