Kimani Maruge
Kimani Maruge Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge or (* 1920, † August 14 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya) was known as the oldest elementary school students in the world.
Life
Kimani Maruge grew up in Kenya in the 1920s. He had as a child not have the opportunity to attend school, so he was well into old age illiterate. In the 1950s he participated in the Mau Mau uprising and was tortured by representatives of the British colonial power, in this case a drum was punctured.
After the Kenyan government had abolished school fees for the eight-year primary schools in 2003 and every citizen zusprach the right to education, he enlisted in 2004 at the age of about 84 years for the first class of a primary school in Eldoret. He was in Kenya as an ambassador for free education; he 2005 before the UN General Assembly appeared to promote the right to free education, world media reported about him. A German organization gave him a customized hearing aid. According to his teacher Maruge was a very good student, with the exception of physical education.
In the wake of the unrest in Kenya 2007/2008 Maruge was driven from his home and lived in a refugee camp, he still went from which to school every day. He then moved to Nairobi, where he lived in a nursing home and was admitted to the sixth class of a primary school.
Motivation for his school attendance were, among others, his desire to be able to read the Bible, as well as his plan to visit a high school and then to study veterinary medicine. While he learned to read quickly, his study plans remained unfulfilled. Due to his illness from stomach cancer he had his schooling in January 2009 as a seventh-grader break, he died on August 14, 2009 in Nairobi.
Films
2010 film directed by Justin Chadwick The First Grader was (literally: The first graders, German title of the film: The oldest student in the world) at the Telluride Film Festival shown, which tells the life of Maruge; The main characters are Oliver Litondo, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge and Nick Reding. The film received in 2011 at the 22nd International Filmfest Emden - Norderney the 1st prize of the Bernhard Wicki Film Prize and the DGB Film Award. Back in 2006, ran the documentary " The First Grader: The True Story of Kimani Maruge N'gan'ga " producer Sam fire.