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Hero For Christ

Geoffrey Griffin (Starehe Boys Center and School)



The following passages are excerpted from my forthcoming book, "Hero For Christ." I have chosen to reproduce them here because I think Griffin deserves to be better known outside of his native Kenya. Each story about Griffin illustrates a principle of "Christian Heroism" as detailed in my book.

Self-Forgiveness

Although unknown in the United States, the late Geoffrey Griffin was known across Africa as one of the continent's premiere educators of school-aged children. His eventual destiny, however, would have been hard to predict from his initial choices.

Griffin was born in Kenya as the child of white British colonialists. He grew up as a loyal citizen of the British empire and a supporter of the British rule of East Africa. Accordingly, when a rebellion against the British broke out in 1952, he made what he considered to be the patriotic choice, and joined the colonialist army.

As the conflict raged onwards, however, his opinions gradually began to shift. More and more, he began to respect the legitimacy of the native Kenyans’ claims to the land of their ancestors. Furthermore, although he was distressed by the violence and brutality of the rebel forces, he was also increasingly aware that his own side was just as violent and brutal.

Eventually Griffin reached the point where he could no longer in good conscience fight for the British. Rather than chastise himself, however, for having fought for a cause he now believed to be unjust, he instead turned his attention to what good he could do towards Kenya’s better future. Accordingly, although the fighting still continued, he applied for a transfer to take over the administration of the juvenile segment of a detention facility.

The facility, known as Manyani, was a grim and abusive place that Griffin would later compare to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. In addition to holding adult prisoners-of-war, Manyani also imprisoned minors under the age of sixteen who had been captured fighting for the rebels, as well as those whose parents were involved or suspected of involvement with the rebellion, and even ordinary delinquents, street children and orphans.

Under Griffin’s leadership, Manyani slowly began to transform, a process that was accelerated when Griffin received permission to move all youth under the age of sixteen to a new facility. Over the next several years, this new location, called Wamamu, would slowly change from a place that resembled a high-security prison to a place that resembled a school. It was then that Griffin realized that God had brought him, by a strange and circuitous route towards his true destiny, not as a soldier, but as an educator.

Serve the Least

Starehe Boys Centre is today the name of East Africa’s most prestigious boys' boarding school, an institution known internationally for academic excellence. When Starehe’s founder, Kenyan educator Geoffrey Griffin, first decided to start the school, however, he did not seek out children of the rich and the powerful, or even children with good academic records or test scores. Instead, he started his school as a service to the “least” among his own community, the homeless, orphaned and destitute street children of Nairobi.

At its beginnings, Starehe was nothing more than two ragged tin huts, which served as homes for seventeen former street children. It was presented to the public as a community recreation center, in order to escape the bureaucratic regulations and administrative burdens placed on schools. Meanwhile, however, the program’s underpaid staff was working overtime to give their often-difficult charges a complete academic, moral, spiritual and practical education.

Over the years, however, what had originally begun as a place-of-last-resort for those with no place else to go began to gain a reputation, first as the equal, and then as the superior of many of the more conventional schools around it. Where students once had to be forced or convinced to attend now became a place that was overloaded with eager applicants.

Even today, however, Starehe continues to honor its original mission of service to the least. A third of the students are charged at rates proportional to their family’s income, while the remaining two-thirds of the places at the school continue to be reserved exclusively for students who are absolutely destitute, without financial resources of any sort.

Loitering on the streets of Nairobi were many helpless children especially boys left as orphans due to the deaths of their fathers during the Mau Mau struggles or as a result of the imprisonment of their fathers in detention camps. These kids wore tattered clothes, walked and had barefoot, nowhere to sleep, leave alone where to bath. They had no food to eat and indeed looked very dirty, helpless and sickly. Their future was dark. For their daily survival they ate left-overs thrown into the dustbins and the older ones had to pick pocket in order to find money to buy food. They slept by the riverbanks, in shrubs, and in some city corridors in the cold, thus being exposed to all manner of dangers including diseases. (Hongo and Mugambi, 51)

Commitment

When he was young, Geoffrey Griffin, the founder of Kenya’s “Starehe Boys Center,” had a profound religious experience. It was night at his boarding school and he was doing his customary evening prayers. Suddenly he had a strong sense that God was there with him, speaking to him and showing him a vision of his future. Although the vision did not provide any exact details, it nevertheless convinced Griffin that if he found the path God wanted him to walk, his subsequent efforts would all be successful.

