The Finlays Community Trust, an independent charitable trust that seeks to empower communities and nurture sustainable growth in Kericho and Bomet counties, has awarded a Kshs 4 million scholarship to 20 students to pursue their secondary school education.
The students who hail from the two counties each received a maximum of Shs 50,000 in annual fees to cover their four-year education.
Speaking during the award ceremony held at the company’s hotel grounds, the trust’s Vice Chairperson, Ambassador Joshua Terer, said quality education required a strong foundation and capital investment for young people to acquire skills and make reasoned choices.
“Education plays a pivotal role in our society’s future. At Finlays Community Trust, we recognise and value the community’s need for human capital, and providing scholarships is one of the most reliable ways to foster long-term growth and sustainability in this area. Since education is a resource that no one can take away from children in our community, we are driven to make sure they have access to it.” said Ambassador Terer.
He assured the parents of the 20 students that the company will continue to support learners who do well in their KCSE national examination.
In the same breath, Trusts Secretary Sammy Kirui revealed that the scholarship is given on merit, and this year they awarded 20 bright and needy students out of the 100 applicants, with them having scored between 407 marks and 379 marks in their 2023 KCPE and being selected to join secondary schools around the country.
He said the help offered by the Trust is an expression of appreciation for their employees and neighbouring communities.
Kericho County Director of Education Julius Ngoneshi told the students who got the scholarship to work hard at their studies and desist from bad behaviours, as they were fortunate to have been selected to pursue their secondary school education through a bursary.
During the function, Trust Patron Simon Hutchinson said they would continue to work with local communities to enhance the educational needs of children in the counties of Kericho and Bomet.
In an interview with KNA, a beneficiary of the scholarship bursary, Caren Chebet Chumba, a former pupil of Progressive Chep Chep Academy in Kericho County, said she is set to join Kipsigis Girls High School for her secondary school education following the award of the grant monies.
“I am grateful to God for being awarded the secondary school scholarship after scoring 405 marks in my KCPE exams, and I am now ready to join Kipsigis Girls High School for my secondary school education, “said Ms. Chumba.
The Trusts secondary school scholarship has been running for over 30 years and has so far benefitted over 586 students at a total cost of Shs 53.5 million.
The Finlays Community Trust was officially launched in 2021 as an independent charitable trust to replace the Finlays Charitable Trust. Funded by James Finlay (Kenya) Limited, soon to be Browns Plantations Kenya, and Finlays Extracts Kenya Limited, the Trust aims at delivering maximum social, environmental, and economic benefits by taking a collaborative approach and appointing trustees to represent the local communities, thus creating shared values. By partnering with the communities, the Trust will be able to invest in and support projects and initiatives that have the most meaningful and enduring impact.
In addition to the secondary school scholarships, the Trust has also been providing scholarships to undergraduate students to pursue their higher education in local universities, as well as the Swire Masters scholarship, where students are admitted to universities in the United Kingdom, an intentional move to expose them to different cultures and enable them to acquire the much-needed soft skills in professional spaces.
By Sarah Njagi
