Some 1291 Wings to Fly and Elimu Scholars from the Lower Eastern region attended the Equity Group Foundation’s 16th Annual Education and Leadership Congress in Machakos County.
Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman Dr. James Mwangi, speaking at Machakos School during the annual Education and Leadership congress, said the aim of the congress is to encourage and inspire the scholars to aim higher, as well as mentoring and training them in leadership and social responsibility.
Mwangi added that the aim of Wings to fly by Equity Bank and Elimu Scholarship, which is funded by the government, is to support the underprivileged scholars who are gifted and talented through financial means and mentorship.
He disclosed that through the partnership with the government, they have managed to discover the most vulnerable scholars in the region, based on their needs, through the selection committee.
“The selection committee board, knowledge about students and their terrain and the bank’s network infrastructure are responsible for verifying their details,” added Dr. Mwangi.
Furthermore, the Executive chairman disclosed that 87% of wings to fly scholars are either orphans or semi- orphans who are talented and gifted and they have also extended the programme to the refugees in the country.
Consequently, the bank plans to launch an equity phase leadership program, awarding the top KCSE exam-taking boys and girls a one-year paid internship at a bank for global exposure.
Mwangi pointed out that through the partnership with the Ministry of Education, 970 scholars in Kenya have joined International universities, 218 have joined Ivy League schools and 45 have gone to Harvard, clearly showing the impact of the program in the education sector.
Vice Chancellor of Machakos University, Dr. Joyce Alago, praised the program as transformative, highlighting its focus on leadership from within, empowering and inspiring others.
By Anne Kangero
