Geoffrey William Griffin
Encyclopedia
Dr. Geoffrey William Griffin (June 15, 1933 in Eldoret – June 28, 2005) was the founding director of Starehe Boys' Centre and School. He founded the school in November, 1959 with the help of the late Geoffrey Geturo
and Joseph Gikubu, the current senior deputy director of the school; he directed the school from its founding to the end of his life. He was also the founding director of the National Youth Service between 1964 and 1988, when he retired from the Kenyan Civil Service.
Starehe offers a free, high-quality, education to many orphaned and poor African children (on a model similar to Christ's Hospital
). Many old boys are now prominent people in Kenya and the world. (Raphael Tuju
, retired Cabinet Minister, Paul Ereng
, Olympic gold Medalist, Dr Amrose Misore, Senior Deputy Director of Medical Services and Prof George Magoha, Medical Surgeon & Urologist who is the current competitively appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi are just a few of the Old Stareheans).
It is fitting to note that the first successor to Dr. Griffin as Director of Starehe Boys' Centre & School was Prof. Jesse Mugambi
a respected and renowned educationist in Kenya and previously professor of philosophy at the University of Nairobi. Three sons of Professor Jesse Mugambi have passed through Starehe Boys' Centre as students at different time when Dr. Geoffrey William Griffin was still the director. The professor resigned from his duties as Director of Starehe Boys' Centre on Friday, January 16, 2009. The reason given for his sudden resignation was that the University of Nairobi had refused to extend his contract and required him to resume his duties as a professor of Philosophy.
Griffin had a humble educational background: after leaving school early, he joined, first, the Survey of Kenya, and then the King's African Rifles. After serving during the Emergency, he became convinced of the justice of the Mau Mau cause, and tired of the brutality of war. He did not review his commission, and began to participate in attempts to rehabilitate former fighters held, or recently released from detention camps. After some years, his attention turned to children orphaned by the war, and he started a rescue centre, out of which grew Starehe.
Griffin rose to become a pioneering educational leader and was awarded an honorary PhD in Education by Kenyatta University for developing Starehe Boys' Centre and School to become one of the premier schools not only in Kenya but in Africa that is renowned the world over as a centre of educational excellence.
He was awarded the Moran of the Order of Burning Spear by President Kenyatta in 1970, the Moran of the Order of the Golden Heart by President Moi
in 1986 and the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kenya National Human Rights Commission in 2005 http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=23985.
Geofrey Gatama Geturo
Geoffrey Gatama Geturo was a co-founder of the Starehe Boys Centre and School in Nairobi, Kenya.The school was founded in November, 1959 with the help of the late Geoffrey Griffin, the founder, and Joseph Gikubu, also a co-founder and the current senior deputy director of the school....
and Joseph Gikubu, the current senior deputy director of the school; he directed the school from its founding to the end of his life. He was also the founding director of the National Youth Service between 1964 and 1988, when he retired from the Kenyan Civil Service.
Starehe offers a free, high-quality, education to many orphaned and poor African children (on a model similar to Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
). Many old boys are now prominent people in Kenya and the world. (Raphael Tuju
Raphael Tuju
Raphael Tuju, EGH is a Kenyan politician and a Presidential Candidate in Kenya’s forthcoming general elections. With a successful background in the private sector, Tuju joined politics in 2002 and has served the Government of Kenya in various capacities since that time.His most recent appointment...
, retired Cabinet Minister, Paul Ereng
Paul Ereng
Paul Ereng is a former Kenyan athlete, and the surprise winner of the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics.Born in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia, Kenya, Paul Ereng attended Starehe Boys Centre and School in Nairobi, Kenya. He was a promising 400 m runner until the end of 1987...
, Olympic gold Medalist, Dr Amrose Misore, Senior Deputy Director of Medical Services and Prof George Magoha, Medical Surgeon & Urologist who is the current competitively appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi are just a few of the Old Stareheans).
It is fitting to note that the first successor to Dr. Griffin as Director of Starehe Boys' Centre & School was Prof. Jesse Mugambi
Jesse Mugambi
Professor Jesse Mugambi is one of the most challenging and prolific African scholars in the disciplines of Christian Theology, Philosophy of Religion and Applied Ethics...
a respected and renowned educationist in Kenya and previously professor of philosophy at the University of Nairobi. Three sons of Professor Jesse Mugambi have passed through Starehe Boys' Centre as students at different time when Dr. Geoffrey William Griffin was still the director. The professor resigned from his duties as Director of Starehe Boys' Centre on Friday, January 16, 2009. The reason given for his sudden resignation was that the University of Nairobi had refused to extend his contract and required him to resume his duties as a professor of Philosophy.
Griffin had a humble educational background: after leaving school early, he joined, first, the Survey of Kenya, and then the King's African Rifles. After serving during the Emergency, he became convinced of the justice of the Mau Mau cause, and tired of the brutality of war. He did not review his commission, and began to participate in attempts to rehabilitate former fighters held, or recently released from detention camps. After some years, his attention turned to children orphaned by the war, and he started a rescue centre, out of which grew Starehe.
Griffin rose to become a pioneering educational leader and was awarded an honorary PhD in Education by Kenyatta University for developing Starehe Boys' Centre and School to become one of the premier schools not only in Kenya but in Africa that is renowned the world over as a centre of educational excellence.
He was awarded the Moran of the Order of Burning Spear by President Kenyatta in 1970, the Moran of the Order of the Golden Heart by President Moi
Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
in 1986 and the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kenya National Human Rights Commission in 2005 http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=23985.
External links
- Anonymous (18. Aug. 2005) TimesOnline obituary, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. - Kwamchetsi Makokha (29. June. 2005) Starehe founder Griffin dies at 72 The East African Standard