A 16-year-old bright but needy girl from Mariani village in Gatundu North, who has been working in tea farms due to lack of school fees, can now heave a sigh of relief after a well-wisher came to her rescue.
Sarah Khanali who scored 299 marks in last year's KCPE exam, has been working as a casual labourer in tea farms within the village together with her mother hoping to raise fees for Form 1.
A dejected Khanali said she had sleepless nights thinking about her situation as her peers were in classrooms furthering their students. The acute poverty in their home has also taken a toll on her.
However, the agonising sleepless nights came to an end on Monday when a kind-hearted businessman came to her rescue and paid her four- year school fees at Our Lady of Fatima Kiriko Girls secondary school. He also promised to walk with her through her education journey until she realises her dreams.
Kenneth Wamburu, the proprietor of Imara Lands Investment Ltd, told journalists that the girl's plight touched him after he read about it in the media. He said it reminded him of his struggles back in the day when he would join his single mother to pick coffee in Gatundu North in search for his school fees.
"Khanali's story is similar to mine. We are both raised by single mothers. While she was working in tea farms, I was working in coffee farms seeking to put food on the table and raise school fees. I was also helped by a well-wisher and that's why I have taken up the task of educating her and guiding her until she realises her dreams. She is her family's hope," Wamburu said.
The CEO who also bought the girl her personal effects and some food for her family, said he will closely monitor Khanali's academic journey to ensure she excels and attains good grades to propel her to university.
"I will be keen with her academic performance. You never know she might in the near future be a director in our firm," Wamburu said.
Khanali who couldn't hide her tears of joy promised to focus on her studies and post good results.
The girl who aspires to be a medical doctor said she will work hard until she achieves her dreams of freeing her mother and siblings from the shackles of poverty.
Her mother, Mercy Njeri, thanked the businessman for the kind gesture, adding that she has now been relieved off a burden that was the cause of her despair.
"I am grateful and I pray that God blesses the kind-hearted businessman and the journalists who highlighted our plight," Njeri said.
Kiriko Girls principal Judy Muthoni said the school will mentor the girl and offer her moral and psychological support to ensure she concentrates on her studies and excels academically.
"We understand the situation at her home could have affected her but our counsellors will walk with her through her journey and ensure she shines in her studies. We thank the businessman for the noble gesture," she said.
Muthoni also called on abled individuals and corporates from Gatundu North to give support to learners who are yet join school in the region.
