Kenya Student Sponsorship

In Kenya, Primary education is free, but pupils have to pay for their Senior School and University education.  This costs approximately £400 p.a. for 4 years senior day school and approximately £600 pa for 4 years senior boarding school.  (Boarding School may be necessary where the home circumstances of a child do not provide a suitable learning environment.).

Many poor but bright children cannot afford to go on to further education and are forced to drop out of education completely.

Educational Sponsorship

There is an ongoing sponsorship programme since 2012 to ensure that bright children in Kenya, whose poverty would otherwise force them to drop out of education, are enabled to go on to further education in senior schools and, since 2018, to University, but there are never enough funds to meet the demand.

Every child educated at senior school is enabled to reach their potential, and improve their financial circumstances and opportunities in life.  Not only that but they bring something back to their community to improve its economic development and provide opportunities for others to benefit.

This problem was brought to the club’s attention after it was raised by local headteachers with club member Rev. Margaret Fowler during one of her regular (yearly or twice-yearly) visits to the area (Margaret has been travelling there for over 14 years).  

Beneficiaries will be primary school children bright enough to profit from senior school education, who will be enabled to reach their potential.  Better educated young people leverage the economics of their home communities with knock on positive improvements.

Not Taken For Granted

The club voted to sponsor two children for their four-year education in senior school, and applied for a matching District Grant from our District 1240 Foundation Committee.  The District Committee supported the application, the Grant was approved, and the money released.

Unfortunately, District Grants are usually given for one year, and the maximum duration is two years, so another application will have to be made in 2025 for the second two years.

A sub-committee of four club members will work with the local education committee to select the pupils who will benefit most from the sponsorship and monitor their progress through sponsored education via regular updates from the education committee.  Main selection criteria are that the pupils are the brightest but cannot afford senior school, so selection is dependent on their exam results at the end of Primary School.  They must want to go on to further education and their parents agree that they should do so.

So Thankful

Margaret followed up on her recent trip to Kenya, reported elsewhere on this Website, to ensure progress was being made in selecting the two children.  She reports now that local headteacher Lucy Mbogo PHF has contacted her “The exam results are out and the two children most in need of sponsorship are Victoria Kawira and Edwin Njeru”.

There is a tried and tested mechanism for transferring the money to the local Education Committee in order to fund the children, which has been used by Margaret’s church for over eight years with great success, and we will leverage this to ensure that the money reaches the desired recipients. Margaret is obtaining the cost of their fees, and as soon as this is done, we will transfer the money to that local Education Committee.

To repeat what is reported in Margaret’s visit report, one of her previously sponsored pupils, Martin Mugendi, graduated while she was in Kenya.  Margaret attended the family celebration afterwards at which almost everyone gave a speech of congratulations, and thanks for sponsoring Martin.  In particular, Martin remarked how thankful he was too, and that he wants to give back to another young person one day.