Microfinance firm issues full scholarship to 15 Coast students

Fifteen-year-old Robert Keah’s dream of becoming a bank accountant was almost dead when he received the 2021 KCPE results where he scored 270 marks.

He had hopped for higher marks, at least 300.

He knew with the failure to hit his target, he would not secure any sponsorship and his single mother, Margaret Karisa, would struggle to raise the required school fees.

“And then I received admission to Barani Secondary School, which was not my first choice, but my mother had to take me there without any fees,” Keah said.

However, microfinance firm Watu Credit came to his rescue.

Keah is one of 15 lucky students to benefit from a full scholarship from the firm, which will take care of all the needs of the students throughout their four-year-stay in high school.

Speaking at Bliss Hotel in Mombasa where the 15 students were unveiled, Watu Credit country manager Andrii Volokha said they want the dreams of pupils to come true.

“We do it for our clients and their children. We are in regular contact with our clients. We want to go beyond micro-financing and to support education of the Kenyan children,” Volokha said.

Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki said the scholarship from Watu Credit will help boost the transition numbers from primary to secondary.

So far this year, 45 per cent of learners in Mombasa who are supposed to be in secondary school have not joined, according to the senator.

“This programme will help increase enrolment to secondary school and help achieve the government’s 100 per cent transition target,” Faki said.

He said the four-year scholarship lightens the burden of parents struggling to take their children through school.

“It is now up to the learners to work hard in class. The fees will be paid according to the learner’s output,” Faki said.

The senator said the girl child has more challenges than the boy child in their education journey and thus, naturally, more girls will be enrolled in the scholarship programme.

He said the challenges include early pregnancies and early marriages, among others.

Karisa said being a single mother, she has been struggling to educate her son and many times contemplated giving up.

“I hope with this [assistance from Watu Credit], my son will achieve his dream because now I am confident he will complete his secondary school,”she said.

Derrick Owasa, 15, has also benefitted from the scholarship.

He scored 327 marks in 2021 KCPE and received admission to Mwala High School in Ukambani.

“My mother did not like the school and took me to Bungoma High School instead, closer home,” Owasa said.

Her mother, Hellen Asiko, said Owasa’s father lost his job four years ago and has since been struggling to keep Owasa in school.

“So it is a struggle to ensure I provide for them. I even lost a lot of sleep,” Asiko said.

“It has not been easy. I thank God for Watu Credit.”

Owasa’s brother is also in primary school.

Volokha said majority of their clients are boda boda riders, meaning most of them will be the beneficiaries of the scholarship programme.

(edited by Amol Awuor)