Female student finds herself in an unfamiliar territory in search for fees

Acquiring an education is an uphill task for many children from humble backgrounds. Mercy Awino’s journey to achieving this dream is no different but rather than sit and mourn her predicament, she is doing something to achieve her goal.

Acquiring an education is an uphill task for many children from humble backgrounds. Mercy Awino’s journey to achieving this dream is no different but rather than sit and mourn her predicament, she is doing something to achieve her goal.

After sitting her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams in 2015 20-year-old Mercy Awino together with her elder sister secured marks that could land them in a secondary school. Her farmer father from Migori, unfortunately, was unable to pay her school fees.

“My parents are peasant farmers and we are eight children so we understood when my father was unable to raise tuition money, “Mercy told Hashtag.After dropping out of school in class eight, Mercy who had passion for cars started performing small jobs in a garage at Awendo.

“I used to carry spanners and often did small jobs in the garage and in the process I knew how to do repairs and amend car punctures with the help of Nixon Ochola, who trained me,” says the budding entrepreneur.

Unlike many youths, Mercy did not give up her education and decided to join Manyatta Vocational Training centre to learn mechanics.

Mercy pays tuition fees of Sh35,000 per year at the institution, which she says her parents struggle to pay. The Sh500 per day wage she makes in the garage which she struggles to save to help her get back to school even as she moans it is still inadequate.

Mercy again dropped out of school in November last year because she could not pay her examination fee for year three at the institution.

She joined mechanics full time at mamba garage in Kisumu to be able to get something that will take her back to school.

Despite her shaky education life, Mercy is now handy in the mechanical field and has made a big name and many customers prefer to leave their cars with the young woman.

She performs tough jobs like engine, suspension system, break system and gear box repairs, a feat that has earned her respect among her colleagues.

“It is a hard job because it requires a lot of physical energy and determination but that should not deter ladies if they have an interest in the job,” she said.

Mercy is so positive about going back to school and even sit her oncoming final exams using the little money she has saved for the past six months.

After finishing her studies Mercy hopes to own her garage and a training centre where she can train other children like her who are not lucky to continue with the secondary studies after completing their free primary education.

“Every job is important and let not gender bar you from doing anything because men and women are just the same,” she said.

She encouraged her fellow youthful women from the region to venture into this business and get some money out of it instead of indulging in drugs and any other immoral activities.