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 three years at junior 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 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 200 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 will 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
We arrange scholarships for children attending junior secondary school.
This is a key stage in a child’s life, when they leave primary school (which is largely free) many will have to leave school altogether if they can’t raise the school fees.
And junior secondary school gives them vital skills that can help them escape the cycle of poverty.
So far 238 of our sponsored children have completed their secondary school education with 76% going on to university or college.
The children we help
So far we have sponsored 340 children (175 girls and 165 boys).
Scholarships are £300 + gift aid for a boarding place
Whilst we strongly believe that boarding school offers the best education and better protects a child’s welfare while they study, we do recognize that many children will have to take up a day school place and it is still better that children attend day school than stay at home with no education.
We also realise that some families will still struggle to meet the fees for day school.
So we also offer Scholarships of £100 + gift aid for a day school place.
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.