4.7.2022
EduEffect welcomes Kenyan students to Finland!
Starting this spring, we have been working closely with Gradia Jyväskylä, EduExcellence and the Kenyan government to improve the state of Kenyan education and healthcare. This collaboration was supposed to start three years ago but due to COVID it was, unfortunately, postponed. Kenyan students will come to Gradia to study and become practical nurses in order to develop the Kenyan healthcare system or to stay and work in Finland after graduation. EduEffect’s job was to make sure that the Kenyan students learned the basics of the Finnish language and culture before their arrival.
A total of 65 students participated in our first Finnish course, which we started in May. We had weekly online lessons that lasted approximately 3 hours per week. In June, three of our teachers here at EduEffect – Pinja, Emmi and Laura – traveled to Kenya for intensive Finnish language and culture classes. They spent six days in Eldoret, Kenya, at Sergoek Vocational Training Centre, where the students had a chance to learn more about their future home country and our teachers got to learn about their backgrounds.
The students were incredibly motivated and active, and learned very fast. Our team was surprised to discover that Swahili and Finnish have many similarities in terms of words and pronunciation, and therefore our students’ pronunciation was outstanding! After the trip, we had three more online lessons, and the Kenyan students will arrive in Finland in August. The next batch of students will start their studies in Finland in January, and we at EduEffect are more than happy to be a part of their journey!
This project has been very rewarding and eye-opening to us at EduEffect, and it has been absolutely wonderful to meet new people and learn about new cultures. The Kenyan people were extremely welcoming and always ready to help, and we are already looking forward to our next course!
Asante Sana and Karibu to Finland!
