Alexander is the lastborn child in a family of four. All his elder siblings have all dropped out of school in primary level due to lack of school fees. His mother is single and unemployed. She has been ailing and can rarely manage to do manual work to cater for her children. Despite all odds alexander managed to perform very well in his primary level education. He is determined to achieve his goal of becoming a doctor in future. As a doctor, he believes that he will help the poor in the society access medical services. Alexander believes that education is the key to success.

Bredah is an outgoing girl who is determined to excel in life despite all odds. She is the third born child in a family of six. Her parents are poor and only does casual jobs to cater for their big family. In school Bredah would get ridiculed by fellow students since her uniform was torn and her parents could not afford to buy her a new one. Despite missing many school days due to school levies, Bredah worked tirelessly to emerge among the best students in her school. Her dream is to become a nurse in future to help many patients who suffer in hospitals due to lack of good care. Bredah believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

Al-Mukhusin is a bright student who shows initiative. He lets his personality shine in the classroom and in drama. Math is his favorite subject, and he hopes to study to become a doctor in the future. Al-Mukhusin is the second oldest of his family, and his older brother attends secondary school elsewhere. His father is an entrepreneur in Monduli, and his mother tends sheep. He looks up to his older brother for direction in his education and values his support and encouragement. Al-MukhusinÕs family is supportive of his education, but is not able to provide for his school fees.

Class 9th student Kshama loves playing badminton and �singing songs. She always participates in class activities and has a friendly nature. In the future, she wants to become a police officer.�

Deborah Nyaboke Nyakwara of Sironga Girls High School in Kisii, I am 14 years old and I am from the Kibera slum in Nairobi. My parents were unable to get the school fees and through the acces of the SHOFCO Scholarship program I managed to join the school. Still I could not get the boarding essentials and took too long at home waiting for my parents to purchase them. During this pandemic we are at home and the truth is that life is harder here than in school. Most times we go to bed without eating anything. We are also restricted in movement and my parents keep us indoors. We also lack facilitators who can help us as teenagers and encourage us to study than we used to be taught in school. I thank you for your support that reduces the burden on my parents.

My name is Hassan Juma. I'm 16 years old. I studied at Olympic Primary School in Kibera where I scored 348 marks out of the possible 500 on the KCPE. I joined Pumwani Secondary school in Starehe constituency, which is in Nairobi county. I am very grateful for the scholarship program. It is the reason why I joined high school since my parents earn very little money. I did not experience harsh challenges in school since I just joined the school and within the first two months we had to be released due to COVID-19 outbreak that has affected the whole world. While at home during this period, my parents struggled and bought me a few revision materials. Currently, I'm revising to boost my knowledge since I do not want to be behind when schools open. I need to work hard and show that the scholarship was really necessary and to appreciate and give back to the community. I have four brothers and one sister plus my two parents. The family is already large and I must work hard to save them from poverty. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to study.

Pranshi is studying in class 9th and is very fond of dancing. She wants to become a Bank Manager in the future. She likes to actively participate in co-curricular activities and is supportive of her classmates.

Ratan studies in class 9th. He likes to participate in the school Science Exhibitions and like to explore different science models. He wants to become an engineer in the future. He enjoys playing different sports in school. He also actively takes part in sports competitions.