When it looked all doom and gloom for needy students who lacked fees to further their education, the move by the Westlands NG-CDF to offer a helping hand has reignited their hope to realize their dreams.
It was a relief for both the parents and the students from Westlands constituency who were staring at the possibility of shelving their education ambitions altogether after efforts to raise the required fees to secure their form one admissions failed.
Through the Westlands NG-CDF scholarship programme, the 45 needy students drawn from Karura, Kangemi, Kitisuru, Parklands and Mt View received full year school fees cheques to make their dreams come true.
David Murunga, a guardian, could not hide his joy after receiving an alert in his mobile phone that the orphan under his care had been considered for the full scholarship.
“I have other children in secondary school and I could not afford to educate them. My hopes that the boy in my care could join Form One were slowly dimming as the deadline for reporting drew close. However, when I received the alert, I couldn’t believe it,” said Murunga.
Speaking during the disbursement of NG-CDF scholarships on Wednesday, Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi encouraged parents not to show their children their inability to provide.
Specifically, Mr Wanyonyi challenged parents to work hard as well as indulge into new entrepreneurial ventures in order to fend for their families.
“Don’t demonstrate to your children that you are helpless or very poor. Don’t weaken yourself before your child. You are his or her hero,” he urged the parents.
Additionally, he discouraged parents against being too religious to the extent of being gullible to exploitation.
Importantly, he also asked the parents not to force their children into cultic religious believes.
Moreover, he challenged the beneficiary parents to rise to the occasion and clear the little amount that might have not been catered for by the funds.
“Don’t allow your children to abuse mobile phones”, he cautioned parents.
To him, children should only have mobile phones when necessary, explaining that leaving so much room for children to have access to mobile phones is one avenue they will learn unhealthy things.
The MP encouraged beneficiaries of the scholarships to work hard and remember where they are coming from and where they are headed to.
Mr Wanyonyi also narrated his struggles to attend school due to challenges in school fees payment.
He recalled how he had to complete his schooling but with a huge fees arrears. Later, he cleared the arrears when he started working.
This he said, is one of his motivations to step in the gap and help some students or parents who find it hard to pay school fees.
Mr Wanyonyi encouraged the learners to keep their best foot forward and not allow themselves to be derailed from good performance due to bad influence in school.
On his part the Westlands Constituency Manager Mr Ben Mwonyonyo urged parents to take a leading role in mentoring their children and not leave it in the hands of teachers and leaders.
He challenged the parents that after receiving the bursary funds from the constituency, the role of the MP gets limited in how their children progress.
According to Mr Mwonyonyo, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that their children are well behaved, have done their homework, have good relations with teachers and generally be disciplined.