Whitehorse and Nairobi, Kenya, connected by a passion for music

WHITEHORSE - At 10 p.m., when many people in Yukon are getting ready for bed, Yukon College instructor Everett Igobwa, is getting ready to teach a music class in his apartment in downtown Whitehorse. He does not need to worry about waking up neighbours because his students are 13,370 kilometres away, in Nairobi, Kenya, where it is 9 a.m. the next morning.

Igobwa uses web conferencing software to direct the combined Nairobi School (NS) and Precious Blood Secondary (PBS) orchestra via blended learning, and surprisingly the distance between teacher and his students is not the most challenging aspect of this endeavour.

Music education is not funded in Kenyan public schools. In order to share his passion for music with Kenyan students, Igobwa must raise funds to purchase much-needed musical instruments and computer technology. In September, when Yukon College was discarding old computer equipment, Igobwa struck a series of deals to have them donated to the Nairobi School music program and shipped as cheaply as possible.

With the help of Yukon College staff, Air North President Joe Sparling, and his friend Antoinette GreenOliph, Igobwa shipped 27 boxes containing 15 desktop computers and monitors, and 6 projectors, to Calgary, at no charge. The boxes are now being stored by Rev. Doug Klassen at Foothills Mennonite Church while Igobwa raises the funds to help get the equipment to Kenya. He must also persuade the Kenyan government to waive their law banning computer equipment older than four years, or else the technology could face destruction upon arrival.

“I am grateful for the kind assistance of everyone who has helped me so far,” said Igobwa. “It takes a lot of effort, but it is worth it to see the difference the music program is making for the students at both schools.”

Over 15 years, Igobwa has partnered with the Head of Music at Nairobi School, the all-boys boarding/residential school he graduated from in 1986, to transform the struggling brass band into an award-winning orchestra. He then expanded the endeavour into a mentoring program reaching more students at Nairobi School and the sister all-girls Precious Blood Secondary School, which he taught at in the 1990s.

This summer the two schools together, under the co-directorship of Moses Watatua (NS Head of Music) and Hilda Sumba (PBS Head of Music), won first prize at the Kenya Music Festival for their performance of Bach’s Gloria in excelsis Deo, arranged for mixed choir and chamber ensemble.

Igobwa is a Faculty Development instructor at Yukon College where he assists faculty to bring new technology into their classrooms and transfer their curriculum to the web. Expanding blended learning options at Yukon College enables students outside Whitehorse to access greater educational opportunities without leaving their home communities.

Before coming to Yukon in June, Igobwa worked in similar positions at Mount Royal University, Queen’s University, Carleton University, and York University. While excited about the potential of technology to transform the classroom experience, music education remains Igobwa’s passion.

“At first, schools in Nairobi were not keen to introduce a music program, but now that they see orchestra students performing better across all their studies, other schools are now approaching me to work with them too,” said Igobwa.

As for the 27 boxes waiting patiently in Calgary, Igobwa is confident they will soon be in the Nairobi School and Precious Blood Secondary music labs.

“Nairobi School has a very robust international alumni network, the Old Cambrian Society, made up of successful former students like myself. I know this is a cause they will rally behind.”