Higher Education: a ticket out of poverty

One of the immediate problems that any visitor sees in Kenya is the education system. There are more problems with it than worth mentioning here, but one of them is the fact that going to college is very difficult for many different reasons. For the kids I was working with in the slums the cost of college is unthinkable, so if they do make it through high school they have no way of affording to going to college. A high school diploma cannot get a student a job of any sort-- even at a gas station you need a college certificate of some sort. So the only benefit of going to high school in the slums is that it will usually feed the child lunch- which could be the only meal of the day, and that it keeps the kids busy and off the streets getting into trouble. But once they finish high school the kids are in the same vulnerable position as kids without high school education. In fact they might even be in a worse situation because they haven't had the experience of working the streets and learning the "right way" to do things.

With this being said, one of the investments that Change Lives Now, the US counterpart I have been representing, wants to do is start is a scholarship program for students who can qualify for post secondary education. They were given a lump sum of money that was specifically for this project. So Alix, another volunteer that came over to Mogra, and I worked on this scholarship program a lot. We travelled all over Nairobi visiting different colleges, universities and trade schools to see where we could send students based on fields of study that are marketable and in our budget. We interviewed and met with dozens of alumni from Mogra Star Academy to find which students scored well enough to attend college, were in great need and would be willing to give back to the community. Finally after many weeks of research and work we invited 13 students to be apart of this scholarship, give back program. The students are required to do 16 hours of community service a week until they begin classes, and then they will be required to do work 1 weekend a month while in school in order for them to stay connected in the community and give back.

We chose 3 different schools for the students to study a diploma or certificate course in social work, IT, engineering, teaching and business. The courses are from 1 year to 3 year long and should be marketable enough for them to find a job at the end and them hopefully make enough money to continue their education. We couldn't pay for degrees, but diplomas in most fields are just as marketable.

When we gathered the students together for a social to congratulate them on being selected they were ecsatic and shocked that it was actually happening for them. They have had many people come and promise them scholarships in the past, but it never actualates, and never got their hopes up that we were different. One kid named Sammy was so happy he told me, "This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I never knew my savior would come this soon." The kids were all calling their parents and family members to tell them they were sponsored to attend college, it was a beautiful sight.
Education truly is their only way out of the slum, and now 13 kids have a opportunity to better their lives and receive an education. A few of the kids are complete orphans and have nobody to support them, and a few have parents that are so sick that the kids are actually raising their siblings, so this opportunity will really change the future of their families.

It was an honor and blessing to be apart of this process. It was incredibly difficult to pick which students we offered scholarships to: trying to narrow 75 down to 13. They are all in need and I wish we could have helped them all, but slowly hopefully over time we can help more and more students. I look forward to keeping in touch with the students and hearing about their progress and succes!