Africa-Press – Kenya. Some parents from Kochia in Rangwe constituency have agreed to support the education of more than 30 bright but needy students in the area. Through their union Friends of Education Association, the parents use the money to provide full education scholarships for students from poor families.
Sponsorship of the students will be done in secondary school to either middle-level college or university. The association which was initiated in 2013 has since supported 73 students from vulnerable families.
Out of the 73 students, at least 40 students attained university and middle-level college education. Other students are still in various secondary schools. The association has settled on at least 30 students to support their education after they sat this year’s KCPE.
Officials of the association Elisha Omala (chairman), Daniel Ogenga(secretary), Rachel Oyugi (treasurer) and Alfred Ochiel (in charge of bursary) said the selected students will join Form 1 when schools reopen.
Omala said they started the programme to ensure children from poor families also get education. The official said they came up with the idea after realising that there were increasing numbers of children who were bright but could not join secondary schools due to financial problems.
“The association also sensitises pupils in primary schools on the significance of education. We encourage pupils in Kochia to work hard to excel in academics,” Omala said.
Speaking to journalists during their meeting at Ligisa Secondary School on Friday, Ogenga said they are happy their education programme is achieving its objective. Their main aim is to empower the children to uplift their living standards in future.
“We wanted to end a tradition that residents seek financial support for the education of their children from individuals who are in towns. We have proved that we can also organize ourselves and support our children,” Ogenga said.
The association has collected Sh10.2 million for supporting the learners since 2013. They get money through annual subscriptions of members and fund drives. The association is currently having 75 registered members.
Oyugi said the project had made the local community own their neighbour’s children, a situation which enhances discipline among children. “This has made our children belong to the community rather than their parents. We do monitoring in villages during holidays,” Oyugi said.
Ochiel said the children who benefit from the project have an obligation of meeting some academic standards to continue benefiting and have put a standard of C+ for their students.
“We always tell the students that anyone found with indiscipline cases risks being scrapped from the programme,” Ochiel said.
Some parents whose children have benefited from the programme said the project has transformed their families. Anderson Nyagilo and Phoebe Adhiambo commended the programme.
Nyagilo said he was not able to educate his child after he developed a kidney problem. “I was a carpenter but couldn’t continue with my work after developing a kidney problem. The programme helped me to take my boy to secondary school,” Nyagilo said. Adhiambo who is a widow said the project supported her daughter who is a third-year student at Masinde Muliro University.
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