Kisumu Social Hall is located about 400 meters from the main public bus station in Kisumu City. Kisumu Social Hall is an important building in the history of Kisumu City and the entire surrounding region. Nearly every educated adult individual who went to school in the region during their youth can still remember either hearing… Read more »
Subject: Education
Kisumu Museum
When one visits the Kisumu Museum, the first thing that one notices is a large billboard that lists the admission rates and hours of operation (Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) of the museum. The billboard also announces that the museum is part of the National Museums of Kenya. Underneath the billboard are… Read more »
Kisumu Boys’ High School
One of the best and most well-known academic institutions in Kisumu City is Kisumu Boys’ High School. This is probably one of the best schools in Kisumu County, if not Kenya as a whole. It has made an indelible mark on Kenya’s social, economic, and political fabric. Some of the most famous political leaders in… Read more »
Chief Ogola Ayieke of Kisumu
Leadership by Africans in the African continent can be traced through the role of elders and kings in pre-colonial times, colonial administrators during colonial periods, and presidents and prime ministers today. No matter the time or era, one constant theme remains for sure, and that is there is always a need for leadership. In pre-colonial… Read more »
“How Come I Never Saw You at Maseno National School?”
The early missionaries who were moving into Kenya were very interested in setting up schools for local Africans to start learning about the western world so they could become part of the society the missionaries came from. In 1906 missionaries from England, specifically Rev. James Jamieson (J. J.) Willis, pitched a tent for a missionary… Read more »
The Only University on the Equator
The emergence of Maseno University as one of the top universities in Kenya is a crowning accomplishment of the education enterprise at Maseno for the last 100 years. Since at least 1906, when Maseno National School was created by European missionaries to provide education to the local people, many academic institutions have emerged in Maseno… Read more »
Maseno Town
Located 25 kilometers from Kisumu town along Kisumu-Busia highway, Maseno town is named for a type of a tree common in the area known by the Luo as “Oseno” and the Abaluhya as “Oluseno”. The growth of Maseno town is often attributed to the coming of missionaries in Kenya, and the contributions of the African… Read more »
Russia Hospital
The day that the Nyanza Provincial Hospital, now known as Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (or simply as Russia Hospital), opened its door to the public in October 1969 was meant to be a joyous occasion. It was supposed to be a day of pomp and circumstance marking the introduction of much-needed medical… Read more »
The Oginga Odinga House at Maseno National School
Born in 1911, Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga was a member of the Luo community whose drive, vision, selflessness, and commitment strongly influenced the trajectory of Kenya’s history. Born under British colonial rule, Odinga was inspired to lead the fight against the oppressive colonial system, and had an indelible influence on the Kenyan independence movement. He… Read more »
From Single-faith-based Religious to Multi-faith-based, Integrated Education
On July 21, 1951, the first foundation stone of Victoria Primary School was laid by John Riddoch, one of the leading white residents of Kisumu. Although the inscription marking the foundation of the school does not say much about the target audience of the school, the history of the school attests to the fact that… Read more »