The Chandaria Foundation Education Scholarship gave me hope for a bright future

“Being a recipient of the Chandaria Foundation Education scholarship gave me the hope that the future is bright. The Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) gave me hope and relieved the tension that I may not continue with education after primary school,” says 19-year-old MERCY MUTINDI, a second-year Bachelor of Technology in Electronic Engineering student, at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK).

It was a bittersweet moment in 2017 when Mercy received an invitation to join Ole Tipis Girls High School. “I was happy having been invited to join a national school. But again, I could not envision my parents managing to enroll me at the prestigious school. A week earlier, my two brothers who were also in secondary school had been sent home for school fees,” she recollects.

In 2016, she achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the top student at Mutongu Primary School in Makueni County, her hometown, during the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations, scoring an impressive 375 marks. Her relentless commitment to self-driven learning had undoubtedly been the key to her success. “Despite the fact I was day schooling, right from class six I had disciplined myself to always wake up at 4 AM to study. Then at around 6 AM, I would make my way to school,” she recounts.

Luckily, her father had just heard about KCDF from one of his friends who was working in Nairobi. “He accompanied my father to the KCDF offices, and was given some application forms which we filled and returned. A few weeks later we were called for an interview,” Mercy explains. She is grateful to God that she passed the interview. “It is like there was no other way that I would have joined secondary school were it not for that school fees cheque from the Chandaria Foundation through KCDF.”

In partnership with KCDF, the Chandaria Foundation education scholarship programme provides partial scholarship grants to students from vulnerable backgrounds through their secondary school. To offset the fees balance, her mother would apply for the constituency development fund (CDF) bursaries. This set her in a conducive school environment ensuring that she never faced the risk of being sent home due to unpaid school fees throughout her entire high school journey.

Back at their home in Mutongu village in Kilungu subcounty, Makueni County, her father was working as a farm hand, while her mother practiced subsistence farming. “She grew cabbages, kales and tomatoes which we depended on for food and a source of livelihood as she sold some of the produce to make ends meet.” Despite the considerable challenges that life presented, Mercy, who was the youngest among four siblings, always maintained a very positive mindset. “We could come home from school only to walk long distances to fetch water, collect firewood and assist our mother at her small farm until dusk. But even in the midst of all these chores I deliberately chose to remain focused in my studies. I had no excuse not to perform well.”

When Mercy faced school suspensions due to unpaid tuition fees, her parents would go to great lengths, including borrowing, to ensure her return to school. Additionally, their village had unreliable electricity connections during that period. “The transformer would break down and send the entire village into darkness for even over a month. My dad would struggle to buy kerosene so that I can study at night. The deal was that I do not fail and blame it on the lack of lighting to read at night.”

Through the support of Chandaria Foundation and KCDF, Mercy took pride in writing a letter to her sponsor detailed her academic progress and also file her termly academic reports. “This letter kept me on track. Even when other girls were not taking their study time seriously, I knew that I was tasked for a higher calling – to work hard and earn good grades.” She goes on: “I had this mentality that ‘big brother is watching’. I had to really be accountable for what I did. It really pushed me to work hard throughout my high school journey”. She consistently displayed her early-riser attitude, being the first to awaken in her room during school days. Even during holiday breaks at home, this dedication persisted as she continued to rise at 4 AM to devote herself to her studies. “I was not going to give an excuse of why I didn’t study. In the mornings I would revise and do my own studies, while in the afternoon, I would be doing assignments and homework. I was like if KCDF are paying for my school fees, how could I fail them?”

Even with the harsh climate and water shortages at Ole Tipis Girls High School in Narok, Mercy found herself enjoying her studies at the school. At Ole Tipis Girls, Mercy stood out for her prowess in Mathematics. “I was an active member of the Mathematics club. We really competed in Mathematics contests. I recall how I outperformed students from Alliance Girls High School. This significantly bolstered my self-esteem. It made me feel like a true expert; I was the best.

Again, her hard work paid off when she attained a score of B+ with a mean grade of 67 points in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2021. This saw her get admitted for a Bachelor of Technology in Electronic Engineering at TUK. KCDF through the Chandaria Foundation Education Scholarship is still catering for her school fees. “I got the scholarship while in my second term of my first year. They pay the entire fees and I get a Sh. 25,000 stipend from which I pay rent, my transport, I purchase school items like calculators and other learning items, and food items.”

In March 2023, Mercy attended a two-day youth and employability skills workshop in Nairobi organized by KCDF, where she was taken through how to manage her finances and how to write her resume, she says. “From the workshop, I also discovered that I needed to upscale my computer skills, and I am now enrolled for computer classes.” At the workshop, Mercy was also tasked to look for a mentor. “I got a perfect one – Joyce Mailu, the head-teacher and proprietor at Kyale Primary School. She is a focused lady who keeps her word. She gives back to the society and advised me to do it. She gave me an opportunity to be giving back at her school where I teach Science, Computer and Mathematics.”

Joyce, she explains, serves as her motivation to excel beyond the expectations of others. “She wants me to cut a niche for myself, and to position myself out there competitively. Whenever we interact, she continuously impacts my life.” Mercy’s mother stands out for her in terms of her resilience and selflessness. “My mother is very independent and takes own initiative. She knows how to manage money, no matter how small. She stretches every coin and I have picked this trait from her – she advises me to save for a rainy day.”

To overcome some weaknesses in financial and time management, Mercy is training herself to be disciplined with the way she spends her money. She also makes sure that each and every morning she wakes up having a plan for the day. Knowledge fascinates her. “I am always motivated to seek new knowledge and to grow my skills every day. For instance, KCDF has paid for my computer classes, which I am taking right now. But I am also taking some online web-design courses from TUK. These will also help me to become better.”

She aspires to work with the electric power generating firm, Kengen in the near future and to join the pool of KCDF benefactors. “I cannot wait to give back to society by helping other children to fulfill their dreams.” The Chandaria Foundation Education Scholarship is of great help to learners from low backgrounds as it gives them hope to actualize their dreams and aspirations, she says. Mercy intends to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering in the near future. Two of her three brothers are in college where one is pursuing a mechanical engineering course, while the other is pursuing a power plant operator course.

She advises other young people to utilize any opportunity that comes their way in a responsible manner. “Challenges will be there but when you are disciplined enough, you can maneuver. Never give up. It is never over until it is over.”