Bright girl who scored top marks in KCPE appeals for help to join Form One
Brenda Nafulawa, who scored 381 marks in KCPE and selected to join Tartar Girls High School in West Pokot, during the interview in Nairobi on December 25, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Last week she learnt that she had been selected to join Tartar Girls High School in Makutano, Pokot County.
- Brenda Nafulawa, who dreams of becoming a doctor, has so far applied for various scholarship programs.
It’s Christmas Day. Everyone is in a celebratory mood. But not so for 13-year-old Brenda Nafulawa. Her forlorn face betrays the obvious. She has nothing to celebrate this festive season. Not even the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Why should I be celebrating when I'm not sure if I will be in school like my age mates in January? Where will my help come from?” she laments as she reveals the source of her desolation.
The last few days have come with a rollercoaster of emotions for the young Nafulawa.
Just a few weeks ago, she was over the moon after scoring an impressive 381 marks in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education.
Nafulawa was also the top candidate at Gathering Hope Education Center Primary School in Webuye East Constituency, Bungoma County.
Then last week, she received some more good news. She had been selected to join Tartar Girls High School in West Pokot County.
“I was overjoyed when the results were released. But then I quickly realised that it may not be possible for me to join Form One. My guardian has helped me a lot but she is not in a position to raise school fees for my secondary education,” Nafulawa told Nation.Africa.
Nafulawa’s story is a sad one. She has overcome so many challenges at a young age just to complete her primary school education.
“The last time I saw my parents was in 2017 when I was in Grade 2. My parents separated and left me in the care of an aunt. I stayed with the aunt until 2020 when she abandoned me. She burnt my birth certificate and left me in the plot where she used to live,” a tearful Nafulawa recounted.
“I then followed a schoolmate to their home where I was accommodated. That is how I ended up being taken care of by their family,” she said.
The teen, who is passionate about football, has since been living with a guardian, Beatrice Midenyo, in Misikhu, Mihuu Ward, Namarambi Sub-location in Webuye East Sub County.
“She came to my home with my grandchild who was her schoolmate. I chose not to send her away and informed our area chief about it. I don’t know the whereabouts of her parents but I can’t manage to see her through secondary school because I'm not financially capable,” said Ms Midenyo who is 63 years old.
Through the help of her guardian, Nafulawa obtained another birth certificate with which she registered for KCPE examinations. At birth, she was named Brenda Nafula. But on the new birth certificate her name now reads Brenda Nafulawa.
Currently, she is putting up Ms Midenyo’s daughter in Nairobi’s Umoja estate where she spoke to Nation.Africa.
Ms Midenyo describes Nafulawa as a bright and disciplined girl. She said as the guardian, she would be happy if Nafulawa gets help to see her through her education.
Nafulawa, who dreams of becoming a doctor, has so far applied for various scholarship programs.
Although she is yet to receive any positive feedback, she remains hopeful of joining secondary school and eventually living her dream.
