Please take your few minutes to go through this inspirational story. Those who come from needy families will tell you that there is little to smile about, especially if there are many of you. Nothing is ever enough, and the little there is has to be shared with your many siblings — food, clothes, sleeping space, everything. I, Steve Ogolla, was brought up in a family of nine children, and as the second-last born, I watched my older siblings drop out of school, one after the other, since our parents could not afford school fees. Young as I was, I knew that the same fate would befall me eventually. It was a fact that depressed me because I loved school. I was not blind to the fact that if I failed to go past primary school, like my siblings before me, my future would be doomed. My father’s income as a casual labourer in Nairobi, nor what my mother made from selling vegetables in the local market, was enough to feed us. My future looked bleak, however you looked at it, but I still worked hard in class and would get disappointed if I did not score good marks. PERFECTION For instance, when I joined Class Seven, I realised that I was not performing as well as I would have liked in mathematics. I just could not keep up with the pace of the teacher, who did not mind dispensing painful strokes of the cane to pupils like me. I confided this to my mother, who advised that I repeat Class Six and pay more attention to math. I took her advice and not only did I perform exceptionally well in math when I joined Class Seven the following year, I also consistently topped my class. My mother constantly encouraged me and ensured that I grew up disciplined. This, coupled with hard work, saw me appointed head boy in Class Eight at my school, Nyambiro Primary school in Ugenya, Siaya. I got along with all my teachers, a relationship that would benefit me in future. I did my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examinations in 1997 and scored 571 marks out of 700. This earned me a spot at St Mary’s School Yala, one of the leading schools in Nyanza. My worst fears were confirmed when my parents informed me that they could not raise the fees required to have me admitted. When my teachers learned this, they came together and raised money to cover a year’s fees. Unfortunately, come the following year, there was no money for fees, forcing me to stay at home as my friends proceeded to Form Two. To try and keep pace with them, I studied from home, hoping that my parents would somehow raise the money. Eventually, I realised that this would not happen and that unless I did something about it, I would never see the inside of a classroom again. One opening day, I boldly went back to school and explained my predicament to the headmaster. This put him in a dilemma. NEXT BEST THING How do you admit a student who has confessed his inability to pay school fees? I was crushed when he informed me that he could not admit me. Not ready to give up my dream of going to university, I went back to my primary school teachers. One of them, Mr Peter Nyawaka, now deceased, offered to enrol me at a nearby day school, Jera Secondary School. I was so happy, I could not stop smiling. I completed high school in 2001, scoring B- with 59 points. I had missed the University Joint Admissions Board target of 64 points and I knew there was no way I could raise money to join the parallel programme. Unable to raise college fees and without any prospects of getting a job, I decided to start hawking groundnuts and ice cream in the streets of Kisumu in the hope of raising enough money to join a teachers’ training college. My longing for education burned so much that at one point, I even organised a harambee to try and raise money. I used Sh6,000 to prepare for the fund raiser, yet I managed to raise just Sh3,000. I was utterly disappointed and discouraged and knew that I would never make it to college unless I saved for it. In 2003, I moved to Nairobi in search of better opportunities and a friend who lived in Kayole agreed to host me. However, I painfully discovered that it was equally difficult to get any sort of employment in Nairobi. One day as I was perusing the classified section in the Daily Nation, I picked out an advertisement calling for Form Four leavers to apply for a sales representative job. The company was based in Riverside Drive, Westlands. The promise of earning Sh1,000 while training and Sh15,000 a month on the job was too good to ignore. If I got the job, I reckoned, I would be able to save enough to enrol in college. I walked to the offices and presented my school leaving certificate and ID and was hired on the spot. I was to hawk assorted merchandise in the city centre. On average, I would earn a commission of about Sh100 a day. I would wonder whether to use the money to buy food or save it for the next day’s fare. The stomach often carried the day and often, I had to walk from Kayole to the city