As he grew older, it took Griffin several years and false starts to discover that his destiny was as an educator. Once he found his role in life, however, he accepted it with absolute and unwavering commitment. He forewent marriage and children, choosing instead to view his students as his children. He chose also to place his work above any social life outside of the school, and kept closer contact with Starehe’s alumni than with any of his own relatives. Throughout his life he worked days that could last as long as eleven hours, and spent forty-five years as the school’s Director without taking a single extended vacation.

Not only was Griffin’s own commitment absolute, but he demanded similar heroic efforts of his staff –to the point that he could be uncharitable to anyone who failed to meet his high standards. A particularly telling story recounts the decision of a longtime Starehe teacher to take a position at another school in exchange for higher wages. This particular teacher had given Starehe more than one decade of exemplary service, but had become tired of scraping by on the low salaries available at Starehe. When he tendered his resignation, however, instead of receiving a commendation for his years of devotion, he was instead chastised harshly by Griffin, who accused him of selling out the destitute students of Starehe in exchange for the other school’s dirty money.

It has certainly been my experience that virtually any ambition in life can be attained, provided one is determined enough. And provided too, that one is prepared to pay the price, which could be very, very heavy indeed… The price of real success, generally involved many years of overwork, coupled with the taking of innumerable risks and making of enormous, and repeated, sacrifices in terms of one’s own personal relationships and pleasures. (Griffin, in Omolo “The Power of Purpose,” Kenya Times)

Invest in People

As dynamic a leader as Geoffrey Griffin was, he would have had little success in creating his ground-breaking school, Starehe, without the help of two other men, Geoffrey Geturo (Gatama) and Joseph Kamiru Gikubu. The two men were involved with every facet of the school from its start to the present day, with Gatama remaining with the school until his death in 1990, and with Gikubu taking over the position of Director upon Griffin’s death. The two of them were especially vital in the early days of Starehe, when the country was making the difficult transition from a British colony to an independent nation. During that time, any white former colonialist, such as Griffin, was naturally viewed with suspicion, bitterness and hatred by a sizable portion of the population. The support of Geturo and Gikubu, however, helped Griffin gain crucial credibility and respect among black Kenyans.

This raises a question, however. How did Griffin first gain the respect of Geturo and Gikubu? The answer is simple. They were among two thousand juvenile detainees whom Griffin rescued from the Manyani Prison Camp. Recognizing their leadership potential from the start, Griffin soon promoted the two former prisoners to positions of trust and authority. By investing in these two boys, whom others had seen merely as anonymous offender, Griffin paved the way for a lifetime of benefits paid out in the form of service to Starehe.
Whatever needed to be done, he did it superbly well. No matter how weak he was or how much in pain, he never stopped working… No man ever had more faithful colleague than he was to me. His work continues on earth, through the lives of nearly 9, 000 boys who knew him, some at least of whom must have been touched by and will follow his example that indeed the path of duty is the way to glory. (G. W. Griffin’s Eulogy of Geoffrey Geturo, June 29, 1991)

Be Generous to Your Adversaries

Geoffrey Griffin enlisted as a soldier in the British colonialist army at the beginning of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya, but over time he became convinced that justice was on the side of those fighting for Kenyan independence. Later, as a civilian working for the government, he had a chance to work with juveniles detained in the Manyani Prison Camp. Among the teenaged detainees were many like Geoffrey Geturo, who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and detained without reason. Many others, however, were more like Joseph Gikubu, who, despite his youth, had sworn himself to the cause of the Mau Mau rebels. Such was the respect that he commanded among his former comrades that he had even been trusted as a “Keeper of the Oath,” who was someone who knew the identities and loyalties of those who had taken the Mau Mau Oath to fight until Kenyan independence was achieved.

