He was the Pioneer headmaster of Munyeki Primary School deep in the Settlement Scheme. When I was in standard one, I remember him taking us on a field trip to see the construction of the Nairobi Nyahururu highway. I remember a cluster of round galvanized iron sheet huts that formed a sizable village. That place was called Gwa Kanju. I did not know it then, but that was the Ministry of Works (MOW) temporary camp (kambi) for their labor force that was constructing the highway.
We saw the completed sections of the tarmacked highway looking smooth and shiny and the other sections under construction with heavy equipment crisscrossing each other. It was a sea of activity. That was my first sighting of Caterpillar bulldozers, excavators, graders and rollers. We were fascinated to watch those heavy machinery at work as our headmaster Mr. Gachogu explained what we were witnessing.
Some children were scared to see such heavy equipment moving around, they clung onto Mr. Gachogus’ legs. I remember him scooping up some of the youngest and most scared children, hoisting them on his shoulders to ease their fears while giving them a better view of the construction. I was not one of those. I ran with the boys, climbing on mounds of sand and ballast, having a time of my life. To this date, every time I travel on that highway, whenever I pass Gwa Kanju, as the place is still called to this day, I always remember that field trip from my childhood, thanks to Mr. Gachogu who gave us a memorable lesson outside of the classroom.
Mr. Gachogu’s office was the size of a closet, partitioned off from the one room staff-room. The space was enough for one desk, chair and a bookshelf. The bookshelf held some Kikuyu books, majority of which were authored by Fred K. Kago. After learning my Kikuyu vowels, Kikuyu reading came naturally to me. For those of us who were interested, Mr. Gachogu encouraged us to borrow some of those books, greatly enhancing our Kikuyu language skills. Today, I can read and write Kikuyu, my mother tongue, as fast as I can read and write English, my academic language; and for that I am forever grateful to Mr. Gachogu who nurtured that curiosity.
