Loom is excited to announce a new partnership with Sypora Achieng, Early Childhood Education Services Coordinator.
Sypora grew up in Kenya, where she was in and out of school due to a lack of school fees. “I had dreams,” she said with a grin, “to be a news anchor!” After graduating from secondary school, she began work in a temporary agency and this led to a job as a teacher’s assistant. She was intrigued by what she saw and wanted to learn more about teaching.
Sypora began taking courses in Early Childhood Education and eventually became a pre-primary teacher in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. When the need arose, she taught teacher training courses alongside a team for three years. In 2016 and 2017, she attended Loom’s Celebrating Children Workshop in Tanzania, where we met Sypora for the first time. After completing the course, Sypora was matched with a Loom coach who tracked with her and her goals for the following year. It was during this time that her visa was denied in Tanzania, sending her back to Kenya and causing her to wonder what might be ahead for her next.
“I had so many questions about how what I had learned could be used,” she shared. “There is something in me that sees children and I just want to help them. They miss so much… I’ve seen how children are being treated in school, there is much training that they need.”
As Loom began the process of investing further in teacher training and early childhood education, we knew we wanted to empower teachers who are struggling along in rural locations. We also knew that we were not the right people for this job – we needed a Local Expert. We needed someone with a lot of experience and knowledge who could travel to these remote schools, assess their needs, and come up with a plan to empower teachers and change the lives of children and families. It soon became obvious that Sypora was the perfect person for this job.
“I’m very excited,” says Sypora, “I feel like this is what I’ve always dreamed to do.” She sees three main areas that teachers are struggling: in knowing how to discipline constructively, in classroom management, and in a lack of materials and training on how to implement them.
“I believe they are struggling…and I’m going to address all these things. I want to see teachers getting more enlightened in their responsibilities–that it is a calling, not just something to do for money. You are shaping these children’s lives.”
Here at Loom we look forward to partnering with Sypora and seeing greater opportunity given to children who are hungry for the hope of an education.
“Even when I felt like I was not doing anything, God was training me,” Sypora smiles. “I think wonderful things are ahead.”