Campus life is never without challenges, especially when you come from a humble background. Gone are the days of free meals at the mess, when senior comrades welcomed ‘freshers’ into the system.

Nowadays, the competition to join a university…any university, and complete the full course is a do-or-die affair, despite the current strained economic situation and a possible future with minimum employment prospects.

The temptation of taking loans from the Higher Education Loans Board might overwhelm students, but the excitement is always short-lived as the demands of re-payments spill over years into the young graduates’ lives.

But for the university students under the KenGen Education Scholarships, the story is different.

For David Kimanzi, a late evening phone call in early May 2014 from KenGen changed his life.

“Having just completed my form four exam at Makima Secondary School, I was at home assisting my parents when I received athephone call that has gone a long way in defining my education and perhaps even giving me chance to count my dreams as valid. It was good news that I had been awarded a scholarship due to my performance. My financial worries on how to get through university had been solved”, said David.

Following the upgrading of 15 constituent colleges in to fully-fledged universities in 2012, there was an influx of qualified students that stretched the available accommodation beyond the institutional limits.

“I joined Kisii University on September 2014 to undertake Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in Finance. KenGen cleared my fees, but even then, life at campus was very challenging. For the first three semesters, I found myself having difficulties in paying rent and buying food. This was straining my family’s meager budget beyond their capability”, said David.

Noting that most of the KenGen Education Scholarships beneficiaries faced similar challenges, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved the disbursement of stipend for food and accommodation for all university students under the program.

The total sum per student is Ksh.50,000 per year, with Ksh. 25,000 transferred to their accounts at the beginning of the year. The funds are intended to enable all the students enjoy the full scholarship since most of them come from humble backgrounds.

“The stipend has really changed my life, making my campus experience enjoyable. I now live a financially stress free life at school”, said David.

“Following information I gained from the 2015 Annual Mentorship program, I choose to diversify my education and enrolled for a course in Certified Information Communication Technology under KASNEB”.

“I’m currently undertaking section 5 of the course, and the stipend has been financing the CICT exams fees, inclusive of the renewal fees, and purchase of relevant learning materials. Upon sitting for the section 1 and 2 exams, I emerged the best and was awarded a prize for this in a ceremony held at Hilton Hotel on 7th April”.

David’s story doesn’t end there. With a little extra finance at his disposal, David bought a printer and laptop and started a business as one of his 2017 resolutions.

“Apart from photocopying and printing at school, I also compile secondary school past papers into revision materials per subjects, and have transacted with a number of schools, and also individual parents and students. This has introduced me to some aspects of the corporate world, and helped me learn some business aspects”, he added.

“KenGen Foundation has been very supportive in my education and life in general. The stipend has been the solution to my financial growth, and educational advancement. The scholarship is indeed making my dreams achievable. Thank you KenGen, I’m forever grateful”.

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–Ernest Nyamasyo, Communication Officer