On the 2nd of May, 2013, the secondary students with full bursaries from PA-MOJA were brought together at Ol Pejeta Conservancy to meet each other and share their views. They discussed some of the challenges they have faced and the benefits they get from PA-MOJA sponsorship.
This is the list of those who attended from various secondary schools:
Endana Secondary School – Beatrice Ekomwa & Lepapa Yasoi Nangunye
Nanyuki High School – James Semeiyan & Boniface Githaiga
St.Augustine Sirima Secondary School – David Kariuki, Emmaculate Njeri Wanjiru, Simon Ngatia Njoki, & Jackline Naishorua
Tigithi Secondary School – Fredrick Maina, Francis Kariuki, & Elizabeth Wanjiru Macharia
Thome Boys Secondary School – Josep Kiragu Wanguru, Kelvin k. Mwangi, Christopher Mwangi Wanguru, & Patrick Kiiru
Dol Dol Secondary School – Kennedy Kihara Wachira & Emmanuel Leaduma
Materi Girls School – Teresa Wanja
Sweetwaters Secondary School – Joel Ndung’u
All of the students were very happy to have this opportunity to meet and they all said that PA-MOJA had transformed their lives. Some of their personal stories are given here:
Lepapa Yasoi from Endana Secondary School (who is in Form 3 /Grade 11) was particularly happy and really prayed that God would bless PA-MOJA for changing his life. Becoming a boarder at Endana has helped him to overcome the hardships he used to go through while he was a day scholar. This is what he said: “I used to walk for 2 km every morning to come to school and back home in the evening through the wild with the fear of being attacked by wild animals, especially elephants. I also didn’t have a chance to do my preps in the evening and early in the morning due to lack of lamp paraffin and I couldn’t wash my clothes with soap since my parents could not afford to buy soap. These challenges almost made me lose hope of progressing with my education. I thank God for the help I got from PA-MOJA since I know my dream is coming true. My parents were equally happy when we got the news from Ol Pejeta that I would be sponsored by PA-MOJA through my secondary education. All I can say is, may God bless you and I promise to work hard to attain a higher grade than what I got last term which was a C-.”
Teresa Wanja, a student at Materi Girls School (who has a single mother ailing from blood cancer, 3 brothers and 1 sister) said: “Despite what I am going through in life due to the pain of my mother’s illness, I still managed to get an aggregate grade of a B- last term though I know I have the potential of attaining a B+ and above. My family is very poor and my two elder brothers did not manage to finish school. My other brother and sister went through so many hardships while at school that they did not perform so well at the end of their Form 4 (Grade 12). This is why I know that I am so lucky to be sponsored by PA-MOJA. I know I will achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer in the future in order to protect the poor people who are oppressed by the rich in society since they lack money to hire lawyers when in problems.”
All the students had something to be happy about from the financial support coming from PA-MOJA. They all shared their past experiences before and after getting aid from PA-MOJA, both at school and at home.
Joel Ndung’u (a Form 3/Grade 11 student at Sweetwaters Secondary school) was particularly happy to relate his life experience with the PA-MOJA team in Kenya last August. His family’s semi-permanent house accidentally got burnt up and the PA-MOJA team arranged for a new home to be constructed and gave them furniture, clothes and food. He further explained to his fellow students how his life has drastically changed positively since he got help from PA-MOJA. He said that he now enjoys being at school throughout the term since his fees are cleared in time. He also said his school has greatly benefited from the PA-MOJA through Ol Pejeta since it now has cows that provide milk for their porridge and teachers’ tea at 10am. Also cow dung is going into the biogas tank to produce methane which the school is planning to use for cooking. Joel said, “We also have got water storage tanks that have been donated to us by the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. This has greatly helped the students as we used to fetch water after classes from the community water pump and even at the dams outside the school for cooking of our meals.”
He concluded by giving thanks to Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the PA-MOJA team for the work they are doing and praying that he will perform well in his studies to be emulated by his younger siblings and to help the needy in future.
During their visit to Ol Pejeta, students engaged in a number of activities. Here, Kelvin Kariuki a student at Thome, picks up a pencil and explains to the rest of the students why it inspires him:
1. It always leaves a mark wherever it writes and so he always wishes to leave a positive mark in the society he lives in.
2. It also can be erased wherever it makes an error. Kelvin said that he would always wish to be corrected wherever he makes a mistake just like the pencil’s mark is always correctable.
3. The inner part of the pencil always has to be sharpened whenever it starts to become dull. He wants to emulate this since he wants to get good ideas from people to improve his life and accept help to be uplifted when he is down.
Below are other photos of the PA-MOJA sponsored students during their visit to Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
I am very overwhelmed by the work that PA-MOJA is doing in different sectors.I am a second year student at South Eastern Kenya University pursuing an undergraduate course in Bsc. Range Management.I reside in Laikipia North.Is there any assistance that a university or college student can acquire from PA-MOJA,because some of us in Laikipia are really struggling in school to pay our school fees and maintenances with hardships.
Hi Francis,
Thanks for looking into our website and for appreciating our work. On special cases we do assist students in universities and colleges though our funds are mostly concentrated in giving basic education (primary and secondary) to the most needy children in the communities surrounding the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Thank God you were able to get education to the secondary level and now you are somewhere struggling to pursue your career dream as there are some children in our society who cannot even afford to go through primary and secondary due to poverty. Again we do not choose the bursary students, the community and the local leaders do. Thanks again and all the best in your studies.