Education
Griffin had his primary education at Kitale School, where he then proceeded for high school at The Prince of Wales School, Nairobi, Kenya between 1945-1950, (which later changed its name to Nairobi School) [6]
After leaving school before completing the additional two years of advanced high school required for admission to university in Kenya, he first joined the Survey of Kenya, and then the King's African Rifles (KAR). After serving during the Emergency, and tired of the brutality of war, he became convinced of the justice of the Mau Mau cause. [7] He did not renew his commission, and started participating in attempts to rehabilitate former fighters that were held or recently released from detention camps. After a couple of years, his attention turned to children orphaned by the war, and he started a rescue centre, out of which grew another school, Starehe.
Starehe Boys' Centre
Griffin, together with Joseph Kamiru Gikubu and Geoffrey Gatama Geturo, founded Starehe Boys' Centre in July, 1959. The Centre then only had two huts erected by donation from the Shell-BP Petroleum Company, which served as dormitories for the first waifs brought in from the streets. Kenya was going through a challenging time under the Emergency Regulations declared in 1952. It was amid suspicion and even hostility from some of the authorities, local people and the first boys themselves that the Centre was officially opened on 14 November 1959. [10]
Starehe offers free and high-quality education to many orphaned and poor African children, on a model similar to Christ's Hospital. Many alumni are now prominent people in Kenya and the world. Raphael Tuju, former cabinet minister and current secretary general of the Jubilee party; Paul Ereng, Olympic gold Medalist; Dr. Amrose Misore, former Senior Deputy Director of Medical Services, and by 2010 Project Director of PATH's USAID-funded AIDS Population & Health Integrated Assistance Program (APHIA) II Western; [11] and late Prof. George Magoha, Medical Surgeon & Urologist, was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi and former Minister of Education, are Old Stareheans.
Death
Geoffrey Griffin died on 28 June 2005, at the Nairobi Hospital at the age of 72 after succumbing to Colon Cancer. [12] He had led Starehe for 46 years. He was buried on 8 July 2005 inside the chapel of Starehe Boys Centre and School. [13]
During the burial ceremony of the late Geoffrey Griffin, the then President of the Republic of Kenya eulogised Griffin as a true patriot and a great friend of Kenya’s youth. [14]
The late Geoffrey Griffin's final words were read to the students during the burial ceremony, saying:
"This world is full of people who do their duty half-heartedly, grudgingly and poorly. Don’t be like them. Whatever your duty is, do it as fully and as perfectly as you can. And when you have finished your duty go on to spare some of your time and talent in service to less fortunate people, not for any reward at all, but because it is the right thing to do. Follow my advice on this, and I promise you that your lives will be happy and successful. May God bless you all." [15] [16]
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Ngara is a commercial and residential suburb of Nairobi. Located within the larger Starehe Sub-county, it is approximately 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) northeast of Nairobi's central business district along Muranga Road.
Starehe is a neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi. It is approximately 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) east of the central business district of Nairobi. It is one of the oldest estates in Nairobi.
