Joy at last for girl who trekked in bid to raise Form One fees

A girl from Tana River County who worked as a househelp and trekked for more than 15 kilometres in a bid to raise school fees for secondary school education can now smile as she is set to join Bunyore Girls High School.

This comes after the high school’s alumni mobilised resources to enable her take up her slot at the institution after her efforts to get a sponsor failed.

Bunyore Girls Alumni chairperson Vicky Owake said the group learnt of Juliana Koshi’s plight when her story appeared in the media, forcing them to step in.

“One of us saw her photo in the newspaper and shared it on our WhatsApp group. We did our due diligence, looked for her contacts and then contacted Tana River Woman Representative Ms Rehema Hassan to help us get her,” said Ms Owake.

She said so far the alumni group — through its welfare page of 120 members — has raised Sh93,000 while the county government chipped in with Sh50,000 with another Sh27,000 set to be paid directly to the school through the Galole Constituency Development Fund.

“The school’s principal told us her slot is still available and so she will be travelling to the school for admission next week. She will need Sh54,000 for her first term fees and other necessities,” she said.

Ms Owake called on other well-wishers to come forward and support the girl even beyond secondary school while at the same time challenging the county government and ‘‘the Galole CDF to support the girl every year.

“I am appealing to all alumni, even those in the diaspora, to come out and ensure that the girl learns up to university. We also intend to open a fund that will also help other needy girls admitted to Bunyore Girls’ High School,” she said.

SH4,000

She challenged other needy students not to keep quiet with their problems but ensure their plight is highlighted so that they can get help.

The 15-year-old girl from Hola narrated how she took it upon herself to see that her dream of one day becoming a cardiologist is realised.

Staring at a bleak future after scoring 358 marks in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination at Hola Primary School, she knew that just sitting at home and cursing why she was born in a poor family would not help.

The last born in a family of three girls and one boy took up a job as a househelp immediately after the KCPE exam. Her aim was to raise money top join Form One.

She worked for a month for a pay of Sh4,000, with her brother also tilling people’s farms to help her raise the required school fees.

 She realised this would take long and she could miss her secondary school slot.

The young girl hastily left the househelp job and traversed the villages seeking whatever little help she could get and in the process walking for more than 15 kilometres in a bid to raise the necessary school fees.

It is through her trekking that her plight was highlighted by the media and now she is all smiles for a dream-come-true.