centre. Sometimes, I skipped lunch and saved the money instead. I often walked through the University of Nairobi’s main campus and the Chiromo campus on my way to Westlands. One day, I bumped into an old friend and former classmate at St Mary’s Yala. He was visiting his elder brother, who was at the university. He informed me that he would be joining the same university later in the year. He is the one who advised me to register for KCSE as a private candidate if I really wanted to join university. If anything, he told me, it was much cheaper than enrolling in school. I was highly motivated, and started looking for a school that was willing to take me in. However, most schools in Nairobi were unwilling to allow an outsider to just walk in and sit for national exams. Eventually, I approached the then Ugenya MP, Stephen Ondiek, now deceased, for assistance. Thankfully, he allowed me to register as a candidate for the 2003 KCSE at his school, Siaya Academy. I paid the registration fee of Sh3,200 and came back to Nairobi to hawk during the day and read late into the night. During the examination month, I travelled back home. DEVASTATED I was elated when I scored a B plain of 65 points, confident that this time I would get admission to university. However, the cut-off points were raised from 64 to 66. I had missed it again, this time by a mark. Devastated, I quit my job and moved to Mombasa, telling myself that there were better opportunities in the coastal town. Although I had relatives in Mombasa, I did not know where they lived and, with no phone, I had no way of reaching them. A good Samaritan I met at the bus station took me in. Yes, miracles do happen. I managed to get a job as a loader at the port, where I earned Sh300 a day. It was hard work, but it was the best paying job I had ever had, so I did not complain. Together with four friends I met at the port, we rented a house. To supplement our earnings, we made fruit juice during weekends and sold a cup at Sh50. At the end of that year, I had saved Sh20,000. My spirit bolstered, I returned to my home village and talked with my mother. I expressed my desire to go back to school for a third and final attempt at KCSE in the hope that I would be able to make it to university in the regular programme. Mother, knowing my stubborn nature, encouraged me to go for it. In January 2005, I approached the principal of Ambira Boys High School, in Ugenya, Mr Omondi Wanga, with a passionate plea to be allowed admission and registration as a full-time Form Four student and candidate for KCSE. He accepted my request. I was 22, the oldest in my class since most of my classmates were 18 and below. But the age gap did not make them treat me differently. We respected and assisted each other in our studies. Despite having a slow start and being index 92 out of 127, I worked extremely hard. I would study up to 1am and get up at 3.30am to start where I had left off. When the principal directed that the lights remain on in all Form Four classes to enable the students who wished “to sleep less and read more” do so, I would study until my eyes could no longer remain open. The library became my sanctuary. When that year’s KCSE results were released, I was the best student in my school, scoring A- of 79 points. My hard work had paid off. Finally, my dream of going to university was within reach. In 2007, I was admitted to study law at Moi University. Through a loan from the Higher Education Loans Board, I was able to pay my school fees without having to struggle. I graduated in 2011 with a second class honours degree, upper division. HOME AT LAST Due to lack of fees, I was initially unable to join the Kenya School of Law for the post-graduate diploma. However, thanks to sponsorship from the Advocates Benevolent Association, through the Law Society of Kenya, I was able to join the Kenya School of Law for the mandatory one-year diploma programme. As my studies progressed, I got a second scholarship for the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s Rule of Law Programme for sub-Saharan Africa to pursue a Master of Law in Governance and Democracy at the University of Nairobi. I will start my studies this month. I am now a trainee lawyer under the mentorship of Prof P.L.O. Lumumba at Lumumba and Lumumba Advocates. My admission to the Bar is due in December this year. From my experience, hard work, discipline, focus, and trust in God were critical towards achieving my goals. My motivation comes from Jeremiah 29:11 which says: “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to make you succeed and not fail.” For those in a similar situation, life is like a football game. You do not have much time to hit the target. To achieve your goals, you need to focus, and as long as you have your target in sight, strike without hesitation.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 20:14:09 +0000
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