- The first time he sat the KCPE exam, Omondi scored 357 marks. He sat the exam at Malongo Primary School and was posted to Homa Bay High School.
- After last year's exam, he secured a place at Kanga Boys National School in Migori county.
Austin Omondi was about to repeat Standard 8 a second time, despite having excelled twice in the KCPE exam.
His parents could not raise the amount required for him to join high school.
The first time he sat the KCPE exam, Omondi scored 357 marks. He sat the exam at Malongo Primary School and was posted to Homa Bay High School.
His parents did not have the money for him to join high school, however, so he opted to repeat Std 8, hoping that the next year he would get a well-wisher to pay his fees.
Omondi scored 409 marks in the 2019 KCPE exam and secured a place at Kanga Boys National School in Migori county.
“I was losing hope of joining Form 1 again because my parents were unable to raise the amount required. I wanted to repeat until my parents raise enough money because I didn’t want to join a local school,” he said.
Just as he was about to lose hope, Homa Bay Woman Representative Gladys Wanga came to his rescue. This was after his plight was shared on social media.
On Thursday evening, Wanga visited his parents' home in Malongo village, Suba South constituency.
She offered Omondi a full scholarship through the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). Wanga’s office will pay the boy’s school fees from Form 1 to 4.
“I have bought all the items required by the school out of my pocket. But the school fees for the four years will be addressed by my NGAAF office,” the woman rep said.
Wanga, who was accompanied by the NGAAF chairperson Caroline Owidhi, said, “The story of this boy is very sad.”
Omondi said Wanga’s intervention will enable him to achieve his dream of becoming a neurosurgeon.
“I promise our woman representative that I will get an A in Form 4,” he said.
The boy’s parents, Jilius Arunga and Jane Akinyi, said the scholarship will help their son achieve his dream.
“We had no money but the woman representative has come to our aid. I thank God and her,” Arunga said.
Area assistant chief Fredrick Oduol said the family has had many financial problems that can only be addressed by educating their children.