introduction
Sema Academy is a co-ed primary school in Kenya that has over 300 students. Located between Kisii Town and Kericho, the compound consists of a school building, a computer center, girls and boys dormitories, a dining hall and a playing field.The school was founded by Dr. Japtheth and Hellen Maranga and was adopted as a project of the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island in 2000. When the Marangas retired as teachers, they dedicated themselves to educating children near their home. They established Sema Academy in Chepilat, on the border of the Kisii and Kipsigis people.
in memory of Prof J.Maranga 1932-2008
On my Dad
In life, there are events that shake your core being, events that send chills down the spine and make you question your faith and human decency. That event for me was the death of my father in December of 2008. It was not necessarily his death, but the way in which he died that has turned my world upside down. My father, Professor J. S. Maranga, was murdered in his bedroom in front of his wife of fifty years! It is hard enough to watch violence on TV or in a movie, what is worse is watching a loved one being murdered and for that loved to be a spouse of fifty years is beyond comprehension. I cannot even pretend to understand what my mom is going through right now.
That night
My father who had recently been appointed to the Kenya Institute of Education and had unexpectedly returned to home after a meeting at the Institute. They had dinner, prayed and went to bed where they were awoken by loud noise of someone breaking in to the house.
location of a school
Sema Academy is 250 miles west of Nairobi, in Kenya. The area is agricultural, with maize, millet and beans the main foods grown, and tea the major cash crop. The school is located at about 6,000 feet above sea level. Rain is generally plentiful.This is among the mostly densely populated rural areas in the world. The region is affected by a double scourge — malaria and AIDS.
The school is located on the main Kisii-Nairobi road, on the border of the traditional Kisii and Kipsigis homelands. Children from both tribes attend the school. The campus is divided by the road, with classrooms, offices, computer center, library and playing field on the south side and the dormitories and feeding facilities on north side.
