A sponsor’s annual gift of scholarships to sponsored Kenyan students transforms their lives in big ways. Three students share their stories of hope, thanks to these scholarships.

Kitayion, right, stands with her sister Ropian at home.
Kitayion, 15, is the youngest of her five siblings. She started living with her eldest sister Ropian after their parents died.
Their lives were a constant struggle as the family lived in poverty in Kenya.
Kitayion’s parents separated when she was a child, and she and her siblings were brought up by their mother, who sold milk and bread to earn a living. Their mom also did beadwork to earn extra income for their family.
With the little income that their mom made, Kitayion’s older siblings weren’t able to pay the fees necessary to attend high school when they finished primary school, and they all dropped out.
At that time, Kitayion attended Sajiloni Primary School near Kajiado Town in Kenya. The school is 5 miles from her home. She had to walk to school daily.
Shortly after her mother passed, Kitayion’s estranged father also died and she was left with her siblings who were struggling to earn enough income to afford basic necessities.
After the passing of both her parents, Kitayion’s school, which had a boarding component, offered to pay her boarding fee which saved her from walking the long distance from home to school and back.
Despite that big relief, other school necessities became a challenge to afford, says Ropian.
The older sisters tried their hardest to make sure Kitayion could make it through high school and have a chance for a better future.
“She had to survive with the little that I could afford, but that meant that at times she would be missing some supplementary books needed by the school,” Ropian says.
Kitayion’s Hope Center, however, intervened to provide some items like school uniforms, sanitary pads, and school supplies to help her continue her education.
The family’s greatest concern was that Kitayion would have to drop out after primary school due to her inability to pay fees. They feared a bleak future.
“Our parents never had a chance to have an education,” Ropian says. “We only had a chance at primary level, and we were hopeful that things might be different for our little sister. But the reality of lack of school fees was our greatest fear.”
When they heard about the OneChild sponsor Joan Philips’ scholarship fund, they hoped that Kitayion would have a shot at it. And they were thrilled when she qualified and got the scholarship.
Now Kitayion can hold on to her dreams.
“I hope to be a neurosurgeon in the future, and this scholarship is the bridge that will help me cross to my future,” she says.
Her family is now hopeful that through their sister, light may shine on the rest of them.

Collins holds a bag of food outside his home.
Studying Hard Pays Big Dividends
From a young age, Collins knew he wanted to live a better life and he also wanted the same for his siblings and mom, who live in poverty.
He saw the struggles at home and promised himself that he would work toward making home life better — and the only option he says he had was studying hard in school.
The struggles included being abandoned by their father who moved in with a new family, leaving his mom to fend for Collins and his two younger siblings.
Their mom has to work casual jobs like washing clothes and cleaning for people to earn a daily income.
They live in a tiny tin-walled house in Majengo slum community close to Collins’ Hope Center. During the nights, he says, the house would get very cold, and he struggled to do his homework. The situation worsens during the cold seasons of June and July.
Collins also struggled to access school supplies like textbooks. He attended a public primary school that had few resources, which meant that 10 kids had to share one textbook.
Despite all the challenges he faced at school, he says the Hope Center stepped in to help him out. Child Champions paid part of his school fees and offered food baskets whenever they visited him at home.
The center also provided space that allowed kids to go inside and study during holidays. It even offered televised classes to help them improve their grades.

Collins stands with his siblings outside their home.
Collins hopes to be a doctor when he grows up. He says he began to see this dream coming true when he realized he performed well in his final exams in primary school and qualified to attend one of the top schools in the county. He also earned one of the scholarships from the OneChild sponsor.
“I never imagined I would join such a good high school,” Collins says. “Looking at my family background, it felt like a dream because we would never have afforded the fee.”
He is set to attend Olkejuado High School.
With the scholarship, Collins is certain that a big chunk of the struggles he would have faced on his journey toward achieving his dreams has been removed.
“Having the assurance that I will always be in school because my school fee is covered is a huge relief,” he says. “I will have ample time to read, and joining a boarding school has always been one of my dreams.”
His mom Godliver says that in addition to the relief the scholarship provides, she now trusts that her child will live a better life than she has.
“I usually pray that my children get a chance to be better than I have,” she says. “And I know … this scholarship is a hope for me that they will be better than I have.”

Resiato (in blue sweatshirt) stands with her family outside their home.
Scholarship Stokes New Hope
Resiato dreams of becoming a nurse someday. But her journey in poverty kept getting in the way of achieving her dream.
Resiato is the third born of five and lives with her siblings and parents.
Her mom, who is currently the only provider at home, works casual jobs like washing clothes and cleaning people’s homes. She also sells beaded artwork to earn extra income.
Initially, Resiato’s dad also provided for the family by working at a sand harvesting site but is currently sick and unable to work.
The family also owned some cattle that unfortunately died during a long, dry period last year. With the death of their cattle came the loss of hope for a better future.
When they had the cattle, they would sell some of the animals to cover school fees and school supplies for the kids when times were tough.
Resiato had to walk 7 miles to school and back every day. She would at times miss some school requirements like mandatory extra tutoring classes because her family couldn’t afford to pay the fees.
This is despite her Hope Center covering the better part of her school fees and some personal necessities.
The family now struggles to care for their ailing dad who is partially paralyzed. This made Resiato’s struggles worse, but she was determined to work hard in school. The hard work paid off when she got high marks in her final primary school exam and qualified to join Enoomatasiani Girls High School in Kajiado.
However, Resiato feared she wouldn’t be able to attend the high school because she couldn’t afford the fees. Her two older siblings are in high school, and this is already a huge financial burden for her family.
But then Resiato earned a scholarship which enabled her to attend the boarding school. Now Resiato can continue to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse — and finding a path out of poverty.
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