Mandera's top girl to pursue medicine

**Ms Halima Abdi Rashid (c) who toped Mandera County in the 2023 KCSE examination with a mean grade of A- (minus).** [Ibrahim Adan Ali, Standard]

Halima Abdi Rashid who toped Mandera County in the 2023 KCSE examination with a mean grade of A- (minus) now says she will pursue medicine and surgery.

Ms Rashid, a girl from a poor family within the county was a candidate at Mandera Moi Girls Secondary School.

Despite her family background, Rashid emerged among the top performers in the country against all odds making her the best student in the school which had not registered such an outstanding result since 2007.

In an interview with The Standard, Ms Rashid said she stayed at her friend's neighborhood during holidays to study at night as there was no power connection at her homestead.

She attributed seventy percent of her good performance to her parents whom she said always supported her against the odds and provided for her basic needs.

"I was born in a family stricken by a high poverty level but that did not hinder my success as my parents have always encouraged me to push forward and succeed in education," She narrated

She expressed her gratitude to her teachers and staff support who played a key role in her today's excellent results.

Rashid, the first born in a family of six was cheered by her schoolmates for the exceptional results and she urged her peers to always obey their parents for them to succeed even in life.

She was among ten other students who were sponsored by the former Governor of Mandera Ali Roba during his tenure in 2020 after she scored 388 marks in the then Kenya Certificate of Primary Examinations.