At Hands of Love Educational Centre, we have always believed that education is about more than passing exams. It’s about nurturing children — their hearts, their hands, and their minds. That belief is exactly what drew us to the Waldorf approach, and over the past two and a half years, it has quietly begun to transform how we teach.
This is the story of that journey.
It Started With a Visit
In August 2023, our friends at Direttamente — the Italian non-profit organisation that has been a steadfast partner in our work — sent us a gift: a week with Stefania.
Stefania is a Waldorf education specialist, and she was joined by her Direttamente colleagues Elena and Maura. Together, for five intense, inspiring days, they worked with our team to introduce us to the Waldorf philosophy. We explored its roots, its rhythms, and its deep respect for the developing child. It was a week that shifted something in all of us.
Developed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the early 20th century, the Waldorf approach treats education as a holistic experience. Rather than rushing children into academic learning, it honours the natural stages of child development — prioritising creativity, imagination, rhythm, and hands-on experience. The arts, music, storytelling, movement, and practical life skills are not extras. They are the curriculum.
Taking It Into the Classroom
A workshop is one thing. Putting ideas into practice is another.
Shortly after Stefania’s visit, our teachers gathered for a three-day retreat — a space to slow down, reflect, and ask the real questions: What does Waldorf look like here? In Kariobangi? With our children and our resources?
It was a rich and honest conversation. Our teachers began mapping out how Waldorf principles could be woven into our existing curriculum — through morning circle routines, nature-based learning, storytelling, artistic activities, and a gentler, more rhythmic structure to the school day.
The retreat planted seeds. And slowly, those seeds have been growing.
The Journey Continues — Online
Learning doesn’t stop, and neither has our partnership with Direttamente and Stefania. We have continued our training through regular online sessions, where Stefania guides us, challenges us, and helps us deepen our practice.
Last Saturday’s session was a wonderful example of what these conversations have become. Together with Stefania, our teachers and director explored some of the most beautifully layered questions in early childhood education:
What are fairy tales, really? Why are they so important to a young child’s imaginative development — and how do we counteract a media culture that flattens their magic into cartoons?
What does Africa bring to the story? This is perhaps the most exciting thread of all. How do we tap into the rich symbolic heritage of African and Kenyan culture — the animals, the landscapes, the oral traditions — to bring children stories that truly belong to their imagination? How is an African folk tale different from a European fairy tale, and what unique truths does it carry?
What is circle time, and how do we use it well? When and how should it be set? What happens when a classroom finds its rhythm through nursery rhymes, skip counts, and movement games that teach children the directions of space?
These are not abstract questions. They land directly in our classrooms, shaping the way our teachers show up every single day.
Why Waldorf Matters Here
You might ask: why Waldorf? And why here, in one of Nairobi’s most underserved neighbourhoods?
That’s exactly the point.
Many of the children who walk through our gates carry invisible burdens — instability at home, limited access to nutritious food, the daily stress of poverty. What they need, more than anything, is not more pressure. They need safety, rhythm, joy, and a sense that the world makes sense.
The Waldorf approach gives us the tools to provide exactly that. When a child’s day has a gentle, predictable rhythm — when they sing, move, create, and listen to stories — something settles in them. They feel held. They feel seen.
And when children feel safe, they learn.
The Waldorf philosophy also speaks powerfully to African contexts. Oral storytelling, community, connection to nature, and the wisdom carried in animals and symbols — these are not foreign to Kenyan culture. They are the culture. Waldorf gives us a framework to honour and elevate what our children already carry within them.
Looking Ahead
Our Waldorf integration journey is still unfolding. We are not a Waldorf school — we are a school inspired by Waldorf principles, adapting them thoughtfully and joyfully to our unique context. But we are committed to continuing this path, session by session, classroom by classroom.
We are deeply grateful to Direttamente and to Stefania for walking this adventure with us. Their belief in our teachers, and their willingness to keep asking the big questions alongside us, has made all the difference.
As Direttamente put it so well after our last session: “A great joy to feel together in the great adventure of raising children.”
We couldn’t agree more.
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