Blogs and Articles
Our collection of blogs
From Dialogue to Delivery: Why Kenya Must Coordinate Foundational Learning Better
Kenya is no longer asking whether foundational learning matters. That question has already been answered. Across government, counties, civil society, development partners, teachers, researchers, parents, and communities, there is now broad agreement that foundational literacy, numeracy, values, and life skills are the bedrock of every child’s future. Without these foundations, children may move through school without truly learning. With them, they gain the confidence and competence to participate meaningfully in education, work, citizenship, and life. The scale of the challenge is sobering: Usawa Agenda’s most recent Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (FLANA) found that half of Grade 6 learners cannot read and comprehend a Grade 3 English story.
Dr. Wangui Lydia Chege
8 Jul 2026
ALiVEs Growing Impact on Systems Change in East Africa
One of the strongest messages emerging from the Action for Life skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE) Leadership Summit 2026 was clear that, ALiVE is no longer simply implementing programmes, it is helping transform education systems across East Africa. What began as a collaboration among a handful of organizations has grown into a regional coalition influencing how governments, curriculum institutions, examination councils, and education stakeholders integrate life skills and values education into national education systems.
Collins Orono
1 Jul 2026
They Died So We Could Learn in Our Language. Fifty Years Later, we are still asking why
On the 16th of June, instead of attending meetings, writing reports, or sitting in a conference room talking about children, I spent the day with them. I walked into a Grade 2 classroom in Dandora and spent time doing something simple: reading with the children. It was my first time doing this in this way, not as an assessor, not as a programme officer, but as someone who simply wanted children to be part of the celebration that June 16 is supposed to be. I held up both Kiswahili and English storybooks and told the children to choose the one they wanted to read. What happened next taught me more than any conference I have attended this year.
Charles Gachoki
29 Jun 2026
Quality Assurance Officers Trainied on Data driven quality Assurance to improve learning outcomes
As Kenya continues to implement Competency-Based Education (CBE), strengthening systems that support accountability, continuous improvement, and evidence-based decision-making remains critical to ensuring quality learning outcomes for all learners. Quality Assurance and Standards Officers play a central role in this process by helping schools assess performance, identify gaps, and implement improvements that enhance teaching and learning.
Collins Orono
19 Jun 2026
More Than Books: Celebrating the African Child Through Reading, Joy and Possibility
More than 30 staff and volunteers from Mizizi Elimu Afrika joined 124 Grade 2 learners to commemorate the Day of the African Child through a simple but powerful activity: reading together. For three hours, books became bridges between adults and children, stories sparked imagination, and reading transformed from a classroom activity into an experience of joy. Learners were grouped into small reading circles, with each Mizizi volunteer reading alongside approximately nine children. Together, they explored storybooks, identified pictures, read aloud, discussed characters, and retold stories in their own words.
Collins Orono
17 Jun 2026
Burning Schools, Broken Values: Why Kenya's secondary school unrest is a moral emergency
Every time a school erupts in unrest, the national conversation follows a familiar script. We blame school heads, matrons, absent parents who have outsourced the raising of children to institutions that were never designed to replace a home. We blame social media, which broadcasts every act of rebellion in real time and turns destruction into a spectacle worth replicating. We blame drugs and substance abuse, which have become disturbingly accessible even within school compounds.
Charles Gachoki
15 Jun 2026
Keeping Child Mothers Learning
At just 14 years old, Mercy is raising a two-month-old baby with limited support. After becoming pregnant, she was forced to leave her family home and now lives in a small room offered by a community member in Natiti Village, Samburu County. Like many adolescent mothers, Mercy faces daily challenges in accessing childcare, education, and opportunities to build a secure future for herself and her child.
Collins Orono
11 Jun 2026
Mizizi Elimu in the News
Media coverage, mentions, and news stories
Education stakeholders call for value based learning integration to nurture responsible citizens
KTN News
2 Apr 2026
Zizi Afrique Rebrands to Mizizi Elimu Afrika, Launches Vision 2040 Education Strategy
Education stakeholders convened in Nairobi on March 10, 2026, for the launch of Vision 2040: Strong Foundations for Lasting Change and the rebranding of Zizi Afrique Foundation to Mizizi Elimu Afrika.
23 Mar 2026
New education initiative aims to strengthen literacy and numeracy across Africa
Education stakeholders gathered in Nairobi on March 10, 2026, for the unveiling of Vision 2040: Strong Foundations for Lasting Change and the rebranding of Zizi Afrique Foundation to Mizizi Elimu Afrika.
23 Mar 2026
Educating the African child in the midst of polycrisis
The African continent has seen children’s education journeys disrupted by various challenges, including social, political, and economic conflicts, as well as the effects of climate change among other factors in the growing list of polycrises.
23 Mar 2026
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Mizizi Elimu Afrika - brand reveal animation
Mizizi Elimu Afrika - brand reveal animation
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