This is how My Story Begins...

I remember joining public school at about the age of six at a time when admission into standard one (first grade) had nothing to do with the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic). Instead, at the time, a child was all set for school if he or she was capable of overhead hand projection to lay a hand on the ear on the opposite side. This was expected to be approximately from age six to eight depending on an individual child’s physiological development. At the time during the early 1970s, pre-school education in Kenya was uncommon especially in rural communities. For this reason, most children were homeschooled before joining first grade at nearby public schools. Therefore, it was a common characteristic in many homes for older siblings or other relatives to participate in pre-school education of children. By the time I started school, like most children in my village, I had been adequately home-schooled to read, write, and do simple arithmetic. I owed my home-school experiences to my cousin, who besides teaching me the 3Rs also taught me how to draw—the first images I recall that were of an airplane and a car. Thus my love for art started growing and still continues...