'I stayed away from school because of financial woes'

Lillian Baya with her mother Dhahabu Baya and her father Gunga Baya at their home at Madunguni village in Malindi Sub County. [Nehemiah Okwembah, Standard].

Lillian Baya, 19, missed school several times in the days preceding Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination.

Most of her classmates were younger than her because she was forced to drop out when her parents could not afford to pay school fees. 

Lilian took care of her siblings as her parents, who are laborers, went to work on people’s farms. 

“She had many challenges. When it was not raining, even getting food to eat was a challenge. She was demoralised when her elder sister dropped out of school due to lack of funds. Lillian probably felt that she will go through the same,” says their father Gunga Baya in their home in Madunguni village, Malindi Sub County 

He says it was heartbreaking, watching her daughter who had previously maintained the top ten positions start dropping in school.  

“Each pupil pays Sh450 for what we are told is teachers’ salaries. I have four children so I have to raise Sh1,800 every term. There are no jobs, even for casual labourers like myself,” he says. 

Lillian says when she missed school, she would plait people’s hair to make money. “There was a period I joined my parents to work in people’s farms for a while,” she says. 

She managed to get 152 marks in the exams but says all is not lost. Lilian aspires to be a medical doctor and hopes she will get well wishers to pay her fees so that she can uplift the family.