A four-year-old boy kicks a ball in a private football club in Nairobi. He, together with many others, is part of a group of city children who have been enrolled in holiday classes to beat boredom and learn skills that are not taught in schools.
Ballet, music, soccer, dance and robotics schools in Nairobi and a few other cities are reporting a high demand as parents seek creative pastimes for their children during this two-month break.
Holidays may be the most exciting time of the year for many children, but to parents, a two-month break causes worry. How will they keep children, especially those in cities where there are no playgrounds, busy? How do they keep them off the sofas and PlayStations?
At Syokimau Soccer Academy on the outskirts of Nairobi, a talent school that was opened in 2010, Nation Lifestyle finds children in a private football coaching season.
Maurice Sunguti, former Harambee Stars player and founder of Syokimau Soccer Academy during a training session at the academy's football pitch in Syokimau, Machakos County on November 1, 2023.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Maurice Sunguti, the coach, follows the action as the next crop of Kenya’s football stars battle it out on the pitch. Numbers associated with renowned players like Argentina player Lionel Messi and his Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo are emblazoned at the back of their jerseys as they give their best to match the skills of their football icons.
"I get inquiries from over 50 parents looking to enrol their children in soccer school during this holiday. Parents even pay for international trips for their children. This year, for instance, we travelled to Sweden for a friendly match. We plan on travelling to Tanzania next year,’’ he says.
In the field, children as young as four years are part of the two-hour-long training. Mr Sunguti says four years is the ideal age to have fun in the field and learn the ball concept.
"We have a pre-planned programme for the children that runs termly just like school. They come in shifts according to age and playing capabilities and rest only on Thursdays and Sundays. Gym sessions are also in place once a week for coordination, balance, mobility and flexibility through aerobics and steps,’’ he says.
"We hold friendly matches every Saturday. Older players will be having a Kakamega tournament in December. There are many planned tournaments for them this holiday until December 22," he says.
The academy charges a monthly fee of between Sh15,000 and Sh20,000 per child although some only attend during the holidays and pay half.
Music schools have also seen an increase in the number of registered students. Melvine Naliaka, a music teacher at the Rejis School who also does online music lessons, says parents’ search for co-curricular activities during the holiday is high.
"Most of my clients are working parents who are busy and travel a lot, they might not be there with their children from time to time. For a follow-up on their children’s progress, I sometimes have to record the session for them,’’ she says.
Ms Naliaka adds that holiday music schools adopt a non-rigid format of teaching, making the experience fun for the children.
"Mostly it is a fun interactive session. After five sessions of individual tutoring, I bring them together to showcase what they mastered to the rest of the students. It’s like a show-off thing that children love,’’ she says
Ms Naliaka tutors voice, piano and flute. Her one-hour sessions involve practical instrument practice on Zoom.
Young boys train at Syokimau Soccer Academy in Machakos County on November 1, 2023.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
"Since it’s a one-on-one individualised instruction, I can monitor them keenly. They do what I do because they have the instruments with them," she says.
Currently, she has six music students, one is a candidate preparing for their national exams.
"I charge Sh2,000 per hour but there is a monthly package of Sh30,000 for 25 hours,’’ she says.
Other parents are opting for creative technological activities. This parenting experience is new, unlike in villages where children keep themselves busy and create their own fun; be it swimming in a river or catching grasshoppers, this type of city fun is guided and paid for.
The demand has given rise to countless entrepreneurial efforts, from new facilities to old ones that are adding holiday activities.
Young boys train at Syokimau Soccer Academy on November 14, 2020.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Ruby Crest School in Katani, Machakos County is among those that have introduced an Explorers Day camp for children to come together and have fun. They try out new adventures in technology, science, sports and literature.
Rita Masaya, the co-founder, says the four-week camp will help children learn new things.
"The programme is meant to let the children do something out of the ordinary. We want to see how they will welcome technology in a fun strategy aside from the play activities in place,’’ Ms Rita says of the holiday school that charges Sh4,500 per week.
Dance schools where children are taught ballet, Hip-Hop, afro dance or contemporary African dance are also almost class-full. Here, parents pay from Sh11,500 per holiday session.
At the Dance Centre Kenya in Nairobi's Hardy estate, is a studio centre for both children and adults.
We find the little dancers on their snack break after a ballet session. After their break, the children get in for an afro dance session with Ms Nice, their afro dance coach.
Antony Sesi, a professional ballet master at the studio’s Hardy branch tells us that most children in the class dream of taking up ballet as a career. To dance without self-consciousness sets a dancing power and flow which is one of ballet's greatest gifts.
"Ballet has a syllabus which we follow from pre-primary to advanced 2. Each year, there is an evaluation examination before they progress to the next level,’’ he says.
