Boy who walked 50km to Form 1 Admission gets a sponsorship.

A boy from Kakamega who walked 50 kilometers to high school in neighboring Trans Nzoia county has now received a one-year scholarship.

Mombasa Cement Limited said it would pay George Masinde’s annual fee at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School in Kitale and also pay his school fees.

Dressed in her old Sainte-Thérèse dress and shoes, Masinde School walked from the Bad Corner crossroads in Likuyani to Kitale School.

Zipporah Kamau, one of the directors of Wasili Cabs, also donated a boy’s school fees for the semester as well as pocket money.
In addition to Mombasa Cement, Zipporah Kamau, one of the directors of Wasili Cabs, also donated quarterly tuition fees as well as pocket money to Masinde (2nd from left).

“I see her as my child because I know the challenges parents face and we call on supporters to come forward and help not only this young man but also those in need,” Ms Kamau said.

Jovial Masinde said that he is happy that people have helped him and that he will make sure he achieves his goals of becoming a pilot in the future by working hard.

“I am very happy that the good Samaritans helped me. I want to assure you that I have decided to do well in my studies,” Masinde said.

For him, the decision to join the National School was an opportunity he could not miss.

He woke up at 3 in the morning while his parents were still asleep, put on his old primary school uniform and, with great determination, went to Kitale.

“I was afraid of losing that opportunity, but I knew that if I informed my parents that I was interested in going to school early, they would not allow me to do so,” he said.

By 8am, Masinde had arrived at the school from his home in Likuyani in Kakamega County after withstanding the cold on Monday morning, and was in the principal’s office, filing his case.

Nothing to carry
Apart from the letter of entry, he had not taken anything, as he had nothing to wear.

Masinde told the principal that his parents were struggling to make ends meet and that they had failed to increase his tuition fees.

Mr Godfrey Owuor, the school’s principal, said he was shocked when the young man showed up at his office early in the morning.

“I was in the office when my secretary told me that I had a visitor and told him to let me in. A boy in a very old school uniform, shivering from the cold of the morning, stood in front of me. He begged me to let him join the first form even though he didn’t have the money to pay, “Mr Owuor said.

The headmaster acknowledged Masinde, then called on supporters to support him.

He said the 14-year-old’s ambition was real and deserved help.

Masinde scored 370 out of 500 on the Kenya Secondary Education Certificate exam in 2020.

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