700 bright but needy students in high schools, colleges and universities have benefited from Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund managed by Farming Systems Kenya-an NGO working under the umbrella of the Africa Inland Church (A.I.C)-Nakuru.
Speaking on Friday morning at the FSK offices in Nakuru during the handing over of cheques from the Fund to 22 bright but needy students, FSK executive Director Dr.Raphael Kinoti said that although the government is trying to improve education through free primary and day school education, most parents still cannot afford to educate their children due to high rate of poverty.
This, he says has made many bright children with a lot of potential to drop out of school leading to increased crime in society, drug and substance abuse,insecuirty,unwanted pregnancies, early marriages and child labor.
While commending Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund for bridging the gap and ensuring education for the bright but needy students ,Kinoti revealed that most of the supported students have shown great improvement in performance by attaining a mean grade of C+ and above and positive attitude towards life.
In 2016, the supported students who sat for KCSE were 5 and four of them were enrolled to public universities while the fifth one joined a college.
The FSK executive Director adds that In 2017,4 students did their fourth exam and two will be joining public universities and while the other two will join college.
The fund started way back in 2004 has seen a total of Kshs.4, 177,395 disbursed with extremely high demand that is now outweighing the available resources in the fellowship.This year, the Fund has been able to sponsor 22 students at a cost of Kshs.217, 000.
The students are drawn from all the counties that Farming Systems Kenya works which include Narok, Nakuru, Laikipia, Baringo and west Pokot.In order to maintain this, Mr.Kinoti says there is need for well wishers to come on board and ensure education for all the bright but needy students at the grass root level.
His call on the government is to ensure that bursaries are given to the needy students at the grass root level but more so empower the society through agribusiness.
“Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund aims at ensuring the bright but needy students get education at grass root level. The county governments and the National governments however should focus more on empowering society through agribusiness and that is what we are doing as Farming Systems Kenya” he said.
Similar sentiments echoed by Mr. Paul Mugo who is also the patron of the Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund.According to Mugo, the greatest challenge in the society is the fact that many parents are unable to pay for their children’s education expenses.
He called on well wishers to join the Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund to ensure that the mission of ensuring every bright but needy student in the society gets education.
“Many parents at the grass root level cannot afford the expenses of education and that is why we are calling on the society to join the Fellowship so that we can ensure education for our children in the society” he said.
Thuo Thiong’o one of the parents who has benefited from the Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund commends the initiative saying it has removed a burden that he had as a parent to cater for the education of all his children.
He says he used to struggle just to make sure his children are in school not until the Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund stepped in.
“The foundation has really eased a burden in my life and I commend them” he said.
Sentiments echoed by Charles Obagam and Patrick Maina who are now in school courtesy of the Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund under Farming Systems Kenya.The two say they have nothing more than to work hard and achieve their dreams in life.“We are happy that we are now in school. Ours is to work hard and achieve our future dreams” they said.
PHOTO/Pristone Mambili:A student receives a scholarship cheque from Mr. Paul Mugo who is also the patron of the Mugo’s Fellowship Education Fund on Friday at the Farming Systems Kenya offices in Nakuru.
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