Syombua's 2018 school year has been fully funded! Click here to support a similar student.

Raised $500 from 1 donor Needs $0

About

Syombua is the last-born child in a family of eight. She completed her primary education in 2014 at Mavitini Primary School, performing exceptionally well in her final exams. Her good performance earned her a place in a good girls boarding secondary school. Her parents were so proud of her and they used all their savings to make sure that she was enrolled in the school, but luck was not on her side as their father, the only breadwinner was laid off from work. Syombua has two siblings already in day secondary schools and the challenge of paying school fees for the three children is now overwhelming to the father who has now turned to casual menial jobs to support the family. The future of Syombua seems bleak and she may not go back to school in the second term of the year. Though fate seems to rob her the opportunity to be in school, Syombua has always been determined to attain good education. For her, a good education is the only hope to secure a bright future.

Where your donation goes

Total $500
  • Tuition
    $225
  • Boarding & Food
    $250
  • Caution Money
    $6
  • Activity Fee
    $13
  • Medical
    $6

Syombua's Funding history

Year Grade Receipt Status
2018 Form 4
2017 Form 3
2016 Form 2

Journal

Use the journal feature to write directly to a student

attach photo (no copyrighted images):
Must log in to post a new journal entry.
Lydia
Fri, June 29, 2018 at 1:49 am GMT
Hello Syombua,
Megan is in France right now and I am not sure if she had the chance to write you back. I am glad to hear that you and your family are well! When will you graduate? Do you have any plans for after graduation? Will you return home or onto further schooling or work? Best wishes to you and your family.
Warmly,
Lydia
Syombua
Tue, June 19, 2018 at 10:29 am GMT
Hello.Hope you are good and doing well. We have come for a short mid term break .Back in Kenya am also fine and doing well more so on my academics.My family is also well.I am rely working hard in order to achieve my target.We are now thanking our God because he has shown mercy on us.He has blessed us with plenty of rain.For those who cultivated well they are sure of getting plenty of food.Anyway i am very grateful for your support of school fees I hope that,my GOD will bless you.
Syombua
Thu, March 1, 2018 at 10:06 am GMT
Hi,hope you are fine and doing fine,I am also fine and doing fine
more so on my academics.My family is also fine.Last week we went home for our short mid-term holiday which took place for a whole week.I am very grateful for the support of school fees. Hope God will bless you.I am still working hard to achieve my target. Hope you are aware that this is my final year in high school. Drought it is still there hence it is becoming worse and worse.We are still praying to God so that we my overcome the situation we are in.It is not pleasing at all simply because many people are going without food and others engaged into crime and many evil things.It is my hope that my God will have mercy on us. GOOD BYE
Lydia
Mon, February 5, 2018 at 11:54 pm GMT
Hi Syombua,

I am so sorry to hear about the drought and the havoc it has caused on the crops. Hopefully it will be over soon, if it is not already gone while I am writing this. I too hope you succeed at school so that you may go to university. I believe you have the chops to do it! School has been quite busy for me as well, but I only have approximately four months left until it ends. Then everything will let up and summer will come! It is the time of year when everyone is hearing back from the colleges they applied to, and it is exciting to see all my friends succeeding with their applications. I hope that they will all attend schools that are right for them and that they enjoy their time wherever they are. You are certainly on that list of friends I hope will succeed!

Love,
Megan

P.S. My family says hello to you and yours and pray that everything is well.
Syombua
Wed, January 3, 2018 at 11:06 am GMT
Hi Megan,
It's my hope that you are fine and doing well.Back in Kenya the climate is somehow rough since the start of this month.Our crops which we had planted have dried up hence drought.Hope God will have mercy on us.Now am proceeding back to school after my long holiday and am very happy because am going to overcome the sunny.Am glad for your generous support unto my education.May the lord hear your prayers that I to be a university material.I wish you all the best and may the lord bless you abudantly.My parents also said hi to you and your parents.
Syombua
Lydia
Sat, November 4, 2017 at 10:31 pm GMT
Hi Syombua,

This is Megan writing. I just wanted to let you know in the beginning as my mother usually writes to you through this website. I am sorry to hear about the drought as well as the political unrest. My friend Andre who is from Kenya was telling us about the election, so I have been keeping up on it. My mother also told me about the recent havoc wrought by the opposition declining to partake. I hope everything sorts itself out and justice is served. Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers.
I just paid for your final year of high school! I finally saved enough from helping my neighbor with her groceries! Now I will start saving for college. College is expensive in the United States, so I am saving up money so that I do not have to leave college in debt. I have nearly finished my college application. I simply have to review it and then send it in. However, the application only applies to American schools and I also intend to apply to Trinity College, which is in Dublin, Ireland. Therefore, I have to finish that application. Then, once all that is done, I wait for them to respond to me. It is both an exciting and nerve-wracking time in my life. I hope you get into university too! You deserve it!
My mother and father say hi and hope you and yours are doing well with all that is happening.

