Welcoming new students to the CES family

It’s one of the most important times of year for our secondary school students — the time when the newly-sponsored students get a chance to meet CES in person, and understand how their lives have changed for the better.

Kenya has made great strides in this area since Independence – and now all children in the country have access to primary education, free of charge.

The country has come a long way in providing secondary education too, but as one school Principal there said, it’s only “mostly free.” There are many school costs that are not covered by the government. So, there are still fees to pay – as well as uniforms to buy, and many parents struggle with this. That’s particularly the case with the low-income families we work with, who in many cases are dealing with HIV impacts.

CES Kenya partners with several carefully chosen secondary schools in the area in and around the city of Kakamega in western Kenya. Each year CES asks their principals and teachers to choose students from a background of family poverty, in many cases due to HIV impacts in the family -- but who have what it takes if given a chance. Through donors like you, CES can give those students that chance to graduate from secondary school, which allows them to attend college or university and build a better life.

From left to right: Mr. Hillary Lukhaftwa, CES Kenya Board member; Salma Rose Form 4 Student; Caroline Rabongo Form 4; Sandra Praise Wekesa Form 4; and Madam Linda Zalo, the school principal at Tigoi Girls High School. 

So by this time each year, CES has worked with the schools to find students who are, in the words of our co-founder Malik Khaemba, “poor, smart and ambitious.” Now, it’s time for our office administrator Sarah Nabongo, together with one of our CES Kenya board members, to travel to each of the schools and meet the students we’re sponsoring.

The students each receive a hygiene kit that includes soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, shoe polish and other essentials.

It’s wonderful for the students who realize that their worries about paying school fees are over, that they can focus on their studies. And, they know that if they excel in their work, they have a chance to get a scholarship that will help support them through college or university.

Your donations help us say “yes” to more students.

Madam Hellen Kulundu, CES Kenya board member, handing over hygiene kits to the students at Tigoi Girls High School 

Each CES-sponsored student receives a hygiene kit with necessary supplies