Materi Girls Centre
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girlsmateri@gmail.com
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+254 704390166
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Materi Girls Centre is a Private, National level, Girls Boarding Secondary School located in Tunyai, Tharaka Nithi county; 28km from Nkubu Town,
Along Nkubu-Mitunguu-Tunyai Highway.
Materi Girls Secondary started in April 1973, through the joint initiatives of Father Andrew Botta, a dynamic Consolata missionary, and Brother John Koczka, an American educator.
In the first year, the school was located within Materi Catholic Mission with a small Form One intake of 26 girls. –really, young women.
Given the fact that more land and facilities were necessary, especially an improved water supply, Brother John moved the school up to its present site, near Tunyai and the Kithino River, on a 205-acre plot. But before leaving the catholic mission, construction had started on a girls’ dormitory, a building that later became the Materi Boys High School tuition block and administrative office.
Young though she was and situated in an arid, undeveloped region —
Materi Girls secondary school had no trouble attracting Form One candidates given she was Tharaka’s first high school for girls, the respect and freedom offered its students, its outstanding disciplinary record — which continues to date, and its very low school fees.
in those early days, nearly every student had an overseas sponsor, mainly from Canada — a caring and loving person who helped the families financially and through encouragement.
In 1979, the school had a triple-stream of girls sitting the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Right from the start and while concentrating mainly on the secondary school, Materi investigated obvious local needs and tried to help out the local community. One of the first initiatives was to tart a well-stocked and daily Medical Dispensary for the students and local Tunyai/Kithino community.
Very soon thereafter, the Centre began its maternal Child and Mother Health Care Unit, first staffed by a religious order of Irish Franciscan nuns and a team of local nurses and nursing aides. The unit provided medical, and sometimes, nutritional relief, mainly from the US through the Catholic Relief Services, as malnutrition then and still is a serious prevalent condition in the community around the Centre. Child mortality and morbidity dropped dramatically from 31% to about 3% today. The Dispensary unit still runs today within the Centre.
Materi believes in a holistic approach to education. We believe that a young girl learns from her total experiences within the school setting. As such, we attempt to address the religious, academic, social, psychological, physical and cultural development of that lady, this being done through the school’s programmes, courses of study and policies.
We aim to stress strong ecumenical Christian values, an orderly and friendly disciplined atmosphere, a personal approach to education in league with the family, and a firm commitment to academic excellence.
We strive at equality education and life-sustaining skills relevant to the needs of society and a woman’s future calling to be a wife and mother. This we do for employment, including self-employment, in an increasingly competitive environment.
We put great emphasis on guidance and counseling at individual and group levels. We want students to feel free to share their problems and concerns. Guidance personnel seek to assist students in making realistic decisions regarding post-secondary educational and career choices.
Lastly, managing money responsibly at Materi is crucial. We must ensure fair pay for our staff and keep our school accessible to students from diverse backgrounds, even though we're a private institution without government support. Our financial decisions align with our values and mission.
The mission of Materi Girl’s Centre and all her community-oriented activities is to strengthen human beings, especially young girls and future mothers, through a holistic approach to education, one fostering academic excellence, sound health care, life-sustaining employment skills, the protection of the environment, and spiritual, moral, psychological and physical growth.
The Centre aims to enhance good citizenship, self-esteem and social justice in an orderly, comprehensive, caring, compassionate and disciplined manner to achieve personal goals and meet the challenging needs of an ever-changing world.
The Centre believes in God’s love, tries to live it, and aims to spread it through dedicated and professional competence, service and practical strategies. All this is done in partnership and collaboration with other interested private and Government institutions both within Kenya and abroad.
Advocacy and concern for the wider Tharakan community — say her roads, health facilities, food supply, job opportunities and overall development — also remain key components of our mission in Tharaka and Kenya. People, especially the young, are quick to recognise discrepancies between espoused values and actual practice, between sweet talk and honest practice. We believe our efforts to advocate Gospel values will bear no fruit if we the teachers and administrators are not credible witnesses to the same. As such, we expect our faculty and instructors to be disciplined and responsible people.
BR. JOHN KOCZKA
Brother John Koczka founded Materi Girls Secondary School in 1973. He was an American educator who previously taught at and headed Nkubu High School in the 1960s and early 1970s.
He resigned from Nkubu Highschool headship in 1973 to go to start Materi Girls Secondary School, then the first and only girls’ high school since creation in Tharaka, in April 1973
Brother John was born in December 1939 in New York City, to Irish born mother and Polish born father, in a family Family 3 boys and a sister. Brother John is the second born.
Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and Order of Christian Educators founded in 1821 in Lyons, France by Fr Andre Coindre, a diocesan priest.
The order has three houses in Kenya, a scholasticate in Lang’ata for young brothers doing their studies; another at the United States International University for Bro Vincent teaching Spanish their; and a third at Nkubu where Bro. John was leaving.
Eight years of primary school, taught by the Dominican nuns and brothers. Four years of high school, taught by the brothers in a Juniorate or Seminary. University: Undergraduate B.SC Education Graduate: A.A Theology Jesuit trained throughout university studies.
Entered Juniorate/Form One at age 13 in New Jersey. Did novitiate in 1957/58. Pronounced vows (Poverty, chastity and obedience) in August 1958.
First volunteered to be a missionary in Africa in 1959 when a first year in university. Had to wait seven years before coming to Kenya so that he could finish studies and get some teaching experience in America. Taught for five years in two Brother’s High school (Boys) in the USA.
First assigned to Nyeri High School for four months (Aug-Nov 1966) to teach English, Maths and Physics. In December 1966, Bro John moved over to Nkubu High School, also then run by Sacred Heart Brothers to teach English, Maths and CRE. Later Bro John became Headmaster in mid-1968. He resigned from headship in1973 to go found with FR Andrew Botta, Materi Girls Secondary School, then the first and only girls’ high school since creation in Tharaka, in April 1973. The first Form One class had 24 girls. In the mornings, Brother John taught at St Pius X Seminary and in the afternoons at Materi. Materi Girls’ was first located within Matiri Catholic Mission (Chiakariga) before moving after one year to its present site near Tunyai in order to have an ample supply of water, now drawn from the Kithino River. Over the last 35 years, Materi has developed into a centre as he tried to meet some most pressing needs of local Tharaka community. Today, it boasts six schools with its 65-acre campus. Presently, Materi has a staff of 106 men and women, many teachers and non-teaching staff have served for more than 20 years. Financing the centre Presently, the annual budget is Sh54million. Over the years in Kenya, Bro John has raised some Sh1.4billion for capital and recurrent expenditure. At Nkubu High School, he added science labs, staff houses, classroom and two dormitories. At Materi, everything, including essential vehicles and student sponsorship/scholarship schemes. Bro John was not asking for nor get any allowance at Materi. He supported himself from the ‘brothers’ annual subsidy and gifts from well-wishers.
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"Competence and Deligence for Service"
Tharaka Nithi County,
28km from Nkubu Town,
Along Nkubu-Mitunguu-Tunyai Highway