He comes from Kwale county, the southern most coastal county. He was born with a club foot.
His father died when he was two years old. His mother looked after him and his siblings single handedly and was able to ensure that he went to secondary school. He participated actively in extracurricular activities and in 2010 while he was in form 3 and performing at music festival in Mombasa a lady noticed his club foot. After investigation she took him to Association for Physically Disabled People of Kenya for rehabilitation. Chimoyo was admitted there for two years while undergoing treatment for his foot. In 2015 June, Chimoyo’s mother died from diabetes and he was left an orphan. The lady who helped him to get treatment for his foot also supported him though his recovery and supported him with some of the fees for admission into clinical medicine training in 2016. However, she was not able to support him more. Chimoyo tried, so far unsuccessfully, to get bursary support from Kwale County. He has benefited both from the national fund for study loans and from the CHPF study fund to assist him in his studies. He looks forward to graduate as a clinical officer and start working in his county and be a role model in his community, having achieved all that despite his physical challenge.
Chimoyo Alfan Madeni
Mohamed Kassim
completed his “O” Levels in 2015 in Ummulqura, a Muslim sponsored school in Malindi and obtained a C-plain.
He is a good athlete and football player and during his high school was able to participate in the national competition with his team. He was already 20 years when he finished due to continuous fee problems. Mohamed is the 3rd born of his parents. He has a sister pursuing nursing at another medical training college and a bother who is still in secondary school. His mother is the one who struggles to educate her children and support the family. She works in a clinic in Watamu. The contributions from Mohamed’s father are limited as he relies on commissions he receives from time to time as an agent for selling land and assisting people in finding houses for rent
They has applied to get support from many different local, sub-county and county funds but has so far not received any. Through support from his mother’s women’s group he managed to pay part of the college fees on admission but then could not report as his secondary school was still withholding his certificate due to outstanding fee balances. Finally, his mum managed to negotiate with the head of the secondary school. He looks forward to completing his course so that together with the sister he will now be able to support his mother who is struggling so hard. To be able to survive, he still plays for his football home team at times for a small fee. He is also in training at a practice in Mombasa to assist with massages and meditation. Since he is doing nutrition, he prepares diets and food plans for the patients who attend the clinic for HIV, diabetes or hypertension. From time to time, the clinic owner supports him with some money. Kassim would like to complete his course, open a clinic where he will be able to give advice on nutrition and diet to patients, and also practice massages, especially for patients.
She is 23 years old. She sat for her high school exams in 2013 and obtained “C+” at Taita Taveta, the most inland of the counties that constituted the former Coast Province. She has five siblings.
Her elder brother completed his high school in 2010 but could not join college due to poverty. The father abandoned the family and is not contributing anything for the children, leaving everything to her mother. She has tried but with one younger sister still in secondary and one other brother also in college it has been very demanding on her as she is not in good health and relies on casual work. The church helped Rozina to apply for admission at North Coast MTC where she started nursing and midwifery training in 2016. She has been relying on study loans from three kitty’s: the national study fund, the Taita-Taveta study fund, and the CHPF study fund. Also, some individuals, the church and the women group of her mum sometimes manage to chip in for school fees and upkeep.
Rozina would like to complete her nursing course and then advice
youth from her area that poverty is not a reason for early marriages. She also
wants to encourage them, that even when you have to stay home due to lack of
fees and miss admissions, one can always make it as she is now in her second
year herself after having had to stay at home for two years after secondary.
Rozina Sarah Kirigha
Nuru Said
She is from Kajiado county. Her parents are pastoralists who move from place to place with their cattle looking for pasture.
Nuru has six siblings. Three of them are in school and the others at home due to lack of school fees. Being from a remote area of Kenya where education is not considered a priority, it has been hard for her and her parents to raise money for fees. They have tried from politicians who give promises but do not fulfill and requested for bursaries from Kajiado county but did not get. Nuru has been absent from the college several times due to lack of fees and the fear of being sent home, fear of the embarrassment and fear of being laughed at by other students. It has been hard as the parents have sold most of their cattle for her studies. Now that she is almost graduating, Nuru would like to start a nutrition clinic in her home town, or be employed in an NGO in remote area that deals with nutrition so that she would be able to practice her passion