We all need second chances; either to right a few wrongs or even to probe to yourself that something better would have come from a situation.
That’s exactly the kind of thing happening at the Ngong Open Learning Secondary school.
According to the director of an NGO called Adult Education Concern which runs the Ngong Open Learning Secondary School, Charles King’ori Murigo said is and will continue to be the purpose of the school.
“The reason I thought of such an institution is because of what I saw in Namibia. I was there during apartheid and I saw very many students dropping out. There were so many people who need that access to higher education in Namibia not be limited to the few who could afford to study full time. I then thought that the same concept should be used here in Kenya and that’s how the institution started in 2009.
We take in a variety of students with such interesting stories and backgrounds who missed school or dropped out due to various circumstances. We have orphans, parents who work and still want to study, single parents, shamba boys, former street children and some nomadic girls who ran away from their respective homes to avoid child and forced marriages and also female genital mutilation (FGM).
The list is quite diverse as you can see, and we try our very best to accommodate each circumstance. For example, some can’t afford to stay for the four years so we have the option of a crash course for 2 years. Others can only come either during the day or night depending on where they work so we also make that work for them. There are very many challenges but as I said before, we need to give them second chances.”
One such student is Dennis Kanini, a 3rd year student who also happens to be the headboy. Dennis is a former street boy who was taken in by a good Samaritan, taken to rehab and then to the school. The circumstances that led him here are more than heartbreaking as he had to do whatever it took to fend for himself after his mother died – and one of them was him getting addicted to sniffing glue and drinking alcohol to cope. He however got a second chance and is now thriving at the school.
All the help they can get
Apart from donations from NGOs, charities and government bursaries, they still need all the help they can get.
Safaricom Foundation recently donated books worth Kshs 1 million and 10 computers to the organization through their Ndoto Zetu Uwezo Wetu Initiative to boost ICT learning and digital knowledge which will empower the students to become relevant and competitive in national and global job markets.
To apply visit https://www.safaricomfoundation.org/ndotozetu/about/
