Father Andrew Botta, a dynamic Consolata Missionary in collaboration with American educator Brother John Koczka (Bro John) started Materi Girls Centre in April 1973.
The girls boarding secondary school is in Kithino area, Tharaka Nithi County and was initially within a Catholic mission grounds — but when it was relocated to a 205-acre piece of land — a dormitory was left behind and which bore Materi Boys High School.
Materi Girls was the first girls’ high school in Tharaka and has since retained an outstanding discipline. The girls loved mukimo and rice on Tuesdays besides ‘kimagi’, (porridge) which they flavoured with lemon juice ‘stolen’ from the school orchard.
The Tuesday rice. The only break we had from awful regular githeri was such a delicacy too
‘Teri’ in local dialect means dust, so the school was nicknamed “Doost” although surrounding boy schools referred to it as “The Virgins.”
Materians were molded by Brother John who allowed them to apply nail polish and use colognes. At times he sold cosmetics and bangles to them. Brother John succumbed to cancer in 2014.
Materians’ brother school was Ikuu Boys’ High School who sometime in 2000s visited Materi school for some academic competition but Ikuu boys fed piglets with breads laced with alcohol (Sapphire) before smuggling the snoring animals into sacks.
But the journey home was cut short when the poor piglets woke up and started screaming to the shock of inebriated boys. They sold them to a broker in a town they stopped to take a leak.
Among notable alumni who wore its famous green uniform include; Zipporah Mboroki, former police spokesperson now in-charge of stores, Josephine Kulea, founder of Samburu Girls Foundation that was recognised by US president Baraka Obama) and Peninah Kambanja, Women Rep aspirant in Tharaka Nithi, who was a prefect for four years.
Other alumni are Caroline Karangi, an organisational development consultant who initiated the Annual Company of the Year Awards (COYA) and China-based linguist Winnie Nyagah all attended Doost as did Teresa Nkonge, Consultant — Fraud Detection Lead at Vodafone Ghana, Judy Muthee an associate advocate, Diana Mumo, a litigation counsel at AG’s department and actress Gacheri Marete.
