Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo came to the rescue of a 14-year old orphan, Joseph Oloo, who made a passionate appeal to Siaya Governor Cornell Rasanga and other leaders from the region to help him raise school fees after being drafted to join Form One at St Mary's School, Yala.
Oloo, who takes care of his younger siblings and a blind grandmother, scored 358 marks in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination and emerged as the third-best candidate at Odendo Primary School.
Amollo on Wednesday, January 15 revealed that he felt compelled to help after learning of Oloo's plight that was featured as a sideline story in the Daily Nation.
"I appeal to the governor, our MP Otiende Amollo and area MCA Judy Patel to help me raise school fees," Oloo had stated at the time.
Amollo disclosed that he sought to get in contact with Oloo's relatives and other potential sponsors to assist him.
The lawmaker secured Form One school fees for the orphan with a pledge from a local establishment to pay his fees through to Form Four.
"On inquiry, we established Joseph Oloo as indeed an orphan whose father was from Asembo, Gundarut, but has been living in Gem. On account of this plea, we set out to contact relatives and possible sponsors; long story short; we succeeded.
"Young Joseph Oloo is safely in St Mary’s Yala High School, full Form One fees paid, and promise of full fees to Form Four courtesy of Sunset Golf Society, thanks to Sylvester Odhiambo and team Jabura for your efforts," Amollo wrote on Twitter.
The student had, in his appeal, also revealed that his 80-year old grandmother required surgery to remove the cataract that made her blind.
He also requested for his younger siblings to be admitted to a rescue home.
Cases of smart, needy students gaining admission to various schools but lacking school fees have dominated headlines since the release of KCPE results in 2019.
Media personality Felix Odiwuor, better known as Jalang'o, for instance, led efforts to support a boy who arrived at Kanga High School with only two bars of soap and a metallic box.
