Scholarships
Every child deserves an education.
Yet in Kenya, all secondary schools charge fees, meaning that many children don’t start secondary school,
or begin but are then excluded when their family cannot afford the whole year’s fees.
Our scholarships mean that sponsored children can complete the four years at secondary school.
Poverty holds people back
This is particularly true in the slums and rural areas.
With 46% of the population living below the poverty line*, access to basic services like health care, education, clean water, and sanitation is a luxury that many families simply cannot afford.
The situation is made worse if a child has lost one or both parents to malaria, AIDS or other issues.
Even though school fees are modest by UK standards, (from £100 a year for a day pupil and just £300 to £400 for boarding) they are often unaffordable for the poorest families.
It is complicated further where the children are needed to work to help provide food for their family.
For girls there can also be an additional pressure of marriage at a young age.
Without our help, education can be a “luxury” they can’t afford and poverty becomes a way of life.
* UNICEF Kenya Country Programme Report 2018
Education sets people free
We firmly believe that education is the key to overcoming poverty and want to offer more children the opportunity of a life-changing education.
Oscar nominated actress, Naomi Harris, talks about the issues facing children in Kenya that she saw for herself while filming ‘The First Grader’
BBC Films – June 2011
“We are nothing if we cannot read”
Our scholarships change lives
Our scholarship programme gives children a wonderful opportunity to continue their education and create a better future for themselves and their family.
We work with over 100 schools across Kenya and for as little as £25 a month you could provide one child with a much needed bursary that covers:
- secondary school education
- full board & lodgings
It’s a very practical solution
Although school is often close to their home village, families prefer that the children board as they can devote all of their time to their studies. Also, by receiving all meals at school, it eases the burden on the family.
There are other benefits too – the school may well have access to electricity so the children can do their homework after dark. At home it’s often the light of a kerosene lamp at best.
For girls, staying on at boarding school may even save them from an early marriage!
Hear some of the students we’ve sponsored, speak about their experiences. Normal kids, with normal aspirations, who’ve been able to attend school.
You could help these kids escape the poverty trap
By helping them through their education, you are ‘paying it forward’ so they can not only transform their own future but also build a better life for their family and their community.
The schools we work with
The Kenyan state schools are classified as national, provincial or district; according to performance, capacity and facilities.
National schools are the most prestigious, taking the best performing children from the KCPE state exams (like SATS in the UK).
National schools generally select children scoring 350+ (out of 500); and a child achieving 250+ will be offered a local place.
Experience suggests that children who score over 300 in their KCPE exams at primary school, will have the aptitude to go on to University (the final 4 years in the Kenyan education system).
So far 124 of our sponsored children have completed their full four years at secondary school and 64 of them are now at university or college, with 17 having already graduated.
The children we help
We arrange scholarships for children attending each level of state school.
Right now we have sponsored 265 children (136 girls and 129 boys) in over 100 schools across the different types of schools.
National Schools – full board
Fees around £387.50 pa
Scholarship donation = £310 pa + Gift Aid
Local Schools – full board
Fees around £300 pa
Scholarship donation = £240 pa + Gift Aid
Day pupils
Fees around £112.50 pa
Scholarship donation = £90 pa + Gift Aid
For the price of an iPad… you could do something amazing!
By helping them through their education, you are ‘paying it forward’ so they can not only transform their own future but also build a better life for their family and their community.
Request an information pack
Requesting an information pack does not commit you to sponsoring a child. It simply gives us the message that you want to explore the details of how this works.
What happens next
We will contact you to discuss the children and the level of support you might want to give.
Once you are ready to go ahead, we will set up a scholarship… making arrangements to pay the school fees direct to the school and secure the child’s place.
You will receive regular updates about the child’s progress.
– You’ll receive details of the child you are sponsoring and the child will know that you have paid their school fees.
– You’ll receive a copy of the child’s school report each term, so you know they are in school and how they’re doing.
– You’ll get letters and occasionally a video from the child.
Gertrude
achieved a First Class degree,
is now a qualified Public Health Officer…read her story
Mercy
went into business,
set up her own fashion shop
Moses
set up KCER and has provided COVID food vouchers to over 2,000 families…read his story.