Mombasa Cement Reaches Out For Needy Students
Kilifi Governor Gideon Maitha Mung'aro flanked by Mombasa Cement officials, Students and a Parent of the beneficiaries. ( Governors Press Unit)
By Mwakwaya Raymond
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Mombasa Cement Company has come to the aid of four KCPE candidates who had lost hope after failing to secure scholarships to join Form One classes.
It was jubilation and a sigh of relief to the foursome and their families when the company paid all their secondary schools’ fees at their hour of need.
The three from Bandacho Primary School (Magarini Subcounty) and one from Mzongoloni Primary School (Kilifi North Subcounty) received full scholarships (Form One to Form Four) from the Mombasa based philanthropist.
The four students’ plight had been highlighted on the media after failing to take up their secondary placements in their respective schools due to poverty-stricken homes.
Through its general manager Imitias Sayani, the company pledged to do all their shopping as well as improve their living conditions at their homesteads in Kilifi County.
His team, according to him, has been mandated to assess the situation at Bandacho Primary which produced 17 candidates with overv400 marks in last year’s exam with an intention of improving its infrastructure.
Parents of the students expressed gratitude to the donor saying they were ‘surprised’ to receive phone calls requiring them to report at Governor Gideon Mung’aro’s office.
“That was a God-sent surprise to receive a call from a stranger who volunteered to pay school fees for your child for four years! May His Almighty show him with grace and plenty,” said one of the parents in disbelief of his fortune.
Another one Kadzo Karisa Wanje said she had prayed a lot since her twin girls completed Standard Eight hoping against hope that they will find a donor to support their secondary schooling.
“I’m feeling very happy that my prayers have been answered and my girls will proceed with their education at secondary level,” she added.
The twin girls – Mary Kulola Gilbert and Esther Wanyinya scored 363 and 369 marks respectively and had been called to join Mwasere Girls Secondary School in Taita Taveta County.
The beneficiaries thanked the donor for his gesture and promised not to let him down by performing even better at secondary level so as to realise their academic dreams.
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro said he would partner with well-wishers and local Members of Parliament to ensure that all students from poor backgrounds are sponsored to achieve their academic dreams.
He announced that his administration would from July this year increase the allocation for scholarships from the current Sh350 million per year to Sh1 billion to ensure that all deserving students are taken through secondary and tertiary education.
“With the enhanced kitty and collaboration with investors in the county, I do not see any reason why a child of Kilifi will not go to school,” he said.
He however said his administration would ensure that only deserving cases get assisted and that through a synchronized data base, none of them will receive scholarships from more than one organization.
He urged parents to be truthful while seeking sponsorship for their children, noting that some were dishonest.
“Recently, a parent applied for scholarship for his child from the Cooperative Bank of Kenya but when the bank scrutinized records, it discovered that the parent had a lot of money in his bank account and disqualified the student,” he said.
Early this week, renowned televangelist Ezekiel Odero of Life Ministries church sponsored three students to the tune of Sh700,000 and undertook to meet the cost of education for another 100 students from poor backgrounds in Kilifi County.
