John is the first born of nine children living in the village of Ebuyonga near Yala in western Kenya.
He attended primary school and in 2006 scored 242 points. Unable to progress to secondary school as his family could not afford the fees, he returned to primary school and again sat his KCPE exams in 2008, this time achieving 347 points out of 500. It secured him a place at nearby Namasoli Secondary School and John completed Term One of Form One.
Unfortunately his family were unable to meet the school fees and John had to leave school. To help raise money for his family he herded the cattle for a neighbour.
This is a sadly common situation for many who complete primary school but find themselves unable to move on to secondary school where there are fees to pay.
Eventually John again returned to primary school and in 2011 achieved 382 points in the end of year exams. This time The Red Rubber Ball Foundation was able to offer him a scholarship and he was finally able to take up his place at Namasoli School, several years behind his primary classmates.
John worked hard at secondary school, but life remained difficult for him and his family. He completed school in 2015 with a C grade. It looked like his education was at an end, but John then applied to join a RRBF trip to climb Kilimanjaro. He wanted to be the first person in his family to see and climb the highest mountain in Africa.
He made a comparison, “Life is like a mountain that one has to climb from the bottom to the top and is determined by hardworking”.
He demonstrated this hard work and determination and successfully made it to the summit at 5,895m, earning the nickname “strong John” along the way.
John after successfully climbing Kilimanjaro
He showed more of this determination afterwards when worked hard and managed to save funds. He also secured support from the Busia county government to put himself through the Busia Teacher Training College. He was able to complete his Certificate in primary Teacher Education with a credit and qualified as a primary school teacher.
In 2019, John took up his first post at Kenbell Education Centre. He has since proved himself to be an extremely good teacher. And incredibly one of his pupils was a thirty-seven year old mother of seven children. After John’s own challenges in primary school, he was determined to give her the best chance to complete her education. She went on to achieve a C+ in her secondary school exams. Indeed life has come full circle.
John speaking to students at our workshop in December 2023
John wants to help more and more children to complete school. Next for him is to complete his Diploma in Primary Teacher Education. His story and his own education continues.
In his talk at our student workshop in Nairobi, John mentioned that one former primary school teacher was President Moi. Could John be the next?
He offers future students the following advice, “never choose a career because it has good payment or, but choose the one that you feel is like calling from your heart, mind and soul. It doesn’t matter the grade you obtain but what matters is your potential and determination”.