The Nalondo CBM Special National Secondary School for Physically Handicapped beat the odds to post good results in the 2021 KCSE exam.
The school in Kabuchai, Bungoma county, takes in learners with all kinds of disabilities from across the country.
In 2021, the school registered 70 students to sit the KCSE exam. Out of the number seven scored C+ and above.
School principal Walter Kwanusu on Wednesday told the Star that the students at the school include those unable to walk, eat on their own, take a bath, see, talk and write.
“This school was mainly built to help students living with all forms of disability access education and compete with the rest of the students in other schools," he said.
"As a school, we can say we have really tried in the exam because with the conditions my students go through it wasn't easy."
He said some of the students fell sick and were admitted to hospital prior to the commencement of the exam.
"One student underwent surgery at Lugulu Mission Hospital. He only came to write his KCSE exam," he said.
Kwanusu said the school has employed workers who help the students move around and wash their clothes.
He appealed to universities and colleges to support students with disabilities so they can feel comfortable among other learners and in the community.
Kwanusu also urged parents with disabled children not to hide them but instead take them to school.
“These people are very bright and if given a chance they can perform exemplary,” he said.
Farjala Wesonga, 17, a Form 2 student at the school, praised Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati scholarship programme, saying it has helped him attend school.
He said his family is poor and could not raise money to take him to secondary school.
Wesonga aims to score C+ and above in the KCSE exam. Wesonga wants to pursue law in university.
He said students with disabilities face rejection in other schools and feel appreciated at Nalondo CBM.
“While I was in primary school, fellow pupils used to laugh at me because of my height. I was born with a disability and I won’t give up because of someone else,” Wesonga said.
He lauded the school management for supporting them, saying they get an opportunity to get an education and nurture their talents.
Edited by A.N
