Bright pupils from poor families still waiting for sponsorship

By Peter Orengo and Ally Jamah

As thousands of Form One students report to various schools this month, pupils from a school in Kangemi slums — that surprised many with sterling performance in last year’s KCPE exam — wallow in despair.

Last Saturday, when the school hosted a celebration following the inspiring performance, dark clouds of doubt hang in the air amid the fanfare. Most families of the feted candidates cannot raise secondary school fees.

"I was happy my son got very good results but I’m now worried they may not take him anywhere. Though I don’t want to let him down, I am helpless," said Mr Daniel Achoki, a security guard in the city.

Evans Omeda receives a prize for emerging the best candidate in the school. Photo: Peter Orengo/Standard

The school, Excel Children Centre, stunned many when it scored a mean grade of 351 marks, despite being a struggling community school in the slums. No pupil scored below the halfway mark of 250, a feat rarely achieved by many well-endowed schools.

Among the pupils whose fate hangs in balance is Evans Omeda who was the best candidate with 406 marks. He has been admitted to Jamhuri High School but his guardian, a cook, says he cannot raise fees. His parents, he says, live in Vihiga and survive on selling avocadoes.

"I am stressed. I don’t know where to get the money to take Evans to school. I am scared such a bright boy will waste away at home," says the guardian only identified as Davis.

Like Omeda, Denis Ochieng scored 379 marks but his high school hopes appear to be dashed. He lives with his widowed mother who is a vegetable vendor.

The stories of the other pupils are no different.

"Our pupils come from poor backgrounds. For them to survive in school is even a struggle and such excellent performance in national exams is almost a miracle for us," says the principal, Mr David Itambo, 31.

Humble backgrounds

Fortunately, the good news of the school performance caught the attention of a couple from Holland, Terry and Marianne Oerlemans, who had visited their daughter in the city. They read an article about the school on The Standard on Saturday last month.

The school’s 65 candidates come from humble backgrounds. Most of them have got admissions to top provincial schools.

The Dutch nationals have committed to sponsor six pupils and also donated books to the school.

The rest of the pupils just hope more sponsors will come by.

"We are immensely happy some of our pupils have been helped but we are still worried about the remaining 49. They are stuck. We hope more donors will come forward," said the head teacher, Mr Gildon Opati, 23.

The principal says pupils pay only Sh500 per month but not all parents are able to clear the fees arrears in time. The centre also has a secondary school wing and its first KCSE candidates will sit their exams next year.

Meanwhile, the pupils are still hoping that tomorrow will bring a ray of hope to lift the dark clouds of gloom hanging over their future.