Rhoda Abaja had run out of options to obtain fees for her firstborn daughter, Lencer Abaja.
The girl was set to join Moi Nyabohanse Girls High School in Migori county on the Tanzanian border.
But Abaja dropped the idea of selling her kidney after a US woman, Andre Carter, came to her aid upon learning about her plight through the media.
"It's God's blessings that I am helping this girl, rescuing her mum from selling her kidney," Carter said.
Four years down the line, Lencer has walked out of high school with an excellent result, scoring a B minus in the 2023 KCSE exam.
Lencer and her mum were jovial when the Star visited them at their home in Bondo town, almost 60km from Kisumu.
"I am set to join the university in September this year," Lencer said.
Her mother, a tailor, said she was overwhelmed by the support Carter gave her.
"She made sure I didn't sell my kidney. She has been shopping for us consistently. She even bought me a sewing machine, which I use to make clothes and sell," she said.
Some 20km away from Bondo is the home of Charles Omondi, who joined high school in the same year with Lencer.
Omondi had walked from home in Ugenya to Nyabondo High School, some 80km away since his father could not afford bus fare, let alone school fees.
Father and son arrived at the school in the evening without admission requirements.
The school offered his father a place to sleep before embarking on another tedious journey back home in Siaya.
Omondi scored a B plain in 2023 KCSE exam. "I want to sincerely thank Madam Carter for coming to my aid four years ago when I was stranded. She paid my school fees and I want to say that I passed well and God willing will go to university," he said.
"The support I got from Madam Carter will remain engraved in my heart and may God bless her".
Carter said education is an equaliser and wished the two students success in helping others in similar situations.
"This is a blessing and to God be the Glory," she told the Star.
