Mathew Aol Nyamlori is a thirty-six-year-old student at Kenyatta University. He sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education for almost a decade before getting secondary school.

Mr. Mathew did his K.C.P.E. nine times without giving up. He wanted to become a doctor when he grows up. The dream almost came into a reality in the year 1998. This was when he sat for his first K.C.P.E.  He scored four hundred, and seventy-eight marks out of seven hundred.

He schooled at Kipsimbi primary school and later got admission to Kabianga high school. However, he says those results and the admission letter were bittersweet for him. There were no hopes of furthering his education since his parents were not doing well financially. Despite this, Nyamlori went back to school in the year 1999. He repeated class eight. This time at Rogo primary school. He had hopes that that time things will get better, and he will be able to further his education.

When the K.C.P.E. results came out, Mathew had scored five hundred and fifty-nine marks. He got an admission letter at Kanga high school.  This time, things got a little better as than auntie was would for his education. However, this did not last long, and he had to drop out in his second term. His auntie could not support his education anymore.

Nyamlori would then stayed out of school for two whole years. He decided to give education another chance. During this time, he was working as a casual laborer in Nairobi in a milling factory earning between two hundred and two hundred and fifty.

What was his biggest motivation?

 “I had to drop out of school because I had no one to sustain me. I started working as a casual laborer, but it was not easy for me,” he recalls.

“I had to move from one school to another to avoid humiliation. Also, some teachers thought because I was older and I had gone through the classes before, I knew everything I needed to know.”

CSEKitere primary school is where she went back to in 2002 and scored three hundred and eighty-seven. He got admission to Rapogi high school, but no one will finance his education.

After this, he went back to school yet again, and this time round in 2003, he registered in Sony sugar primary school scoring three hundred and ninety-nine mark. This got his admission to Rapogi high school again. In 2004, the same case back. Attended Rangwe junior Academy and scored four hundred and thirty-four marks and got admission to Maseno high school. After joining, he dropped out in the second term.

 It was back to standard 8.

In 2008, he sat for the national exams and scored three hundred and ninety-seven marks, which got him a place in Maranda High School. The same story that saw his yet again go back to class eight. In 2009, he scored four hundred and one marks at Rebby academy and got admission at Kapsabet high. Still, he did not go to the school and resulted in repeating another time. This time, he went to Agape academy in Kosel, where he sat for 2010, K.C.P.E. getting another readmission at Maranda high.

Because of these nasty experiences, he changed his dream career and now opted to do public policy and not a doctor at the university.

 “All this happened because of my poor background. I did not have anyone to help me go to school.”

End of suffering experience.

However, in 2011 K.C.P.E. scored four hundred and three marks, and he got admission to Nairobi School.  The light at the end of the tunnel finally came to be. Here, he could get a full scholarship by equity bank’s wings to fly. Despite being older than his teachers, he chose to stay at school. He scored a B minus in the K. He managed to get admission at Kenyatta university to take a bachelor’s degree in public policy and administration. As a student, he depends largely on government sponsorship and online writing for his upkeep. He set to graduate this  July. He looks forward to helping the needy. He finds his motivation from gospel songs. His experiences affected his social life, and he looks forward to having his own family.

Extras: The above story is presented to you courtesy of Mathew Aol Nyamlori, Kenyatta University Student.

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