Kenya adds humane education curriculum

          NAIROBI––“For the first time in Kenya, animal welfare will be integrated into the national school curriculum,” Africa Network for Animal Welfare founder Josphat Ngonyo e-mailed to ANIMALS 24-7 on July 17, 2014.

ANAW and the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development on June 6, 2014 signed a memorandum of understanding that “sets the structure for this process to begin,” Ngonyo said. “Animal welfare stakeholders have for a long time had the desire to have animal welfare courses taught in schools. This MoU gives stakeholders an immense opportunity to have it integrated and applied in the teaching subjects. We thank the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development for their collaboration in this initiative and look forward to working with all animal welfare partners going forward in achieving the same.”

Kenya moved toward adopting a national humane curriculum eleven years after South Africa introduced a humane curriculum at urging of first post-apartheid South African president Nelson Mandela.

Following his presidency, Mandela withdrew gradually from public life,  but remained patron-in-chief of the National Council of SPCAs at his death in December 2013.  Mandela had held the post for nearly 20 years.

“In time we must bestow on South Africa the greatest gift–a more humane society,”  Mandela said.

The South African humane education curriculum was drafted chiefly by Louise van der Merwe,  the South African representative of Compassion in World Farming since 1991,  who founded the Cape Town-based Humane Education Trust in 1998. Van der Merwe was in June 2013 honored by the City of Cape Town for “outstanding contributions and commitment to humane education and environmental awareness.”