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410 students accorded a second chance to pursue secondary education, after dropping out of school

Vincent Rono alias DC, from Kamariny ward in Keiyo North constituency always wished to be a District Commissioner. He loved the power and the aura that comes with being a DC (currently county commissioner) and somehow, he earned the nick name by which he is now fondly referred to.

However, 20 years ago, this dream was cut short after he sat his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2005. Rono could not proceed to secondary school as his parents could not afford school fees. They also seemed not to find the need of him to continue with his education because they never bothered to look for alternative support.

Since one requires a degree to become a DC he knew his dream was over. But since life had to go on, Rono started doing odd jobs to make a living. In the process he trained as a driver and later a plant operator.

“However, whenever the government advertised for drivers or plant operators’ jobs, i did not qualify to apply because I missed one of the requirements, a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate, and therefore the jobs always just slipped away,” he said.

Sharon Jelagat’s case is different. She dropped out of school in form 3 in 2019 due to lack of school fees having come from a poor background and with other siblings who needed at least to be literate, she decided to give them a chance.

However, her dream of advancing her education never died and last year, she told her mum that this year she will be continuing with her education. She was so convinced that she is going back to school that she sought admission at Kapkenda girls’ high school and was accepted.

“My mum asked me where I would get school fees but I told her I had a strong belief that God would provide,” she said.

She embarked on menial jobs including charcoal burning hoping to raise the fees but come January she didn’t have enough. Interestingly she didn’t give up but instead went to Kapkenda girls and told the principal that she would postpone her admission to May this year.

Jelagat said she was in Iten early this month where she had come to apply for a birth certificate, when she received a call and was asked to go back home to apply for an education scholarship which was being funded by the county women representative Caroline Ng’elechei.

She rushed home and applied for the scholarship and she was lucky to be among the 410 students who qualified for the funding. She had faith that God would answer her prayers to go back to school and for sure He answered her through the women rep.

The woman rep said she went around the county and was touched by the many people whose dreams were left unfulfilled after dropping out of school either due to poverty, teenage pregnancies or other challenges.

Mrs. Ng’elechei lamented that most of these children are forgotten once they drop out of school as they cannot access bursaries or other government funded programmes to go back to school.

“We have young girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy and once they are out, they are not considered for bursaries as most parents and the community focus on those who are continuing with their education,” she said.

She said when she put an advertisement for the sponsorship the response was overwhelming saying over 2,000 people from the county applied with 890 qualifying for the sponsorship noting there are many more who never got the information or heard it late but are willing to go back to school.

“However, my foundation, that is the Caroline Ng’elechei foundation can only accommodate 410 students for now but I am hoping that in future if I get more resources, I can sponsor the remaining 470,” she said.

Speaking when she flagged off the students in Iten, the MP said she will be meeting all their requirements in school which such as paying school fees, providing them with uniforms, stationery and personal effects including sanitary towels for girls.

Mrs. Ng’elechei said their past challenges should not determine their destiny adding it was important to offer them a second chance so that they can achieve their dreams in life.

For Rono, even at 37 years, he is ready to go back to class and work hard. He says he is now a father but had to leave his children with his wife as he chases his dream and that despite his advanced age, he will be obedient and follow the teacher’s instructions to the letter.

He says his dream may have delayed to a point that the title changed from a District Commissioner to a County Commissioner but who knows, he may become one in future.

Jelagat on her part wants to become a lecturer to continue imparting more knowledge to the youth and is determined to take full advantage of the second chance that life has thrown her way.

According to the women rep, one required to have scored 250 and above marks in class 8, be a resident of the county and show willingness to advance their education.

The women rep said the initiative was not part of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NG-NGAAF) but was being funded by herself and friends.

By Alice Wanjiru and Joan Jelimo

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