For those in charge of Manyani, Mau Mau rebels such as Gikubu could only be viewed as the worst sorts of animals. Blind to the injustices of their own side, they had an image of the rebels that was entirely formed by the reports in the colonialist newspapers of white settlers massacred in their sleep, and settlements burnt to the ground. Accordingly, they treated the prisoners in their care like animals, believing that anything else other than a firm hand and brutal discipline would result in disaster. It was a situation Griffin would later describe as 20,000 Kikuyus in “barbed-wire cages” (Otiato 201).

Griffin had quite a different idea about how the detainees should be treated, especially the youth. Although he and they were still technically on opposite sides of a war, he believed the way to treat his so-called enemies was with generosity and humanity, in accordance with Jesus’ dictum “do good to those that hate you” (Mattthew 5:44). Even though he was warned that the Mau Mau rebels like Gikubu were murderers who would surely rise up, given half the chance and slit his throat in the middle of the night, Griffin chose to be trusting, rather than cautious.

Much to the surprise of his detractors, however, Griffin’s methods quickly began to pay off. Although his new charges initially viewed him with the same burning hatred they would have felt towards any other British colonialist, they soon began to respond to his genuine care and concern. Among those whose opinion of Griffin was transformed was Joseph Gikubu. It was a fortunate meeting of the ways for both men. Not only was Gikubu instrumental several years later in helping Griffin found his school, he continues there as Griffin’s successor, forty years after their initial encounter.
Mr. Gikubu was a prefect in Wamumu so was Mr.Geturo. This is where I got to know them…because they were outstanding even among detainees…They were natural leaders and whatever I couldn’t break through, they would be able to do. (Griffin, in Otiato, 219)

Mentorship

A modern version of the same system [used by the Jesuits] is in use today at the Starehe Boys Centre and School. Their variation is not based on the one used by the Jesuits, but rather on the concept of “Prefects” borrowed from the English boarding schools. In the English schools, prefects are older students who have been advanced to positions of authority over their classmates. In the original version of the prefect system, however, that authority is often abused. Like a corrupt policeman, the prefect in an English school may often be a bully with a badge.

At Starehe, however, the prefect system has been altered in accordance with the principles of Jesus. In other schools, prefects are often given special privileges that set them apart from their fellow classmates. In England, at one time, prefects were even given the power to administer corporal punishments (canings or beatings) to their underlings, which made them figures of fearful respect in the school (and which doubtlessly gave many of them sadistic thrills). At Starehe, however, the only special privilege advanced to a prefect is an increased opportunity to be of service to the school. Accordingly, those who seek the position are not motivated by the opportunity to wield power over their classmates, but rather by the opportunity to serve.

As part of creating the right atmosphere, prefects are never chosen strictly because of their age or grade level. No one is promoted automatically to the position of prefect just because of having been at the school longer. Instead, prefect is a position of pure merit. Similarly, no prefect is simply be elected to the office as a result of popularity among his peers; nor is any appointed to the office by the administration because he is a “teacher’s pet” or a favorite of the administration. Instead, each prefect must be affirmed jointly by the students and the staff. Nor is the position then considered secure “for life.” While every attempt is made to keep an appointed prefect in that position, anyone who fails to uphold their responsibilities, abuses their position, or begins to fall behind in his classwork is quietly returned to the status of an ordinary student.

As with the Jesuit system, the Starehe prefect system capitalizes on the competitive instinct with a developed hierarchy of merit, a ladder of service that can be climbed towards the top position, Captain of the School. The entry-level position can be considered to include all the boys of the school, who are each expected to contribute to the administration and the upkeep of the school in some manner (typically through chores such as cleaning the dormitories or classrooms). The next level is “Sub Prefect,” where a student is given additional responsibilities as an assistant in relationship to a single given location, such as the Library or the Dining Hall. Those who do well in this regard are advanced to the position of “House Prefect.” The House Prefects help maintain school discipline, enforce school rules, and organize the chores and duties performed by ordinary students.

