"All these years my parents have been struggling paying school fees through hard work. Since it has been so difficult for my parents to manage paying my school fees and my siblings, that is why we are applying for this scholarship so that we can do well and so that none of us needs to drop out. In my life my dream has been to be a great doctor. Being a doctor is not an easy thing, someone needs to work hard so as to succeed and this is not an easy thing without school fees. I would like to help the coming generation because some will need our help as we need yours. But all in all praise will always be to God."

"I am in a family of five and I am the fourth born. It has even become a problem for my mum to feed us all. I would like to prosper in my academics in order to help to lift my family out of poverty. My plan is to make sure that I will go to university, where I will pursue my academics and become one of the best engineers in the country. Engineers have always inspired me. I see myself giving back to the community and helping to lift other people's lives out of poverty."

Mary's mother cooks chapati every day at 6 AM to sell. Sometimes she does not make enough money from selling the chapati and has to also wash clothes. Her mother was able to scrape together enough money for her to finish primary school, but she has always been unable to afford textbooks. Mary's father is jobless. Despite these struggles, Mary dreams of being an accountant one day. It is only through outside financial help that she will be able to finish secondary school and achieve her ambitions.

Brigance is the second born in his family. His father works as a security guard and is the primary breadwinner. When he was two years old, Brigance lost eyesight in his left eye after an injury. As a result, he is passionate about assisting disabled individuals for the betterment of society. In the future, he aspires to become an environmentalist. He cares deeply about protecting the environment and aims to do so through clean-up projects, waste management initiatives, and tree planting campaigns -- all in an effort to "help Kenya achieve 10% vegetation by 2030."

Joanrose dreams of studying medicine in order to help people suffering from deadly diseases. She would also like to fight against drug abuses and prostitution in her neighborhood. She is worried about the influence of drugs on young people in her neighborhood and she wants to combat drug use in order to make her community stronger. Her parents are very sick and this makes it difficult for them to pay her school fees. It is also difficult on her psychologically. She feels that if she gets an education she will be better able to take care of her parents and improve her own future.

For years my father had been the bread winner of the house. In 2012 when he was killed I was in standard four but after that day I dedicated most of my time to helping my mother with casual labor. Every moment I was not able to attend school regularly. My mother started to wash clothes and sell dagaa [omena] to people for her to buy food. Mother always does her best but still it's not enough to balance with school fees. I thank SHOFCO for the opportunity to further my studies.

"In our house, we lacked food and clothes. Sometimes I share clothes with my cousin. I rarely got anything to eat at home and sometimes it made it hard to concentrate in class. Sometimes my mom is able to make enough money washing clothes for us to eat but not always. My future plans and aspirations is that I would like to be a surgeon. My second plan is to help girl children in the community. In 10 years I would like to be in the United Kingdom helping Kenyan people with medical problems and doing research. I would also like to help street children."

"My ambition in the future is to get good grades throughout my high school career. I want to join a campus and study as a cardiologist. I would like to get a job at one of the biggest hospitals in Kenya and also be traveling from place to place treating people with heart problems. In 10 years to come I would like to find myself flying from place to place treating people. My inspiration is to help the poor and educate the children who can't help themselves in which I can form an organization that helps to sponsor those who are in need. I will also not forget these people who helped me go to school. I will help them in any way I can. My personal goal is to help my parents move to a better place and to buy them some of the things that they will want in the years to come."

"Where I live is not pleasing to the eyes. Coming from a family of seven, and myself being the firstborn, my family members look up to me as their future helper. It has been a very difficult task in paying school fees and for uniforms up to now. I cannot afford to buy books. When I finish my education, I would like to be a neurosurgeon. Many people suffer from problems, and there are not enough qualified doctors to treat this problem. People cannot get treated in Kenya. If I become a doctor, my parents will no longer live in the slums. I will make life heaven on Earth for them. I will also use my earning to pay school fees for my younger siblings."