By Okong’o Oduya
26 bright needy students have been awarded sponsorship for high school by Equity Group Foundation.
The scholarship, through the Wings to Fly program of 2017, saw beneficiaries from Busia County see their dreams of pursuing education become a reality.
Equity Bank, Busia branch allocated the slot to the neediest students from the County.
The money will help the students pay fees for the entire high school.
Among the beneficiaries was Elizabeth Oduor from Ekisegere Primary school who could not hide her joy after news of the sponsorship hit her.”I am very pleased about this sponsorship, my parents are poor and they could not afford to take me to high school, my dream of becoming a doctor will be achieved now.”She narrated.
Addressing the public during the flagging off ceremony on Friday, Deputy Governor, Kizito Wangalwa and Busia Branch Manager Oscar Masinde , and other officials confirmed that all beneficiaries awarding ceremony across the country will be presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi.
Kizito Wangalwa, Deputy Governor, applauded the work done by Equity Bank.
He further advised their children to enable them to be persons of integrity in future. He also revealed that 439 Early Childhood Development teachers will be employed starting this month to give the children a strong foundation in their education.
Azida Ali, County Executive Committee Member for Education and Vocational Training, Busia county said the County Government has allocated 110 Million Kenya shillings towards education bursary for needy students across the county to enable them further their studies.
She also noted that they have set aside 70 million ksh as revolving fund for university and tertiary college students through Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to help them acquire education loans and repay after they complete their studies. She urged recipients of Equity Bank scholarship to make use of the opportunity to excel in their careers.
Similarly, Kenya Commercial Bank has too offered full scholarship for five students from Busia County to pursue their secondary education in selected schools across the country.
KCB Busia Branch Manager Christopher Komen said the sponsorship will include full year’s fees and Sh 25,000 per student for their shopping and emergency.
Speaking during the handing over of cheques to the beneficiaries on Friday, Komen said the bank spent over Sh 400,000 for the sponsorship program, adding that they are sponsoring over 200 students across the country.
Komen challenged the beneficiaries to make use of the sponsorship saying it is not easy to get such opportunities.
“We selected students from our three branches including Port Victoria and Malaba. The selection panel did a commendable job in identifying the needy students from the shortlisted candidates.” she said.