Over the House Prefects is a smaller number of “School Prefects.” At this level, each School Prefect’s primary responsibility is to mentor, nurture and organize the House Prefects that fall directly beneath them. The School Prefect positions include the following: House Captain (in charge of a particular dormitory), Captain of Games (in charge of the sports program), Chief Librarian, Chapel Prefect (in charge of the religious program), and Environmental Prefect (in charge of keeping the school clean and well-maintained). Above the House Prefects are two “Deputy School Captains”, and finally the Head Boy or “Captain of the School,” whose main job is to support, organize and mentor the School Prefects, and to assist them in the completion of their duties.

As a whole, the Starehe system of prefects functions so smoothly that the majority of the non-academic tasks at the school can be entrusted entirely into its care. This is essential given Starehe’s unique nature. As a school serving a majority of destitute students in a relatively impoverished country, it is important for them to be able to maximize all available resources. Meanwhile, the administration of a boarding school is very complex, and potentially very expensive, particularly in the form of administrative salaries.

At Starehe, on the other hand, everything outside of the classroom is administrated primarily by the prefects. For example, there is no janitorial staff. Instead, the gleaming cleanliness of the school is maintained entirely by the students. Similarly, the 80 person dormitories, the 1000 person dining hall, and the 33,000 book school library are run almost entirely by students through the prefect system, with little or no need for input from adults. The fiscal savings to the school are enormous, but more importantly, the boys learn to take pride and ownership in their surroundings. Accordingly vandalism, graffiti, and even littering are unknown in the school. Since the students themselves are the caretakers of the grounds, they are naturally reluctant to do anything that might unnecessarily increase their workload.
“The cleaning is done by boys, in accordance with a master plan drawn up by the senior prefects before term opens –a plan which divides our grounds and buildings into portions, makes a fair allocation of boys to each portion and names prefects to supervise them. No adult is involved at all and the system works perfectly, term after term, year after year.” (Griffin, 55)

Service

Service is an essential part of the Starehe Boys Center and School curriculum. While all the boys participate in providing service to the school itself, a number of them go above and beyond the school’s requirements by participating in what is called the “Voluntary Service Scheme.” The program was started by the students themselves early in the school’s history. Since the overwhelming majority of them were completely destitute, they felt a strong urge to do something to show their gratitude for the generosity they had received when they were admitted to the school. Accordingly, they arranged to take their own vacation time and spend it volunteering in community service projects. Although the first year only included seven students, the program had already grown to over one hundred participants only two years later. By the time the program was ten years old, over half of the students were involved. According to the rules of the program, each needed to devote at least three of their vacation weeks to the program, none could accept any money or other compensation, and all had to be willing to accept any task, no matter how difficult, menial or tedious, and perform it cheerfully and to the best of their ability.

Despite the challenging requirements of the Voluntary Service Scheme, it continues to be one of Starehe’s most successful programs, providing untold service hours to hospitals, clinics and health centers, rural schools and libraries, public works projects, factories, airlines, broadcasting stations, bus companies and government offices. Absent any other benefits, the only possible reason for the program’s popularity among the students is the ethic of service present at Starehe due to the efforts of the program’s founder, Geoffrey Griffin.
My dear boys, I have enjoyed a fruitful and happy life, and I learnt one great lesson that I would like to share with you. I hope that Starehe will always teach this lesson –for as long as it does so, it will remain a great school. Our world is full of people who do their duty half-heartedly, grudgingly and poorly. Don’t be like them. Whatever is your duty; complete it as fully and perfectly as you possibly can. And when you have finished your own duty, go on to spare some of your own time and talent in service to less fortunate people, not for any reward whatsoever, but simply because it is the right thing to do. Follow my advice in this and I assure you that your lives will be both happy and successful. (Griffin, in Otiato 352)

Inclusion

Kenyan educator Geoffrey Griffin had a commitment to inclusion in every facet of his school, Starehe. Although he viewed religion as a key part of his students’ education (and although he himself was a devoted and devout Christian) he never thought it was his place to dictate to his students what faith they should follow. Instead, he guided each student towards establishing or deepening a relationship with God, under the guidance of whatever faith that student professed when entering the school. Accordingly, each student was required to attend religious services, but exclusively within their own faith. This was crucial part of Griffin’s ability to serve students from all parts of Kenya, which has a majority Christian population, but which is also home to a sizable minority of devout Muslims. Thus, as a living symbol of the brotherhood he hoped would one day exist throughout the world, Griffin erected both a Christian Chapel and an Islamic Mosque on Starehe’s grounds.

