She built a school to transform lives

Imagine being taken to an open space where the only thing in sight is dug up soil — lots of it. And then being told by the person who took you there that she is recruiting staff and enrolling students for her school.

In reality, that is exactly how Radhika Lee launched her dream to establish what she calls her Renaissance school — “a school with a difference, where the children will be happy.”

Two of her former students from another school heard she was starting a new school — the Nairobi International School in the Lavington area — and dragged their mother to the site. Apart from the original building, there was nothing.

While the mother struggled to envision a school, even asking, “WHERE is the school?” her children, Albert and Antoninah Obiero, spread their arms excitedly and said, “Here! This is where we are coming to learn!”

“There was nothing,” recalls Radhika with a smile. “But hearing the children say they will join the school lent credence to my dream.”

Sitting in her office, the school’s founder and director also remembers clearly the first staff interviews she conducted at a nearby petrol station.

“It was two weeks to the scheduled opening and I brought two of them here after the interview. I could almost hear the unspoken questions in their minds. They wondered how — or if — it was really going happen, and whether they had made the right decision to join me.”

Experience

Their concerns were well-founded, considering Radhika knew absolutely nothing about starting a school.

But with her years of experience in education and the backing of Grofin East Africa Ltd, who funded the venture, she has been able to grow this e-school (the first of its kind in the region) to include kindergarten and preparatory sections, and there is a waiting list to boot.

“Grofin backed me excellently in terms of business advice, moral support and money,” she says. “I knew absolutely nothing about starting a business and now I know all the processes. Grofin ensured that I knew every step.”

This attention to detail helped Radhika overcome hurdles she could not have foreseen.

“I faced strong opposition from people who did not want to see a school established here,” she says. “Some went to great lengths, even getting court injunctions against me.”

This, she says, was a huge challenge because suppliers were paid upfront but she could not start building with the court order hanging over her head. She was repaying the interest on loans but could not admit students because there was nowhere for them to sit!

“It was a very taxing time for me both mentally and financially. I prayed — a lot!” she says, and eventually, because she had all the proper documentation in place, Radhika was able to realise her dream for a “happy” school.

The career educationist says she is inspired by her passion to see children happy. She defines “happy” as being comfortable, feeling at home and having everything one needs to learn and grow.

“When children are comfortable, they will study and learn,” says Radhika, who makes a distinction between education as a business and education as a way to grow children.

Shiru Mwai, a parent of NIS, says at one point she considered pulling her child out of the school because of the steep fees. Radhika’s way of dealing with this was to offer a discount so the child could remain in school. This inspired Shiru to enrol her two other children in the school.

Payment plan

Radhika says NIS is about being different and making a difference “even though we need the money to keep running!” She adds that she would rather work out a payment plan with parents than see children lose the opportunity to learn.

Some evidence that NIS is a “school with a difference” can be seen in the names of the four games houses – Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello—all Italian artists from the Renaissance period.

Radhika links her desire for happiness to a personal experience of great unhappiness.

“I was in an abusive marriage for years. All that time I nurtured my dream of one day establishing a school but was unable to focus because I was so unhappy. Only when I walked out was I able to put my mind to it properly,” says the mother of one.

Free of the stifling environment, she found herself so clear-headed that “I started writing the school brochure one morning at 3am and actually finished it before the sun came up!”

Apart from wanting to grow happy children, she also sees a need to re-establish diminishing values in them. “Values are important,” she says. “From a simple ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to appreciating everyone no matter their station in life, these things matter in a world that no longer cares,” she says.

Radhika’s career in Kenya started with an application for a teaching position nearly 30 years ago. “I came to Kenya from India as a 23-year-old full of energy and armed with a master’s degree.”

There was nothing idyllic about her first station, a school in Bamburi, Mombasa, where she went to teach English language. In fact, it was a shock!

“The school comprised a few thatched rooms in the midst of cashew and palm trees complete with monkeys. It looked more like a village than a school!” she recalls.

She taught for one term before the owner, a Mr Bashir, encouraged her to apply for a better job in Nairobi. Through a newspaper advert, she got a job at Laiser Hill Academy in Ongata Rongai. She was there for a term before moving to Arya Boys in Nairobi for four years.

Nairobi’s St Austin’s Academy was her next stop. She taught English language and literature and rose to become the head after 13 years of service.

Two years later, she was at Jaffery’s Academy as the principal. By then she knew it was time to actualise her long-time dream of starting her own school.

Looking back at the almost seven years since she established NIS, Radhika says she would not change a thing.

“I have learnt so much,” she says, adding that one of her biggest rewards is watching graduating students accepted in reputable international universities.

From an initial 35 students to the current 520, Radhika says the only way is up.