Rachael Muthui scored 325 marks in last year’s KCPE examination but she is yet to report to Viulya Girls Secondary School in Machakos due to lack of fees.
The 17-year-old girl from Mwangeni in Mwingi East, Kitui, and the eighth born in a family of 11 risks losing her Form One chance.
None of her elder siblings has ever been to secondary school.
Rachael's dream is to become a lawyer and uplift her family from the bondage of poverty. She is a single-parent child, her father having died several years ago leaving mother Syomiti Muthui to fed for 11 children.
Rachael led a class of 18 at Kyandii Primary School.
She sat the exam while sick, according to her teachers. Now she desperately needs a sponsor to pay for her secondary school education.
Many a time, the family goes to bed on empty stomachs. It depends on relief food and assistance from well-wishers.
“I dream of becoming a topmost lawyer. I plead with any well-wisher to help me realise my dream,” Rachael told the Star on Monday.
Her former class teacher, Samuel Moses, recalled that Rachael and her family never had enough to eat. Often, the school donated food to her family.
“The girl managed to complete her primary school mainly through teachers' help,” Mwamba said.
Kyandii deputy headteacher David Kimanzi said Rachael is disciplined and focused.
"She can go places if supported as she is very committed to her studies. If assisted financially, Rachael will never disappoint,” Kimanzi said.