The German Neukirchen Mission and Education in Tana River, Kenya

Christian missionaries from western Europe and USA pioneered western formal education in Africa in mid 19th century. Missionary organizations like the CMS, AIM, GMS, HGF, MHF, UMM, CSM among others ventured mainly in the interior of Kenya when they faced challenges at the Kenyan coast because Islam had already taken root. The German Neukirchen Mission (GNM) concentrated in Tanzania and dared to stick in Tana River district, Kenya in spite of the Muslim presence and harsh climatic conditions. The GNM did not only introduce christianity but also western formal education. Their departure following the outbreak of the Second World War was an anti-climax coming at a time they were about to open a secondary school in the calibre of Alliance High School, the current top boys’ school in Kenya. They introduced vocational/technical education not as an inferior education for Africans but a necessary and equally important education just as the literary/academic education.