Best,
Megan
Syombua
Wed, November 1, 2017 at 11:15 am GMT
Dear LYDIA

First I apologize for not replying the journal back. I am very sorry for that. It is my hope that, you will forgive me. I have been well those many days, working hard in school and also doing well on my studies. I hope you have been well. I am very glad for the support of school fees. May the lord bless you abundantly? In our country there is a lot of drought due to inadequate rainfall. We are still struggling to overcome it. So far we have already planted our crops and we are not sure whether there will be enough rain. We are pleading to our God. Last August we had general election and we were able to choose leaders of our choice. Although for now we don’t have president. It was said that the election was unfair. The court decided we have a repeat presidential election. It was done on 26th this month though the main opposition declined to take part citing major irregularities with the election body. So far they have announced the incumbent president as the president elect. The opposition is talking of civil disobedience so we do not know what will happen next. We are just praying to God. We have no peace in places many people have been killed innocently. Hope you will also pray for our country.

I am happy to hear that Megan is doing well. Has she joined university? I am so sorry I did not reply to her post. I usually write my journals at Kenya connect where there is access to Internet. We do not have Internet at school. In August when we closed school I did not get to Kenya connect since I was not feeling well so I went back to school without reading my journals.

We are now currently out of school for 2 months and we will resume in January. Next year will be my final year in high school and I am working extra hard to attain good graded to go to University. I will keep you posted.

Wishing you all the best. Pass my warm regards to Megan
Lydia
Wed, September 13, 2017 at 1:59 pm GMT
Hi Syombua,
The school year has just started here and we were wondering how you are doing. We hope that you and your family are all well. Please drop us a line and let us know. Megan wrote you a letter that I am not sure you saw. (It is posted.) Right now she is in Maine (the state farthest north on the eastern side of the US) with her classmates. This is a very big year for her as she will need to apply to schools to continue her education next year.
Warmly,
Lydia
Lydia
Fri, June 23, 2017 at 12:46 pm GMT
Hi Syombua,

I am well and glad that you are also. Did you see the letter that Megan wrote you bellow? Please give my best to your family.

Lydia
Syombua
Thu, June 22, 2017 at 10:30 am GMT
Hi Lydia
How are you, Hope you are fine and doing fine.Now I am at home for my mid-term break which lasts for one week.Am very glad glad for the support of school fees may lord bless you abundantly.I am still working hard in my studies to achieve my goals.I wish you all the best.
Lydia
Tue, June 6, 2017 at 2:06 am GMT
Dear Syombua!

I am so sorry I haven’t written in a long time! I hope all is well with you and yours. I am so sorry to hear about the drought in Kenya currently. Please do keep us posted on all that is happening with your family. I also wanted you to know that I plan to keep in touch more. I just figured out that you can receive these messages all the time whereas if I send you an email to school you can only see it while you are in session. So I’ll try to time my messages for when you are in school, but I can always write you here as well!
My school year ends in just over a week. I am particularly excited for this summer because I am going to be doing many new things, the first of which is attending a summer camp. The camp is a week long program called Journalism, Film, and Media Arts at American University. I will be taking a Scriptwriting and Video Production class where I write a film and produce it with other students at the camp. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and now I have the opportunity! In addition to this, I am going to have an exchange student stay at my house for part of the summer. Her name is Marine and she lives in Paris, France. I have never met her in person before, so I hope that I like her. If not, it is only three or so weeks of my life, so it’s not the end of the world. I have a feeling we will get along, though. I have been emailing her and she seems so kind. We also have much in common with each other. The icing on the cake is that my friend who moved to Colorado last year is going to visit D.C. for a week or so. I haven’t seen her all year, and although we FaceTime, it is simply not the same as seeing each other in person.
I have been feeling a little anxious recently as next year I will have to decide where I want to go to college. To get into college though, I have to write top-notch essays and do well on a couple of tests. Though there are schools that are test optional, many require that you take some tests and some require additional tests. I have already taken some, but I know I will have to take them again if I want better results. I am lucky that I can take the tests multiple times, though. I know I shouldn’t worry about what isn’t a problem yet, but I can’t seem to help the anticipation. I think it is because I know I will be incredibly busy next year as a senior in high school and it will be difficult to juggle testing and school. However, I know senior year is full of many wonderful moments and I don’t want to squander my last year with my class, whom I love. That is a ways off from now though, so I will try not to fret about it anymore.

Again, I hope all is well with you and yours!

