By Beatrice Obwocha

It could be the perfect result to prove the wisdom in the Kiswahili adage, dawa ya moto ni moto (fire quenches fire).

The Kenya Armed Forces, equipped to handle fire in all its forms, have just returned impressive results after they were deployed to rebuild schools that were burnt to the ground during the post-election violence, early last year.

"Those equipped to handle fire have shown they are the best to work in a fire situation," said one school board member, as villagers at Karirikania, Molo District, marvelled at the restoration of one school that had been reduced to a pile of ash.

In February last year the Karirikania Primary School was a shocking sight to behold. A row of former school buildings, charred black and with ash and soot staining where iron sheets and windowpanes used to be, was all that had been left of an institution formerly bustling with life.

The worst incident for the school had been the burning of the administration block and library that saw books worth Sh2.8 million go up in smoke.

Defence Assistant Minister David Musila hands Education Minister Sam Ongeri a dummy key at the rehabilitated Karirikania primary school. Looking on is Lt Gen Julius Karangi, the Vice Chief of General Staff.

The rehabilitated Karirikania Primary School. Photos: Boniface Thuku/Standard

Those who saw the aftermath of a vicious attack on the school would never have imagined that jolly voices of pupils would ring across its playground again.

But this has since changed, thanks to the members of the Armed Forces who have reconstructed the school.

The school now has new permanent classrooms and those that were razed have been rebuilt. New maroon roofs, blue doors and glass windows give an impression of a newly built institution. Karirikania Primary School was one of 19 schools in Molo district that were destroyed during the violence.

Vandals took advantage of the chaos and confusion, as families fled their homes, to loot the institutions then set them on fire to disguise their acts.

Learning thereafter stopped completely in most of the affected schools but a few conducted learning under trees.

It took a concerted joint effort between the Ministry of Education and the Kenya Army to restore the schools to their former condition.

Kenya Army personnel helped reconstruct the schools with the Education Ministry providing funding to the tune of Sh123 million.

According to the Minister for Education Prof Sam Ongeri, the army was engaged to reconstruct the schools because at the time, the situation was very volatile, teachers, parents and the communities had fled the area.

Karirikania Primary School principal Mr Bernard Mbuthia said teachers and majority of the pupils fled after violence broke out.

Before fleeing, Mbuthia sad he locked all the classrooms and the staffroom, hoping that when calm returned, he would go back to continue teaching.

But that was not to be. He said, in January, vandals set upon the school.

"They stole windows and doors including frames, iron sheets, timber used in roofing, desks and even items that were used by disabled children," he said.

The library was not spared. The arsonists, after looting, set textbooks worth Sh2.8 million on fire, he said. Mbuthia estimated the value of the property destroyed in his school alone at Sh13 million. Other schools suffered heavier damages, even building stones were carted away.

He said the school had started a special class for disabled children and had 15 pupils, but some of the special equipments used by the class were stolen.

"I came back after calm returned and I was shocked. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the school that was started in 1974 had been burnt to a shell," he said.

He said he reported the matter to the Ministry of Education but his dilemma was that no learning could take place.

"There were no classrooms, no desks, no books. We did not know where to start," he said.

He said, less than a week after he returned to the school, parents started sending children back.

Before the violence, the school had 826 pupils but only about 200 pupils showed up for learning.

"At first we sent them home but in a few days we decided to conduct learning under trees. We were told by the ministry that all was being done to reconstruct the schools," he said.

Mbuthia said after a while he was informed the Kenya Army would rebuild the classes.

Major Chris Orina who was in charge of the reconstruction said it was a disaster zone when they arrived at the site. They had to start with classes in the burnt schools that could be easily be rehabilitated.

"In some schools pupils were learning under trees so we had first to rehabilitate the ones where no learning was taking place," he said.

They started with iron sheet classrooms but later embarked on building permanent structures not only for classes but administration blocks and toilets.

Apart from Karirikania, other primary schools that have been rehabilitated were Haraka, Dagoreti, Jogoo, Maigoya, Lare, Gwachati, Marwa, Chepkaitit, Geta and Mwaragania.

Defence Assistance Minister David Musila said six other schools were still under rehabilitation. They are Mwahe, Banana, Githunguri, Eronge, Mutukanio primary and Mutukanio secondary schools.