Students who have benefitted from Equity Bank’s Wings to Fly program risk losing the sponsorship if they engage in indiscipline activities.
The Bank’s Kerugoya branch Manager Simon Kanyingi stressed that beneficiaries of the program are expected to maintain the highest degree of discipline while at school and thereafter.
He warned the eight students who benefitted from the program this year that they will be closely monitored while in school by the program’s board members.
“I hope you will not let us down when you join Form One next month as happened to one beneficiary who dropped out of school at Form Three after she fell in love with a Standard Eight drop out,” he said.
Kanyingi asked guardians to the students not to leave the parenting roles to the bank alone but rather join hands in molding them into responsible citizens upon completion of their studies.
Speaking during the flagging off of the students who are headed for the commissioning into the program at Kenyatta University next Friday, Kanyingi also decried the tendency by some guardians to develop a don’t care attitude to the students once they are accommodated in the program.
It also emerged during the occasion that the Kirinyaga Central MP Munene Wambugu has offered 28 full scholarships to 28 bright but needy children from the area through his Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
The scholarships, Kanyingi added were based on the very model the Equity adopted in selecting the children to benefit.
The CDF kitty, according to Kanyingi will be available to cater for their fees, pocket money and all other necessities until they complete their Form Four course.
He urged other stakeholders to come up and offer similar scholarships given the high number of needy but bright children in the society who despite performing well in KCPE examination end up failing to join secondary schools.
The official said the purpose of the program was to make the beneficiaries agents of positive change in the society through adding many students ended up becoming useless for lack of support.
Since its inception in 2010, the Wings to Fly programme has sponsored 401 needy students in Kirinyaga County.
By Irungu Mwangi