Love,
Megan
Lydia
Wed, November 2, 2016 at 11:48 am GMT
Hi Syombua,
It's so nice to hear from you. Megan just mentioned this morning over breakfast that she was planning to write you and then I opened my email and found your note! I am glad to hear you are doing well and working hard. We are all well here. Megan had two accidents in PE in the last 6 months which has required her to have many doctor visits. She will be fine and is much better now, but it hasn't been much fun for her. (or me for) School is getting very busy for her and I continue to work on building my school. (This will take several years, so forgive me if I repeat myself.)
We wish you a very merry Christmas as well, and the perfect amount of rain! Please give our best to your family.
Warmly,
Lydia
Syombua
Wed, November 2, 2016 at 10:36 am GMT
Lydia
Hi, hope you are fine and doing well. I am also fine and proceeding well with my studies. We have closed school for the December holiday. We shall be at home for 2 months. During the holiday I will be doing private studies and also helping my parents. We are nearing the rain season and we are already preparing our farms to plant. Hope the rains will be adequate for our crops to grow. How are the rest of your family? Pass my warms regards to them. I am wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Hope to hear from you

Syombua
Syombua
Tue, August 16, 2016 at 11:59 am GMT
Hi Lydia
Hope you are fine. I am also fine and proceeding on with my studies. We have now closed school for August holiday. I have been doing well in school. I really love my school and enjoy while am there. My teachers are very helpful. They are social with students. Also the students can ask them anything. My school is a nice place to be. In school I have found good friends we help each other. During the holiday I will help my parents in household chores and also do private studies. I am always thankful for your support toward on my studies. May God bless you abundantly? Say hi to your family members and WISHING YOU A NICE SUMMER.

Syombua
Lydia
Fri, July 1, 2016 at 12:05 pm GMT
Hi Syombua,
We wish you a lovely summer as well. So far ours is very pleasant. The weather has been quite nice for this time of year, so I hope it continues! I'm sorry that my last post was a little confusing - Megan hasn't actually graduated. She just had her last day of school for the year. It is always a big rush of work and social activity at the end of the school year, and then the first weeks of summer are blessed relief!

We are only planning one small trip this summer, but I am very busy as I am designing a charter high school to be located in Washington DC. (Our house in Maryland is only a mile and a half from the Washington DC border.) I plan to locate the school in the section of DC that has the poorest students. I currently do some volunteer work there and feel very committed to this community. But it is a big project and may take a few years to really get off the ground.

Do you enjoy your school? Are your teachers helpful? I hope you have found some good friends. Working hard is important to making progress, but it is certainly not the only thing that is important. :-) I hope that your school is a nice place to be.

Please send our best to your family.
Lydia
older entries

Share Syombua's story

Other Students

100% of your donations to students fund their education.

  • Godfridi

    0%

    Godfridi

    Tanzania

    Experiences in my life are when I failed my examination during primary education and also when my parents failed to pay food for me. My difficult experiences in my life are when my parents have insufficient enough money to pay for all my basic needs at school such as food and other school contributions. The thing that makes me feel so proud of myself is when I succeeded in joining O-level education. This makes me feel that I will, I must, I can do everything. The most memorable and happiest thing in my life will be to reach my dream of being a doctor general so as I can help other people in society. My future dream is to be a GOOD surgical doctor. After me reaching my dream, I will give back help to my society and family, but also to WEF. I need to work hard upon reaching my dream in my life. Once I get chance to have power of changing anything in country, I will improve the education system by converting science subjects from theory to practical. In most of our schools, they teach science subjects mostly theoretically. I will start from there because as we know education is the key to every success in our people.

    • Raised $0
    • Needs $200

    School Year 2024

  • Bertha

    42%

    Bertha

    Tanzania

    Notable experiences in my life are, first, passing my standard seven examination and, second, entering secondary school. My most difficult experience was when I started to learn English. I have learned that if you want to do something, you have to work hard. I felt proud was when I entered secondary school. My most memorable and happiest thoughts are from when I celebrated at my birthday party. My dream is to be an electrical engineer. I will get there through studying hard and doing well in science subjects. If I had the power to change my country, I would like to improve the electricity supply especially in rural areas because there are shortages of electric power.

    • Raised $105
    • Needs $145

    School Year 2024

  • Seraphine

    0%

    Seraphine

    Tanzania

    The experience that I had early in life was to score good marks in my class, whereby I got good grades which encouraged me to study hard in class. The difficult experience that occurred in my life was an accident on my way back home. I learnt that I should not play again in bad areas. In my life I am proud of myself. I was getting low marks in class but now I have managed to improve a lot. The most memorable and happiest thing in my life is to play football. It exercises my body regularly and hence strengthens my body system. My dream is to become a mechanical engineer. The best way to reach it is through studying hard in school, in physics, mathematics and chemistry. If I had power in my country, I would change the education system of the country so that it helps graduates to depend more on self-employment.

    • Raised $0
    • Needs $150

    School Year 2024

    • See more students