Words by Kenneth Monjero, Cohort 4 Fellow
In his element: Dr.Fun during an interactive session with his students
The year 2020 struck different than expected. life was going on smoothly when all of a sudden, a pandemic ensued. Total confusion engulfed all places of work including mine. Schools were closed down and everything came to a standstill. It was a very uncertain moment. Well, I decided to take up my Dr. Fun shoes and put them on. I had to come up with something creative and fun out of all the mess. That was the birth of Fun & Educational Global Network (FEGNe)
Kenneth in conversation with a student.
As a science enthusiast, I have come to appreciate the informal side of science. Over the past few years,I have carried out a number of science-related events, attended conferences and organized science fairs. Since I love informal education, I decided to incorporate kids into science by changing their education from books to hands-on to develop skills needed in this 21 st century. I have carried out all these activities under the Science Centre Kenya until the onset of the pandemic
Work of my little hands! A student shows her hravest courtesy of FEGNe
The frustration that caught parents and children when schools closed down was intense. I decided tocome up with a solution that would lighten up parents’ responsibilities for continuously watching their kids as well as engage the kids so they do not get idle. That is how I began the project – Fun & Educational Global Network (FEGNe) FEGNe is a global network program for linking up students to mentors and engaging them in science and agricultural programs that will keep them busy, help them develop skills, open up their creativity, get exposure, and interact with other children globally during the pandemic.
Design for Change (DFC) Program
We have inculcated design for change (DFC) program where children go through Feel, Imagine, Do and Share in design thinking. They come up with products and ideas to improve and widen their design thinking. At Metis Empathy stage, parents & children are interviewed to really get the need before starting design for change program.
When handling projects, parents are called in to assist and monitor the children so that they do not harm themselves and help them manoeuvre through any hard tasks.