For decades, Pand Pieri Primary School in Kisumu stood as a monument to resilience. Its name, Luo for "Hide Your Buttocks," told the heartbreaking story of its first pupils—children so destitute they wore tattered clothes that barely covered their dignity. Today, that name is gone, scrubbed away in a rebranding exercise that seeks to bury the shame of the past.

The school, now renamed Migosi Primary, sits in the heart of a neighborhood that has transformed from a slum into a bustling lower-middle-class estate. The name change was pushed by alumni and parents who felt the old moniker was a stigma that no longer reflected the school’s reality or its academic prowess.

Erasing Heritage or Restoring Dignity?

"We cannot let our children carry the burden of their grandfathers' poverty," said the PTA chairman during the unveiling of the new gate. "This school has produced doctors and engineers. It deserves a name that speaks of success, not nakedness."

However, historians and local elders argue that "Pand Pieri" was a badge of honor—a reminder of where the community came from. It was a school built by the community, for the community, when the colonial government turned a blind eye to the African child.

• The Transformation: The school’s facilities have indeed changed. Gone are the mud walls; in their place stand stone blocks and a computer lab funded by the CDF. The rebranding is the final step in this metamorphosis.
• A Lesson Lost? Yet, some fear that by erasing the name, the school loses its soul. "It was a name that taught humility," mused a retired teacher. "It reminded us that education is the only way to cover our shame. I hope the new generation remembers that lesson, even if they don't know the name."