SHOFCO

Brenda is the 3rd born in a family of 4 girls. Her mother is a housewife and her father works as a casual laborer in Kibera. Despite the little income that her parents earn, they have always prioritized her education and made sure they pay for her school fees, books, uniforms and anything else required. Brenda has really internalized the significance of education and has become a well-rounded, dynamic, and ambitious student. Brenda dreams of studying medicine and engineering, both in an effort to uplift those who live in poverty. Through medicine, she aims to “give back to society, by advocating for free health facilities and accessible dispensaries for everyone.” Her main aim in studying engineering “is to come up with ideas that can help the unemployed people to make their ends meet by creating more innovations in the country.”

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.

"I am currently not living a very good life, where at times i go without food. I would like to work hard so that I do not live the same life that I go through now. If I succeed I will become a doctor in the future, based on my hard work in the relevant subjects. I have always wanted to be a doctor, and I am working hard towards that. I believe that if I work hard and excel in my studies I will join the university. I then hope to give back to the community through teaching or offering voluntary services."

"My aunt has been helping by buying my books since my mother died...In the future I would like to be a doctor so that I can help my family out of this poverty and also help our community against all the crimes. I want to help us to have good health services. Through becoming successful in education I will be able to help my society and support them. In the years to come I am hoping to be working as a doctor. I will be saving lives and use it to help my family and community at large."

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.

"I have been able to get through school to this point with the assistance of my uncle...Someday I would like to have a company which deals in making electronics. I would like to go abroad and play football and draw."