A top Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) student rose against the odds after scoring A (plain) in the just released results despite his struggling past in the streets of Nairobi city.
Simon Mbugua Wangui from Murang’a High School became among the top students in the country after spending part of his life on the streets until Nation Media Group covered his agonizing story in January 2019.
Mbugua had scored 429 out of 500 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education(KCPE) but had no hopes of joining Murang’a High School.
After the story went viral, a Nairobi Business woman, Wanjiku Githuka, came for his aid and sponsored him. She announced that Mbugua was the best among all the students she had ever sponsored.
“I’ve sponsored many students but this one has outperformed all others. Despite his success in KCPE, Simon faced an abrupt end to his education journey.
“I was moved to action when the Sunday Nation highlighted Simon’s plight in its edition,” she noted.
Mbugua lived a miserable life with his six siblings following the demise of their mother, hence forcing him to become a street kid.
“Things took a positive turn when he was rescued and taken to a school run by nuns in Naivasha. However, the school doesn’t support its learners beyond primary school,” Nation reported.
Nation Media also highlighted the story of another girl, Juliana Koshio who worked as a house help to raise school fees. She scored a B- (minus) grade in the 2022 KCSE.
After the coverage, well-wishers came to her rescue, raising money to pay her school fees for three years while alumni of Bunyore Girls took care of her expenses throughout her four years in school.
Elsewhere, a mother-daughter duo from Nandi county was excited after the 2022 KSCE examination results were announced.
The mother, who had been out of school for years, beat the odds to score a D+ (plus) while her daughter scored a B+ (plus) in the KCSE 2022 exams.
Another student, Diba Matacho, who had been stranded at the Marsabit Referral Hospital for three years beat all odds to score a B- (minus) in the 2022 KCSE.