As controversial and as rare as the religious brotherhood practiced at Starehe is the brotherhood of the rich and the poor. Starehe was begun as a refuge for destitute, homeless and delinquent boys. As its academic reputation began to grow, however, there was an increasing demand that it also be opened to students from less impoverished homes. To many people’s surprise, Griffin agreed. Against complaints that he had forgotten the schools original mission, or endangered its status as a charity, he explained that he did not want his students to be isolated by socioeconomic class. In other words, he did not feel that since his students were poor they should only be able to interact with other poor students. He thought it would be good for boys from rich and poor homes to live together, play together, eat and sleep together and attend classes together.
Following as we do a philosophy of developing the whole person, so, over and above the emphasis on self-discipline, voluntary service and high academic achievement, the boys are encouraged to develop and excel, along their chosen path, in their personal faith in Almighty God. Whatever faith a boy professes on entry, Starehe will do its best to help him advance and strengthen himself within it. (Griffin 78)

References

  • Griffin, Geoffrey, School Mastery: Straight Talk about Boarding School Management in Kenya. Lectern Publications Ltd., Nairobi, 1994.

  • Hongo, K. O. A., & Mugambi, J. N. K. Starehe Boys Centre: School and Institute. The first forty years 1959-1999. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2000.

  • Martin, Roger, Anthem of Bugles: The Story of Starehe Boys’ Centre and School, Heinemann Educational Books, Nairobi, 1978.

  • Omolo, O. . "The power of purpose". Kenya Times (2005, July 10).

  • Otiato, Peter C., Educating Modern Kenyans: Dr. Geoffrey William Griffin and Starehe Boys Center and School, dissertation manuscript, March, 2007

    Comments below:

    • Comments from Readers:

    Chris,
    I loved reading reviews on your book about Dr GW Griffin. I'm an alumni of Starehe Boy's Center. I'd love to read your book on Dr Griffin, if it's available in bookshops or in Amazon. Please, let me know how I can get one.
    Thanks for the wonderful work.
    Chris


    [Thanks, Chris. "Hero For Christ" is available on Amazon, or you can find out more about it at http://heroforchrist.com
    --Kitoba    ]


  • Christopher Olola, salt lake city, utah
    7/25/08
    Dear Chris, I must commend you for your good work - and particularly your book in which you have dedicated a chapter on Griffin. I passed through Griffins hands - and currently I am involved in writing a comprehensive biography about him. I would like to read a copy of your book. I am a Children's literature scholar in Nairobi- I have just completed my MA at the University of Nairobi. Let's keep in touch and share experiences. Thanks, Enock
  • Enock Matundura, Nairobi, Kenya
    11/23/07
    I am a product of Starehe. Dr Griffin's legacy lives on in the lives of his sons. In four years, he taught me more than I had learnt for 15 years. His integrity and dedication was a shining example. For each situation that I am in doubt, I ask "What would Dr. Griffin expect of me". The answer is never in doubt.
  • Joseph Nderitu, Nairobi,Kenya
    11/14/07
    Hi Christopher,

    I am thrilled by your writings and they touch on issues of great interest. I see you writing about the late Dr. Griffin of Starehe Boys' Centre, Kenya. i happened to have been a product of Geff, and a very proud one for that matter. I have written an inspirational book and dedicated it to Dr. Griffin. It is a wonderful book and you may see/pick a copy from here: Author House

    Today, I run a center more or less akin to Starehe Boys except we still support students in their various schools. I have a charity program that seeks to empower the less-fortunate of the society through education. I focus on orphans and widows through a feeding and school program; besides, I run community libraries to open up the village and give a chance to the populace to rise to the zenith of their potential. my life philosophy is simple but potent: To live To Love To Serve i.e. The reason I live is to express the Godly love and the way I love is through service.

    It is wonderful coming across your works; it'd be wonderful to catch up on phone or email.

    many thanks.

    Chrisogonas
  • Chrisogonas Odhiambo, Columbia, SC
    9/10/07
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