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NAME: Komba Suleiman
Age: 17 years
Form 4 (Grade 12) – January, 2019
School: Endana Secondary School– Boarder
PA-MOJA Scholarship started: Form 1 (Grade 9)
Tribe: Borana
Current sponsoring school: Brookswood Secondary School, Langley, BC, Canada
Previous sponsoring school: Walnut Grove Secondary, Langley, BC, Canada
Komba lives with his grandmother in a small village called Depatas in Laikipia East. He is the first born in a family of eight. He has one brother and six sisters. The second, third and fourth born are all girls in class seven, six and five respectively. The fifth and sixth are girls but are yet to join school plus the last born who is a boy.
Komba’s inspirational story started way back in 2010 when he was seven years old and his mother, Fatuma Adan, separated from his father. The children were split between his mother and grandmother. Komba and his second born sister were left under the care of his grandmother while the other six moved away with his mother. His mother had to look for a rental house because his grandmother only had a small one room house.
Komba has no idea what led to his parents’ separation but he remembers that it was the most difficult time in his life because he and his sister often went to bed hungry. Komba’s grandmother is now 76 years old and depends on her children for help. She has her own seven children, two of whom help provide her and her two grandchildren with basic needs. With a lot of struggle and the little money she received, Komba managed to finish his primary education. In the meantime, Komba’s mother did casual work on other people’s farms to earn income to take care for her other six children.
In 2013, when Komba sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (K.C.P.E) at Endana Primary School his marks were not high enough to get him into a good secondary school. He decided to discontinue his education and look for casual jobs. But the jobs were not fulfilling and that’s when his mother and grandmother asked him whether he was willing to repeat grade eight. Komba gladly accepted the offer but this time he decided to go to Uaso Nyiro Primary School which was closer to his home.
However, there were no Grade 8 spots open in the school so Komba was told he had to repeat grade 7 before he could repeat grade 8. He didn’t hesitate. In 2015, he did his K.C.P.E for the second time and managed to score a much higher grade. He was admitted to Endana Secondary School. Unfortunately, the fees required for high school were not available. His grandmother tried approaching various donors with no success. Luckily, she met one of the community representatives, Mr. Salim, who informed her of PA-MOJA’s Scholarship program. With his help, Komba applied and was called for an interview after which he was awarded the scholarship.
Komba comes from the Borana community and he loves many of the cultural traditions. The weddings, for example, are communal. Every member of the community is invited, thus making it exciting and interactive. However, he would change a number cultural practices. For example, he feels there is generally a negative attitude towards education and many children are kept home to tend livestock. He feels that early marriage for young girls (as young as 12) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) should end.
Komba is an ambitious young man and hopes to study Law in university. His favourite subjects are History, English and Christian Religious Education (CRE). His favourite teachers are Mr.Koome, who teaches English, and Mr. Musame, who teaches Swahili. He loves these teachers because they teach with passion and give real life examples in their delivery.
If given a chance to change his school, he would recommend teachers not to be transferred so often. This happens regularly in his school and he misses the teachers when they leave. He would also do a campaign to raise money to buy revision books (Books that give students extra practice on their exams). Students from poor backgrounds like him suffer a lot because they are not able to buy their own.
During school holidays, Komba assists his grandmother with house chores, participates in community clean ups, and does casual jobs in the flower farms. The little he earns is used for buying personal effects and school supplies. In his spare time, Komba loves reading story books and spending time with his siblings. The greatest challenge he faces is during school holidays because there is a lack of space to study (all high school begin every new semester with exams that students are expected to study for during the break) and even to sleep because his grandmother’s house has only one room. To mitigate this, he often spends the night at friends’ houses.
The most important person in Komba’s life is his grandmother who has taken care of him since he was seven years old. She has always taught him the virtues of generosity and being mindful of others.
Komba has a message for his PA-MOJA donors: “I would like to thank all the PA-MOJA donors for this scholarship. Without this support, my grandmother could not have afforded to pay my school fees. My life is now changed forever. Instead of doing farm labour for the rest of my life, or perhaps even becoming a criminal, as so often happens to young unemployed men, I now have hope for my future. Asante Sana. Thank you so much.”
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[one_third_last] December Christmas Greetings,
August 2018 Update, [/one_third_last]
