Girls from poor families in Kilifi excelled in the KCPE exams despite living in a county leading with cases of teenage pregnancies countrywide.
The county made headlines two weeks ago after reports that 13,000 girls in primary and secondary schools were pregnant. However, when Education CS Amina Mohamed announced the results on Monday, among the top performers were two girls from Kilifi North subcounty.
Mercy Nzingo Thoya,16, scored 439 marks, while her long-time competitor at Bambakofi Academy, Rachael Rehema,15, got 434.
Nzingo is a fourth born in family of eight, and was brought up by a single mother after the father abandoned them eight years ago. She wants to join either Alliance Girls’ High School or the Kenya High, and in future become a surgeon.
The girls have already earned admiration in Kilifi county, with the leading girl believed to be number 17 countrywide.
Rehema is the first born in a family of three. She wants to join Alliance Girls’s High School and later become a lawyer.
“I would like to urge my fellow girls to focus on building their future and stop concentrating on their backgrounds as it’s the only way they will work hard to fulfil their dreams,’’ she said.
Coincidentally, they scored 99 marks in Kiswahili.
The student were beneficiaries of the school sponsorship programme, which targets bright needy students from Standard One to Form Four..
When journalists visited their homes, it was joy and celebrations as the two young girls beat all odds to emerge victorious. One of the girls, however, said she did not focus on their poverty, but took courage to work hard.
“I was at home helping my mother doing household chores. My mum and I did not know the results quickly because we were not aware of the process of confirming through SMS,’’ Nzingo said.
It was through the help of a friend who is studying at Kakamega , who helped her to check the results and broke the news.
She expected to do well since she worked hard in school.
“I have been fasting since the exam ended hoping my prayers will be answered. I am very happy for the achievement,’’ she said.
She said her mother warned her against engaging in early sex, as it would ruin her life adding that at school they received a lot of support in form of counseling and encouragement.