By James Wakahiu
Worth Noting:
- But her hard work at Manor High School, Kitale between 2004 and 2007, which saw her attain a mean grade of A- of 71 points with the hopes of being posted by Joint Admissions Board (JAB), now Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), has been rewarded, in what would give credence to the narrative “better late than never”.
- She was never admitted to any university despite attaining the requisite grades, and considering she is from a humble background, she was forced to abandon her quest for education.
In December last year, Milly Nafula was photographed while donning a red head scuff and an almost ragged dress, while operating a poshomill at her remote village in Trans Nzoia County in Western Kenya.
Ordinarily, this would have passed as the normal lifestyle in the rural set up where women are these days forced to undertake manual jobs, including working in quarries to earn a living and cater for their family needs.
But Nafula’s modest lifestyle as projected in the photos only served to betray the hope, hardwork, determination, patience and resilience that shapes her story as far as her quest to get education is concerned.
Having scored grade of A minus in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) test fourteen years ago, the mother of two’s dream of becoming a doctor were shattered due to lack of availability of money to enable her pursue her the course at the university, forcing her to embark on manual jobs to earn a living.
But her hard work at Manor High School, Kitale between 2004 and 2007, which saw her attain a mean grade of A- of 71 points with the hopes of being posted by Joint Admissions Board (JAB), now Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), has been rewarded, in what would give credence to the narrative “better late than never”.
She was never admitted to any university despite attaining the requisite grades, and considering she is from a humble background, she was forced to abandon her quest for education.
But yesterday, it was she got a windfall that placed a smile on her face after Mount Kenya University offered her a fully-paid scholarship to study Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery commencing September 2022 and also spruced her lifestyle.
MKU founder and Chairman Prof Simon Gicharu traveled to Nafula’s home and issued her with the scholarship to actualise her dream of becoming a medical doctor and the university will support Tuition, accommodation and book expenses with a full scholarship worth 3.5 million.
She was also bequeathed with a piece of land and a house has been completed for her.
“This will enable her actualise her dreams,” said Prof Gicharu.
Nafula, promised to work hard and committed to serve the community after graduation.
“I’m going to work hard and make my sponsor proud. I know I have a huge expectation ahead of me but I’m determined,” she said.
According to Gicharu the varsity’s Board had agreed to support Nafula by funding her education and providing other emoluments.
“I was touched when I saw her story on TV. I asked myself, how we as Kenyans can allow her to stay at home for so many years just because she was not admitted to a university. We will give her a scholarship. This will enable her to actualise her dream,’ Gicharu said.
After clearing her Form Four, Nafula unsuccessfully attempted to reach the university placement board by writing several letters to the government agency.
“I did not get my letter at the time I expected it. I went to the principal to raise the issue and I was told that the school had not received my letter from JAB. I was also advised to go to Nairobi to ask about the matter but because I could not afford the fare, I wrote a letter to the board through the District Officer in Kitale in 2009. He sent the letter but there was no response,” the mother of two explained how she attempted to solve the crisis.
It has since emerged that Nafula was posted to Moi University to pursue a Bachelor of Tourism.
Preliminary investigations into the case indicate that another student registered at the university using Nafula’s identity in a fraud, which might have involved several players in the education sector.
The ceremony was held at Equip Africa College of Medical and Health Sciences in Kitale.
Elizabeth Angira