Tucked deep in the little-known, semi-slum neighbourhood from where it derives its name, Baba Dogo Primary School has produced a string of men and women who have ended in national and international limelight.
Perhaps these men and women were inspired by the school’s motto, boldy inscribed on its walls: “Discpline and Hard Work is the Key to Success.”
If you thought former KTN anchor James Smart learnt his weng from some private school in a leafy suburb, we have some news for you. The TV presenter, who is currently on a Chevening Scholarship in England, once donned the brown shorts and pullover of the school and ran around the dusty and stony Baba Dogo playground.
Other prominent people who passed through this school include Raphael Obonyo, the External Advisor of the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board, a position that he got after being subjected to a global youth vote.
When the Kariobangi Catholic Church bought a piece of land from an Indian called Baba Dogo in the 1960s to ease overcrowding of their congregation, they also acquired the adjacent plot to build a school. Baba Dogo gladly sold the parcel that would become Baba Dogo Primary School.
Over the years, the school became so big that, with eight streams and more than 5,000 students, it was said to be the largest primary school in East and Central Africa. For ease of management, the institution was split into three sections of East, Central and West. The student population was so big that the morning assembly had to be addressed using a loud speaker. In 1995, the west wing became Chandaria Primary School, named after the company that runs the school.
