Scholarships quench education thirst among needy in Turkana

On the immediate outskirts of Lodwar town in Turkana county, a monitor is out to trace the home of one of the learners who sat for their 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination. The monitor, James Mulwa, asks a little boy aged eight, “Do you know where David Lokitoe lives?’

Without hesitation, the boy answers, “Yes!” Pointing the direction, he says, “Over there.” He offers to guide Mulwa to the home.

Where David Lokitoe, 16, calls ‘home’ is in Napetet. It’s an open space with one of the scantiest structures that Mulwa has ever seen. He chokes with emotions as they take an immediate toll on him.

He’s come to verify some of the questions that Lokitoe responded to during the interview for Elimu Scholarships. Lokitoe scored 366 marks. He's seeking to join Form One.

Interspaced sticks form the ‘wall’ of Lokitoe’s mother's house. Loosely partly attached to these upright sticks is a synthetic material, perhaps to block the harsh glare of the sun during certain times of the day.

There’s no roof. No swinging door. The mattress that Lokitoe’s disabled mother and his two little sisters share is not only very old but tattered. Lokitoe sleeps on thin beddings spread on the ground by a wall a few metres away.

His family's utensils are stored on the branch of a tree, lined up alongside others defining a boundary. During school days, every dawn, the boy would pluck his school uniform and bag from another tree. Without breakfast, he would be off to Kawalase Primary School.

If Mulwa had powers, he thinks, he’d immediately grant this boy the scholarship. However, there are other factors to be considered through meticulous evaluation.

Mulwa’s feelings are representative of other monitors undertaking similar assignments. In some cases, holding back tears is a battle lost. If not, then indelible traumatic images are lodged in the minds of the assessors.  

At the time of visiting Lokitoe to film his story, his mother is not at home. She’s out gathering firewood to sell to support her family. “I want to be a doctor,” Lokitoe says.

Abject poverty and other appalling conditions have threatened to curtail the education of thousands of bright learners. This has prompted the government to initiate another round of the Elimu Scholarships Programme (ESP) to foil that threat.

THE INTERVIEWS

On day one, St. Monica Girls' Primary School in Lodwar is hosting the Community Selection Advisory Committee (CSAC) to care for Loima and Turkana Central subcounties. Induction on ESP is taking place.

The CSAC chairman is the deputy county commissioner for Loima subcounty, Peter Mutiso. The secretary is the Turkana Central subcounty Director of Education, Wilson Serem.

The other members include representatives of the Teachers Service Commission, minority, vulnerable and marginalised groups, religious leaders, Kenya Primary School Head Teachers Association and people with disabilities.

Mutiso says, “The number of applicants for Turkana Central is 924 and for Loima, 230.” Out of these, “13 girls and 10 boys are to be chosen.”

Serem says, “This is going to be a tall order.” He notes that 72 schools registered 2,198 candidates who sat for the 2023 KCPE.

Vital reminders are issued through the Lokiriama SCDE, Bicker Lunyagi. It’s stressed that no potential beneficiary should be discriminated against at any stage of the process. On day two, the criteria for selection are firmed.

Early morning on day three, applicants mill around the entrance to the evaluation centre. Most received communication asking them to report for interviews. A few who didn’t receive the messages are here, too. They are turned away.

To hasten the process, three rooms are used for interrogation. The applicants, with their parents or guardians in tow, are ushered by two JKF clerks, Rael Echakan and Janerick Nakuwa, into the next available room. Some of the guardians are living with disability.

While these interviews are going on, a similar exercise targeting refugees within the county is underway. Bright refugee children residing at the camps are equally thirsting for education. Kakuma is 120km from Lodwar towards the border with South Sudan.

SLOTS FOR REFUGEES

The director of primary school education, Stephen Barongo, is already in Kakuma to witness first-hand the goings on, and so is the Turkana county director of education, Henry Lubanga.

“Turkana county host community was given 132 slots; 72 for boys and 60 for girls,” Lubanga says. “I call upon other well-wishers to partner with the government in providing scholarships to those who will not succeed under the Elimu Scholarships Programme.”    

