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One on One
THE STEADFAST CHAMPION OF WOMEN IN EDUCATION
INTERVIEW : BENTA OPANDE
The Editor had the pleasure of meeting Ms . Benta Opande , Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Women Teachers Association - KEWOTA . A warm and amiable person , her story is one of passion , bravery and resilience . “ I think realizing that you ’ re not alone , that you are standing with millions of your sisters around the world is vital .” – Malala Yuafzai So this quote by Malala Yuafzai is befitting and resonates very well with her journey from the classroom to CEO , of the largest Women Association in Kenya .
Ms Benta Opande is a teacher by profession , trained at Kenya Science Teachers Training College , KSTC . A career that started 35 years ago , she remembers fondly her first posting in 1989 to Parklands Boys Secondary School , where she began by teaching Chemistry , Biology and Sports . But it is in teaching sports where her passion for inspiring people to excel and push the limits was born , and was solidified when she became the first female coach of the school hockey team .
She recalls that when she started coaching the boys , the team was performing poorly but soon after , the performance began to improve , and by the time she left , the team
had gained recognition and was winning accolades in the National sports arena . It had become the team to beat .
This impressive performance enabled her to get her next posting to Buru Buru Girls High School , where in addition to Hockey , she introduced Basketball . However , sports remained pretty much extracurricular activity , with her main responsibility being teaching biology and chemistry .
This went on for some time until her excellence in managing the BuruBuru girls ’ sports department was recognized when her fellow teachers in Nairobi elected her as an executive committee member of the Nairobi Secondary Sports Association .
EdSource Quarterly | Oct-Dec l 2021