A Nyeri boy’s dream of becoming a lawyer is at stake. Augustine Kinyua, 14, has appealed for financial help to enable him to join Form 1.
He scored 340 marks in the KCPE exam but missed out on enrollment that was to end on Friday. It has been extended by 14 days.
Kinyua got an admission letter from Kenyatta High School, Mahiga, an extra-county school in Othaya.
The firstborn child in a family of five did not have the Sh35,000 for first-term fees and the items recommended by the school.
“I call on well-wishers to assist me to join secondary school so I can help my family in future,” he said.
His father, a quarry worker, died in 2014 in a terror attack in Mandera. Kinyua and his four siblings rely solely on their mother Maryanne Wandia to meet their needs.
Despite their tribulations, Kinyua invested his efforts in his classwork at CCM Chaka Primary School, Kieni East. On many occasions, he went to school on an empty stomach. He did not lose hope and eventually beat the odds by emerging the fourth-best candidate at the school.
Talking of his prospects of a brighter future, Kinyua said on Saturday that he understands what it is to live in abject poverty. Because of this, he hopes to achieve his academic dream of becoming a lawyer so he can help his family and other less-fortunate members of society. He wants to offer free legal services to those who can’t afford them.
His dreams could be shattered if no help comes his way. His mother’s meagre income is not sufficient to provide a decent meal to the family. She can’t afford a toothbrush for her son. In such a situation, the items required for Form 1 at a boarding school are not attainable.
Wandia washes clothes to earn a living. When the Star visited them in Chaka town on Saturday, Kinyua and his brother were helping their mother with the work.
He would occasionally stop to attend to his one-month-old sibling, who had been carried along.
“I wash clothes at Sh300 per day, but the money is not sufficient to buy food for my family and pay fees,” Wandia said. The work does not come regularly so she has to use the cash sparingly.
During the last rainy season, their mud-wall hut was washed away. They are lucky to have found a roof over their heads after a well-wisher sheltered them from harsh weather.
She appealed for sponsorship to enable her son to proceed with his education.