Valentine Achieng, a 15 year old girl from Homa Bay scored 348 in the 2022 KCPE exams.
Achieng could not hide her joy on Friday after she was picked as a beneficiary of scholarships offered by the KCB Foundation.
Born of divorced parents from a village in Oyugis, Achieng was brought up with her aging grandparents .
Unfortunately, while in class seven, she became pregnant and nearly dropped out of school were it not for the supportive grandparents.
"My parents divorced when I was two years old. They went separate ways, never to return . I don't even know my father. My grandmother raised me," she told journalists outside Tom Mboya Labour College hall on Friday.
She was among the 240 bright but needy students that qualified for the scholarship from Western Kenya.
The beneficiaries were picked by the foundation from ten counties in Western and Nyanza.
She travelled to Kisumu to join her colleagues who had converged at the Tom Mboya Labour College on Friday to receive their letters of acceptance from the foundation.
The programme sponsored by KCB Foundation targets bright but needy children across the country.
Achieng will be joining Form One at St Albert's Ulanda Girls Secondary School.
She sat for her KCPE last year at Manganga primary school in Oyugis.
"I appreciate my grandparents. My child is one year old now," she said during a media interview.
Her message to teenage mothers was, "don't lose hope, you can still focus on your studies and pass exams."
"I'll work hard in my education and I want to be a doctor and help my grandparents," she said.
Caroline Kihara who heads the KCB Foundation flagged off the 2023 scholarship awards for Western region in Kisumu .
"We sponsor these students all the way to campus. This is the 16th cohort," she said during the event which was also attended by Kisumu governor Anyan'g Nyong’o and the Nyanza Regional Director of Education Benson Sifuna amongst other dignitaries.
According to Kihara, a total of Sh700 million has been allocated by the KCB Foundation to support the programme.
Each child will receive Sh100, 000.
"We provide learning materials, fees, upkeep, mentorship and the beneficiaries are also guaranteed apprenticeship after high school," she said.
She said that a total of 4,058 students have since been sponsored by the foundation.
Cumulatively, the foundation has used Sh2.8 billion since the programme was introduced by the bank.
"1.5 per cent of our profit is committed by the bank each year towards this initiative which targets 1,000 bright and needy students across the country," she said
This aids access to education by students from humble backgrounds.
The foundation's CEO noted that the selection process is rigorous and ensures that only the most deserving pupils get identified.
"Ten per cent of this sponsorship goes to children abled differently and we also target young mothers who are in primary school whom we offer a second chance to study," she said
