Chinese embassy helps dreams to come true

Scholarship relieves financial burdens, allows promising students to succeed

Abel Simiyu, will forever be grateful to the Chinese embassy in Kenya for making his educational dreams a reality.

Simiyu, who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in anthropology at the University of Nairobi, is among 20 recipients of the 2016 Chinese Ambassador's Scholarship, which is designed to lift promising students who lack the means to attend college.

The third-year student says he can fully concentrate on his studies to achieve academic excellence, as financial stress has now been lifted off his shoulders.

"I'm grateful to the embassy because I will now be able to clear my school fees," Simiyu says. "After my undergraduate degree, I will immediately enroll for a master's degree and thereafter a PhD. My dream is to be a professor and a university lecturer. I hope I will get other scholarships to help me realize the dream."

Born and reared by poor farmers in Bungoma County in the western part of Kenya, Simiyu was determined to study at university level despite the fact that none of his four elder siblings had gone beyond primary education.

He was attending a day school, a type of institution that is generally at a disadvantage compared with boarding schools.

But none of that deterred him. He had a dream to achieve. Armed with hard work, passion and optimism, he gave his all to his studies and performed well for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, scoring a B-plus.

"Through the support of well-wishers, the church and government aid, I was able to go through primary and secondary education. I always worked hard not to disappoint my sponsors," he says.

In May 2013, he was admitted to the UoN, but was deferred to January 2014, because he couldn't raise the required school fees.

While the Higher Education Loan Board has helped him pay school fees, covering the cost of housing and meals has been a big challenge. The Ambassador's Scholarship will help him solve these issues, allowing him to give his full attention to his studies.

"I have been doing manual work to raise the remaining amount of school fees as well as get pocket money. This has been a distraction to my classwork," he says.

Sammy Gichuki, another scholarship winner, shares a similar story. Born and reared in Trans-Nzoia County, northwest of Nairobi, by smallholder farmers, Gichuki was sponsored by his church and well-wishers as he worked to complete his secondary education.

"Despite my poor background, I was optimistic about succeeding in life," he says. "I decided to challenge my background through studying hard, to prove that the future is not dictated by background."

Gichuki says he did not allow negative thoughts and worries about raising his university fees - which are higher than secondary school - to distract him from his studies.

"I was convinced that if I passed the KCSE I would definitely get into a university. So I focused on passing, and I scored a B-plus," he says.

Getting sufficient money to pay his university fees was a big challenge, and he expressed appreciation for the government loan that has kept him in school.

The Chinese Ambassador's Scholarship, he says, will help him clear his school fees, so he can use funds from other sources for his living expenses - as well as to support his siblings who are in secondary schools.

"When I got a message that I had the scholarship, at first I thought I was dreaming. I'm truly grateful to the Chinese embassy in Kenya. I will be able to study without stress," Gichuhi says.

In awarding the scholarships, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa said that the $20,000 scholarships will enable students to smoothly pursue a range of humanities and science courses.

"This program was set up to encourage bright students from needy families not to give up due to financial constraints but to strive for success," he says.

He says science, education and humanities exchange have become pillars of relations between Kenya and China. This is in addition to promoting common development and enabling the two nations to jointly tackle global challenges.

"Scientific and educational work is an important force in accelerating economic growth and modernizing. It's also the basis for the development of the whole world," he says.

Henry Mutoro, academic affairs chancellor at the university, lauded the Chinese embassy for enabling the needy students' pursuit of education.

"The 58 students who have been in the program for the last three years have not disappointed. They have consistently excelled in their academic studies," he says.

He says the university has enjoyed cordial relations with the Chinese government for over 10 years, including the stablishment of a Confucius Institute.

"I look forward to more engagement with the embassy, particularly in academic linkages between the Chinese universities and UoN, in joint research and faculty and student exchanges," Mutoro says.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/18/2016 page20)