A Non-Governmental Organization has supported 50 students of St. Mathias and St. Peter’s Igero Secondary Schools in Busia Sub County with bicycles to aid their movement to and from class.
Speaking after donating the bicycles at Busia County Commissioner’s office Premises, the CEO of Grow Against Poverty Hellen Mukanda said the move is to promote quality education by supporting the government initiative of 100 per cent transition.
“The students have been carefully selected from two schools and all of them are needy, travel long distances to school, are academically promising and their parents have also shown commitment in paying the minimum school levies,” she said.
Mukanda stated that the organization will continue fundraising in order to assist girls and protect them from Boda boda riders and other men bent on sexually abusing them.
“The boys who drop out of school due to other challenges will also be motivated to stay in school,’’ she said, adding that her team expects that the beneficiaries will also motivate others to go to school.
She disclosed that the organization has a number of well- wishers supporting the children to attain their dreams so that they can also give back to the society.
The Organization’s Director Paul Otiti said that access to schools was still a major challenge to most students in the County.
“Most students have to travel long distances in order to access schools and so as a programme, we came here to complement the government’s effort in achieving quality education, ” he said, adding that most learners cover between ten to 15 kilometers to access school.
Otiti explained that in most day schools, the long distances exhaust learners hence increasing the rate of absenteeism.
“As an organization we are stepping in to ensure that bright, needy students who live far from school access the learning institutions with a lot of ease,” he said.
The Principal St. Mathias Secondary School Titus Isogol hailed the organization for the initiative adding that it will motivate the beneficiaries.
Isogol urged other organizations to support day schools in terms of infrastructure development and donation of equipment such as computers and laptops.
By Salome Alwanda
