By Asa Maina
Mwenji Catholic Parish in the Archdiocese of Nyeri is in the process of starting a foundation to help pay fees for needy learners in the society.
Parish priest Benson Kiboi said the kitty will cater for the fees of learners struggling to pay both in secondary schools and higher learning institutions in the area.
Those set to benefit are learners from needy families who will not have been lucky to get government bursaries and sponsorship.
The move was initiated after the realization that there are still learners who are unable to join secondary or colleges due to lack of fees, with Kiboi calling on well-wishers to chip in and help establish the foundation.
“We already made a step by sponsoring two boys who are in St. Paul Seminary. They are doing well,” Kiboi said at Mwenji Catholic Parish Education day held at Mwenji Catholic church.
The chief guest during the event Anthony Mithanga called on the community to take education seriously and as part of their responsibility.
“Nyeri today should not be talking about 100 per cent transition to the high school but we should be talking about 100 per cent transition to tertiary institutions and universities,” he said.
Mithanga donated Sh 100,000 towards the starting of the foundation.
Gikonyo Kariuki, who was the team leader of the group that was organizing the inaugural Education day, said the idea of having an education day for the parish came out of the need to involve stakeholders in the running of education so that learning standard in the schools can be uplifted.
“The need to motivate teachers and learners as well as taking stock of how our students are performing is essential. We also want to encourage the learners through mentorship and support,” he said.
The Karemeno Secondary School principal in Kieni said the education day was started after noting that the performance of schools in the parish was deteriorating, prompting stakeholders to put resources together to cater for the awards and recognition.
He expressed hopes that going forward, the committee will transform into a support group to come up with special programmes on mentorship and role modeling, provision of learning and study materials to support learners and teachers.
This, he said, will be in an effort to add value to learners’ work. About 17 schools, which include primary, secondary and colleges attended the event.
