Girl who slept in principal’s office excels in KCSE

When Miriam Mumbua, 17, fell out with her aunt, who was paying for her school fees at Kathekai Secondary School in 2022, she had no option, but to drop out of school in form three.

Mumbua had been living with her aunt since 2019 because her parents could not afford to educate her.

After sitting for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations in Kalima Primary School in Emali, Makueni County and scoring 365 marks out of the possible 500 marks, the 17-year-old joined her aunt in Kathekai and enrolled in form one in 2019.

All was well and the young girl buried herself in books and was among the top students in her class.

However, in 2022 things took an ugly turn and Mumbua differed with her aunt, forcing her to drop out of school, shattering her dreams of becoming a nurse.

"I started getting mistreated and we ended up disagreeing. She was the one who was paying my fees and I stopped going to school,"  she says.

Being a bright student, Principal Margaret Owaka and Mumbua’s biology teacher noticed her absence during one of her lessons and inquired about her whereabouts.

Owaka says Mumbua was one of her best students and was concerned that the girl had stopped coming to school.

"When I asked the classmates why Mumbua was not in school one morning, they informed me she had dropped out. I couldn’t believe it," she says.

Immediately,  the Principal, together with her classmates, took the school bus and went looking for Mumbua at her aunt’s place.

"I mobilized around 40 students and rode the school bus to where Mumbua was staying because I could not let her leave school," adds  Owaka.

Luckily, the girl had not relocated to her parents’ home in Makueni and the Principal told her to pack her belongings and drive back to school.

"The school did not have a boarding facility; it was purely a day school. I didn’t even know where the girl would sleep but I was determined to see her complete school," she notes.

Owaka bought essentials for the girl and called a friend who brought bedding.

On the same day, she hired a matron who together with Mumbua slept in her office until an alternate accommodation was found.

"Sleeping in my office was the only option. I called a lady I had known for long and told her that from that day on, she would serve as the school’s matron, she agreed," the Principal disclosed.

Word quickly spread that the school had started a boarding wing and by the end of the week, five other vulnerable girls joined Mumbua and the Principal took them in as her daughters.

Due to the growing number of students in need of boarding facilities, Owaka renovated one of the dilapidated and unoccupied classrooms and converted it into a dormitory.

"That’s how I started a boarding facility for the girls, then later registered the institution as both a boarding and a day school with the Ministry of Education," she says.

The boarding now boasts 138 girls, the majority having found refuge in the facility due to their vulnerable backgrounds.

"The boarding gives the girls ample time to concentrate on their studies. We are seeking financial support from well-wishers and donors to improve the facilities and accommodate needier students,"  notes the Principal.

Mumbua remains grateful to the Principal for her selflessness.

‘‘The Principal offered her office when I had nowhere to go, without her I would not have made it to the university,’’ she said.

Although her target was to get an A in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education(KCSE), Mumbua says she is content with the B- she scored despite the challenges.

"It wasn't a walk in the park but I thank God for my teachers and especially the Principal for her immense support,’’ she adds.

Mumbua is among 13 students who sat for the KCSE examinations last year and qualified to join the university.