The turnout at the Turkana West University premises in Kakuma is the highest among all the assessment centres. Due to the numbers of applicants and guardians here, estimated at 3,000, the interviews are to take six consecutive days.

Senior assistant county commissioner Yusuf Salat says Turkana West is unique by hosting almost 300,000 refugees.

“We have 618 applicants who met the threshold of 280 marks. We are here to implement the guidance of picking 55 per cent girls and 45 per cent boys. Turkana West and Lokichogio are to share 73 slots.”

Barongo, says, “We are working with assistance from Equity Group and Jomo Kenyatta Foundations. However, the programme is funded by the Ministry of Education. Because of the limited resources, we are going for the neediest.”

Back in Lodwar, at St Monica Girls’ Primary School, it’s day four. The interview sessions are almost ending. Mapping for home visits is done.

“We’ll go to the field to assess and weigh what we were told against what is on the ground,” Mutiso says.

Lokitoe’s home is one of the 36 homesteads to be visited. Four teams are rearing to undertake the task. Four boys and four girls have to be identified. The home visits begin in the afternoon. Darkness halts the visits.

On Sunday morning, they resume. One team under Amina Ali has to cover six homesteads. The furthest is 95km towards Lake Turkana.

Each team, regardless of its destination, has a clear mission: to search for the likes of Lokitoe and present their case to the government for Elimu Scholarship funding.

TWIN DISTRESS

The first on Amina’s team’s routing is Lopii Iweet. She lives in Ng’imeturkana village in the Kangagetei sublocation. The scorching sun has licked up the Kawalase River water. The driver, Isaac Mwanza, disembarks to survey the riverbed. He prods the ground with a stick to gauge how dry the surface is lest the tyres end in wet furrows and impede movement.

Dependable as the vehicle is, scaling the sandy edge of the bank of this river demands more throttle than Mwanza supplies. He lets the vehicle gently roll back.

The next attempt is subjected to more power coupled with steering turns in opposite directions as the vehicle swivels from side to side. The hurdle is overcome. The vehicle traverses the heavily sanded dryland mostly characterized by acacia and other thorny trees.

Reaching around Selina’s home consumes two hours. Her documents show a hand-drawn map with landmarks.

Her cousin, Silvesters Aule, stumbles across. He guides the group to Selina’s home. There’s no one. It emerges that Selina hasn’t returned home after her interview. It costs Sh1,500 fare one way by motorbike.

Selina decided to put up with some relatives in Lodwar until when her travel means have been sorted. If not, should she be successful, then there would be no need but to go straight to school.

Records show that Selina's father is deceased. The team asks to be led to the grave.

Selina’s mother, Elizabeth Namuar, is in church. She’s tracked and interrogated. The next five applicants are not so far away from one another.

Roseline Lumulen, mother of five, is destitute. She supports her family by weaving reed baskets.

She has twin distress. Her identical twin daughters, Alimlim Judith and Sheila Akai, scored 296 and 269 marks respectively. The scholarships have no provision for twins. Alimlim was shortlisted. Akai wasn’t. If Alimlim succeeds, it will still be a relief. She expects to join Uhuru Girls Secondary School in Lokichar.

During these home visitations, scholarship applicants or parents and guardians are required to produce books or uniforms used by the applicants while in school. Other than the applicants being partial or total orphans, another common pattern is abandonment; the father marrying or cohabiting with another woman and neglecting the applicant and their mother.

Joshua Lolung’s home is in Eliye, very close to the shores of Lake Turkana. This is the last stop for the team. His mother, Joyce Natamia, says the boy went fishing. His mother exhibits his school books and shredded uniform. Six hours have gone by. The six homes that had been earmarked have been visited.

Through this scholarship, which targets to sponsor 9,000 learners, Lokitoe’s next destination in his quest for education will be Ribe High School. He's convinced that through this scholarship, he’ll manage to disentangle himself and his family from the extreme poverty that’s been lurking around them.