PLANNING AND STRATEGY BROUGHT the Illusive A Plain to Bahari Girls: The OBABA Strategy 

By Prof Dr. Halimu Shauri

The BOM Chairman 

In my sister post in this platform I wrote about the importance of planning in achieving results or not achieving them.

Those who had the privilege and patience to read it can recall my citation of the late Dr. Robert Ouko, former Minister for Foreign Affairs in Kenya who said, not planning is planning to fail.

More precisely, I cited the importance of planning together, especially with the possible implementers of the said plan.

I observed that we at Bahari Girls plan together in an approach I called the Whole-of-School [WoS] approach.  

The first such WoS planning meeting was done at Pwani University in 2022.

The meeting involved students, teachers, parents, non teaching staff and members of the BOM. I remember that I was the chair of the joint planning and strategy meeting that day. 

From the deliberations and resolutions of the meeting was the guiding strategy that has finally brought the illusive A plain to Bahari Girls.

Indeed, we had been looking for this grade since our take over as the BOM in 2019. You are wondering what is this strategy am talking about. 

Relax, for I am here to share our long journey to opening the space for A plain for our learners at Bahari Girls going forward.

In sum, the meeting made three key strategic resolutions viz: OBABA, ODOBA and OTP.

I know you are wondering what these acronyms stand for.

Those in team Bahari Girls and community are well aware of these three strategic resolutions that have been the pillars of success for the school.

In this article, I will only explain the first one, OBABA, which stands for Operation Bring A grade to BA-hari Girls – literary meaning Operation Bring A plain to Bahari Girls.  

Indeed, the operation has worked and Grace Sidi is the star of the 2024 KCSE RESULTS. 

Details of how the OBABA strategy was implemented at Bahari Girls I leave it to the school management to share. 

I am sure the school management will open doors for neighbouring and other schools in the county, region, and country to come to Bahari Girls for benchmarking. 

Bahari Girls has done it in a marginalised environment,  with limited resources and inadequate staff and infrastructure, and by a Girl, Grace Sidi, from Kilifi County, where girls have myriad challenges.