They beat the odds to come out winners

When Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha announced the 2019 KCPE examination results on Monday, what did not come out were the challenges some candidates faced in their pursuit of success.

But many of them beat the odds, sat the national exam and came out victorious.

Months before the crucial exam, many candidates in Baringo County were forced to leave their homes and schools to escape the cycle of violence associated with cattle rustling.

James Lopeta, 15, and his brother David Mareri, 14, had to relocate to Nakuru County from Tangulbei in Tiaty constituency.

The boys sat their KCPE exam at Carol Academy and scored 406 and 401 marks, respectively.

The two pupils of Tangulbei Primary School left after the institution was temporarily closed because learners and teachers had fled due to insecurity in the region.

Rampant insecurity

“Learning at our former school was not easy. We kept on moving from one location to another because of tension,” said Lopeta.

Their elder brother, Festus Limo, said Mareri contracted malaria hence there was need to get him medical help.

“That was two years ago when we were displaced from our home due to rampant incidents of cattle rustling,” Mr Limo said.

Mareri was admitted to the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital and because Lopeta had nowhere to live, he kept his brother company as he received treatment.

It was during this turbulent period that the boys met a teacher from Carol Academy with whom they shared their challenges.

“We told him that we were out of school because of insecurity and that we longed to get an education,” said Lopeta.

The teacher was touched by the boys’ story and got in touch with their parents. He proposed that the pupils enrol at Carol Academy where they would continue with their education uninterrupted.

Conducive environment

Lopeta and Mareri joined their new school in first term. They found a conducive environment that allowed them to concentrate on their studies.

“I am humbled that despite our poor performance, teachers at Carol Academy walked with us,” said Mareri.

Lopeta said he is looking forward to joining Kapsabet Boys and later studying engineering at the university. Mareri said he would like to join Alliance High and later study to become a dentist.

Stephen Odera, a teacher at the school, said the boys were self-driven and humble.

“The pupils were among the most disciplined in the school and they used to seek advice from teachers. We are happy with their excellent performance,” said Mr Odera.

Judith Masika, too, has a special reason to celebrate after she scored 412 marks.

The 13-year-old pupil of Kings Academy of Deliverance Church said she stayed at home for two terms because of lack of fees.

Speaking to The Standard, the girl could not hide her joy after scoring highly in the exam.

Masika said it had never crossed her mind that she would be the top girl in the school.

“I lacked school fees after my guardian, Kevin Ngunyi, lost his job. I was in and out of school.

“I learnt in first term and part of second term last year before I was sent home for fees. I stayed home for most of second term and half of third term,” she said.

The school, Masika said, allowed her to return in the middle of first term this year.

She revealed that she had left her widowed mother in their ancestral home in Bungoma County in 2017 to enrol at the school in Nakuru. Her father, she added, died when she was in Standard One.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Narok County, girls from the mainly Maasai community overcame challenges of female genital mutilation, early marriages and teen pregnancies to post stellar results.

The top candidate in the county, Faith Rutto of Blessed Academy, scored 430 marks while the top boy, Paul Kerema, also from the same school, posted 425 marks.

Most of the candidates in the county with over 400 marks were girls.

Other top performers were Sheiza Kamau (414, Blessed Academy), and Deborah Teiya (415), Naomi Chelimo (408) and Irene Soila (400), from Narok County Academy.

The county has the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country with four out of 10 girls falling victim, according to a 2018 demographic and health survey.

[Robert Kiplagat, Mercy Kahenda and Daniel Chege]