Joy as candidates, learners receive examination materials

By Elizabeth Angira

It was all smiles when pupils, especially this year’s candidates of Manga DEB Primary School in Nyamira County received learning materials from an alumina.

Mellen Mbogo who left the school 50 years ago donated crucial examination materials including geometrical sets for the candidates, erasers, pencils and pens for the candidates through Penn Entertainment, Ameristar Casino and SPA Black Hawk.

The former Manga DEB pupil is educating students who did well in their KCPE last and joined national schools. Through her support, the school attained an exemplary mean score of 278 a performance that has never been recorded for the last 35 years.

“I am encouraging everybody who is able to give back to the community. People are dying in the country because they lack medicine and other essentials. Our schools all over the nation have poor infrastructure. Build your former primary or secondary school, equip laboratories and libraries, and come up with ICT facilities. We need to empower our community. The learners should have a better future than ours,” she appealed.

Mellen, who has been supporting the school that was in a deplorable state had previously donated a 10,000-liter water tank, painted the school, provided a lunch programme for both the pupils and teachers, installed a security alarm and electric bell, given dignity packs for female students alongside doing landscaping in the school. Besides, she has hired workers to do all manual work to enable learners to concentrate only on education.

“Many parents in this village are not able to provide basics for their children. I am happy that Ameristar Casino which is part of Penn Entertainment has brough live in this community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to give masks, sanitizers and other materials that were essential in keeping the disease at bay,” said Mellen.

The headteacher Mr. Francis Omanga thanked the well-wishers for the donation and appealed for other well-wishers to come on board and assist the school.

“Mellen has brought a smile to our pupils and parents. It is true that due to poverty level many pupils cannot afford learning materials. Through her support, we are happy that the school’s performance is improving and the current candidates and teachers have promised to do better than last year,” he said.