Anthony Omondi Wambui received his KCSE 2022 results, and he is among the 173,345 candidates who have qualified for university admission by placement.
He scored exemplarily well, with an A- of 75 points. But Anthony isn’t the ordinary candidate who’ll spend the entire month in a celebratory mood.
Coming from a humble background, Anthony wrote his final exams at Langalanga Secondary School in Nakuru. Immediately after, he started working as a mechanic in a garage, dressed in oily jumpsuits.
A first glance of the young man, you could easily be mistaken to think he is a school dropout struggling to learn on the job the skills of becoming a mechanic at Nakuru City’s Kanu Street.
Circumstances have forced Anthony Omondi to get a job since finishing high school. He will not let his dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer end because of poverty.
“I started working here on January 2nd. I want to save money for my university education,” he says.
Omondi was the second-best student in the Nakuru City school, which registered a total of 385 candidates.
“I worked hard to get an A- of 75 points. I will use every skill at my disposal to raise school fees and join the university. My mother depends on the Kazi Mtaani project which is on and off,” Omondi stated.
“I know my mother is struggling to meet the basic needs but I will not let my dreams of joining the university fade. I will do menial work to raise money and reduce the fees burden on her,” the young man added.
On a good day, Anthony Omondi is paid Sh. 500 at the garage. This is dependent on the number of vehicles to be repaired.
“I give my mother Sh. 400 to buy food and I save Sh. 100 daily for my University education,” he says.
Omondi’s mother, Pauline Wambui, biggest headache is that he may not be able to raise school fees to send her son to pursue his dream course at the university.
“I work as a casual laborer. I have no other source of income. I have three other children whom I am struggling to feed,” said Ms. Wambui.
READ: Mercy Chepkirui: 35-year-old mum of two who works in quarry, scores a C+ in KCSE 2022
She recalled how her firstborn son saw that she was struggling a lot and was worried that she would not meet the cost of his university education.
“He decided to do menial jobs. He saw me struggling to pay for his lunch fees at Langalanga Secondary School and those memories are pushing him to the limit. I’m widowed and he has seen me struggle to put food on the table,” she said.
“I know my son is a hardworking boy who burnt the midnight oil to get a mean Grade of A- in the 2022 KCSE exams. I don’t want him to feel that I let him down by not paying his university fees,” she added.
Ms. Wambui appeals to well-wishers to come to the rescue of her son’s dreams and help her send him to a good university to study Aeronautical Engineering.
