Charge, A Boy! The Rhythm of Perseverance

By Mark Odaga

The Weight of the Heritage

I joined Maseno School in 2002 with the same trepidation I suspect most people harbor when joining a boarding school. My trepidation was born out of all the stories one heard about the hazing Form One students endured. Even in the moments I was convinced my experience would be different, the uncertainty of being away from home for the first time still left me unnerved. There was something else that informed that trepidation: Maseno School's towering long-standing reputation as a centre of academic excellence and whether I would live up to the expectations that came with being in a school with such a storied legacy. If I am being honest, the school motto did not provide much comfort, nor did the fact that the motto was also expressed in Dholuo as if to emphasize just how tough the going would get and how deep one would need to dig just to make it through.

And sure, there were a lot of things that tested one's perseverance - from the early morning bell for prep which always seemed to arrive sooner than one expected, to the unspoken rule that one was always required to be running to their destination. The phrase "Charge, a boy!" is still so vivid in my memory in all the intonations it was shouted by different school prefects.

Wide angle view of the legendary Maseno School's school gate a few years ago

Seeds of Resilience

Without waxing lyrical about these experiences, I think all the challenges of boarding school planted early seeds of appreciation for the fact that challenges are part of life and, for me at least, underscored the boundless capacity we all have to overcome them, personally and collectively. It is a lesson that has stayed with me long after leaving Maseno School. The motto that seemed to be a not-so-subtle warning to brace oneself for tough times has, over time, come to serve as a reminder of the deep capacity we all have to come out the other end of the challenges life inevitably throws our way stronger, bolder, wiser, and better.

The Weight of Privilege: To Whom Much is Given

If Maseno School had a long towering history and reputation, it seemed to find embodiment in the equally towering figure of Paul Agali Otula, standing at about 7 ft, who encapsulated yet another poignant spirit of Maseno School in his oft-repeated exhortation: “To Whom Much is Given Much is Expected.” It was for me a reminder of the privileged position we were in to be part of a school with a rich history of not just academic excellence but of nurturing leaders. If the school motto was a reminder of the boundless capacity of the human spirit, this second lesson is about our role in not just overcoming challenges but carrying others with us through those challenges as leaders.  It is a call to weave out of life’s challenges, a life of purpose and service in whatever path one takes in life. Every so often, I will come across an example of an Old Boy doing just that, and that really is Maseno to the World!

The writer is a Maseno Old Boy and School Captain, Class of 2005