Archbishop Njenga Girls’: Where students were served with “Mabwoni” for breakfast.

ArchbishopNjenga Girls High School is a girls boarding extra county school located in Chekalini, Lugari Constituency in Kakamega county.

It was established by parents from Chekalini who had interest to educate their children an become responsible members of the society. Previously it was known as Chekalini Mixed Secondary School, where it started as a harambee school back in 1971.

During its establishment there was only an enrollment of 17 students – nine boys and eight girls. The school was housed in an old house abandoned by an ex-European settler as its first classrooms with an adjacent building being used as teachers quarters, a store and administration block.

In 1972, the boys were eliminated out and moved to the nearby St Paul’s Lugari and St Luke’s Lumakanda as the school was renamed to Archbishop Njenga Girls High School after retired Rev. Archbishop John Njenga accepted the offer to be its sponsor in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.

In 1978, the school got approved to offer A-level classes focusing on arts based subjects. The government through the ministry of education took over its management in 1988 and oversaw its growth from a single stream to the current five streams. Infrastructure was later developed at the institution by then area MP Hon Cyrus Jirongo. The school occupies 26 acres of land where, the main school sits on 13 acres and the rest is used for farming. The school is ICT compliant with most of the departmental operations computerized and inter networked with each other and it has an operational website.

Apart from its excellence in academics, the school has established itself as a giant in promoting extra curriculum activities.

In 2002, “ABN” won bronze at the national girls soccer championships in Kwale to qualify for the regional games in Entebbe, Uganda where it started conquering the East and Central Africa Championship for five years in a row beside clinching a Soya awards trophy.

The school is also good in music as it has once emerged the best at the national level and entertained the Head of State at the gala festival at statehouse Mombasa in 2013.

Some former students have fond memories of taking strong tea with “Mabwoni” on Saturdays served by veteran cook Mwamboza. Those who clad in navy blue skirts, ties on white blouses with sky blue sweaters include Florence Vilegwa Salano, a manager at Equity Bank; Rachel Munde of the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB); Charity Akelemo, a senior nurse at Njoro Sub-County Hospital in Nakuru and Carolyne Anekeya, a nurse at ministry of Health.

Notable alumni who followed the motto “ Archbishop Njenga For Progress ” include Seline Mwenje, now working with Care International Kenya; Dr. Lydia Wamocha, a senior lecturer in educational planning and management at Masinde Muliro Univesity of Science and Technology (MMUST); Winfridah Amumbwe of Kenya Airways; Maureen Nabibya, a senior principal magistrate in Mombasa; Ruth Kulundu, who works with IEBC in Siaya county; Topister Situma a professional soccer player trading with Vihiga Queen’s FC ; Sarah Owendi, a senior producer at Rembo TV.