Against all odds: Students conquer adversity to shine
From Nakuru town’s notorious informal settlements to the numerous rescue centres across the country, hundreds of Standard Eight candidates overcame adversity to post sterling results in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination.
Take the case of Hamdi Abikar from Al Huddah Primary School in Mandera County, who overcame the serious security challenges in the region to become the first girl ever to clinch a top position in the county after scoring 405 marks.
Abikar was followed closely by Mohammed Mohammud and Abdi Abdirahman from the same school, who scored 404 and 403 marks, respectively, in the KCPE exams whose results were released on Monday.
The delighted Abikar thanked her parents and teachers for guiding her throughout her primary education cycle.
“I promise that I will not let you down in future,” she assured a cheering crowd yesterday.
Or the 55 Standard Eight candidates who were rescued from the streets and inhabitable environments and had to sit their exams from numerous rescue centres run by the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK) across the country.
Augustine Kamau from CWSK Mji wa Salama Centre in Mombasa topped the team with an enviable score of 404 marks, followed by Alphonse Oyaro from CWSK Nanyuki Centre who scored 400 marks.
The best girl in the group, Mary Atieno, from Mama Ngina Children’s Home in Nairobi’s South C area scored 373 marks.
Augustine, 14 years old and who dreams of becoming an electrical engineer, hopes to join Alliance High School in Kiambu County for his secondary education.
He is most grateful to CWSK chief executive officer Irene Mureithi for the support she had accorded him since he joined the centre. He also thanks his Kiswahili and English teachers for helping him do well in languages.
“The results have come as a surprise to me and I am very happy. I want to especially thank my Kiswahili and English teachers for helping me do well in languages which I always struggled with. My best subject is mathematics,” he said.
Thirty-one candidates among the 55 CWSK-sponsored children scored 300 marks and above. Only one candidate scored below 200 marks. The children come from the CWSK centres in Mombasa, Nairobi, Murang’a, Kisii, Isiolo, Bungoma and Nanyuki.
“We are very happy with the performance. This year the children have done very well as almost everyone scored above 250 marks. It will be easy to get good secondary schools for them,” said Ms Mureithi.
The organisation, she said, was always at the forefront when it comes to promotion of children’s rights, noting that the society was keen on ensuring that every Kenyan child enjoys the right to education.
From Nakuru’s Kaptembwo informal settlement, Paul Ndirangu, who sat his exams at the Nakuru West Adventist School, overcame all odds to score 399 marks. The results sent the slum dwellers into a frenzy converting the institution into a celebration ground for hours before moving around the constituency.
Team effort
Admirably speaking in fluent English, a confident Ndirangu aspires to continue chasing his dream of becoming a doctor as he seeks to join Mangu Boys High School.
“I am elated with the results, I only missed one mark (to get 400) but I know I will perform better in high school,” said Ndirangu.
According to the institution’s headteacher, David Mainye, team effort was key in achieving the results, noting that there was need to ensure students are always in school for studies.
Monica Wairimu has her stars to thank for the far she got with education. She had dropped out of school at class four to tend to her siblings. She got menial jobs and one day as she went to Mutuini Hope Centre, Dagoretti to fetch water her life changed.
Monica was being used by villagers to fetch water and wash clothes for them at a small fee. While at the centre a manager asked her what her story was. She said going back to school was her heart’s desire. At 17, she joined Dr Muthiora Primary School and underwent an acceleration programme. At 21, and having scored 304 marks, she cannot wait to join secondary school and one day become a medic.
In another informal settlement in Subukia, Esther Warigia from Vision Academy also overcame serious challenges to score 410 marks.
In an interview, Warigia said she was not expecting the good results, adding that hard work and commitment were behind the impressive score.
“I wish to join Kenya High and later become a lecturer, I was panicking when I heard the first student had 428… I thought we had all failed,” she said.
At the Kapenguria Townview Academy in West Pokot County, the three top students want to join Lenana, Kenya High and Alliance Girls High schools after scoring more than 400 marks.
Michael Oluoch Onyango who topped at the school with 417 marks and Marion Chelimo who got 415, want to join Lenana School and Alliance Girls High School, respectively. Speaking to KNA at the school amid celebrations, the two top pupils said although they believed they would perform well, they were surprised to score the high marks.
The soft-spoken Onyango aspires to become a pilot whereas Chelimo dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon just like her close friend Shantel Saliamo, who scored 409 and wishes to join Kenya High.
“The examination was a bit fair although I experienced a few difficulties when answering comprehension questions in the Kiswahili Paper,” explained an elated Chelimo.
In the neighbouring Baringo County, several candidates defied the wave of insecurity in the area to post impressive results.
At Kapindasum Primary School in Baringo South sub-county, there was celebration after the 26 candidates scored 250 marks and more with 20 of them attaining 300 marks and above.
Top performers at the school included Allan Kibowen (363 marks), Evelyn Kendagor (357), Mary Kiparor (346), Emmanuel Koech (342), Sharon Jeruto (340), Hillary Kiptis (336), Victor Mursoi (328) and Kelvin Cherogony, who scored 327 marks.
Insecurity cases
The top candidate at the school, Wilson Kandie, scored 367 marks while Rachael Kimossop, the top girl, scored 365 marks.
Teachers, parents and residents yesterday said the performance was beyond their expectations.
“This is a breed to watch. Congratulations to their teachers and gratitude to everyone who gave them hope and assurance. Resilience is the word,” said Carol Korir, a resident.
Many exam centres in the region were being manned by security personnel throughout the examination period following rampant cases of insecurity.
During the start of the examination, armed bandits struck Kapkosom village in Baringo South, a few kilometres from an examination centre.
The incident happened near Karne Primary School, an examination centre with more than 82 candidates from Karne, Koitilil and Kapkechir Primary schools who were also displaced by bandit attacks.
Education officials and local administrators had to arrange boarding facilities for the candidates after their families fled the area as the children were preparing for exams. The attackers descended on the border village at 10am and started torching houses, with reports indicating that they had held hostage some residents who were fleeing to safety.
Stories by Wycliffe Kipsang, Roy Lumbe, Alvin Mwangi and KNA
