In the quiet hills of Botori village in Kisii County, where banana trees dot the landscape and dusty paths weave between homes, a young girl once sat under a flickering kerosene lamp, dreaming beyond her circumstances. In her world, dreams, especially those of girls, were often stifled, silenced, and ignored before they could even take root.
Growing up in a single-parent household and later under the care of her grandmother, life for Sheillah Kemunto was anything but easy. Her early years were shaped by hardship and a persistent internal fire to rise above the norm. At her rural primary school, excelling as a girl was quietly resisted. “It was as if we were being taught that our place was not about shining. The system, the community, everything seemed to say: ‘This is not your lane, girl,’ she recalls.
Yet in a setting where girls were expected to settle for the bare minimum, Sheillah refused to dim her light. She scored an impressive 405 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), earning a spot at Butere Girls High School, a national institution known for producing some of Kenya’s brightest female minds. The joy of the acceptance letter, however, was quickly shadowed by a familiar fear. How would her family afford it?
Then fate intervened. “I was walking through town, and on a whim, walked into a KCB Bank branch. I asked if they had a scholarship program, and someone pointed me to the forms right on the counter,” she says, almost in disbelief. That simple act of boldness would become the turning point of her life.
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The KCB Foundation scholarship opened the door to Butere and much more. The application process, though competitive, was her first glimpse into a different kind of support system, one that believed in her potential. Out of hundreds of applicants, she was the only girl selected in her cohort from her area. “That was my moment,” she says. “I felt seen, chosen, and I knew I could not afford to waste it.”
Over the next four years, KCB Foundation played a more significant role in her life than just being a sponsor. It became her other family. It paid her school fees, did her shopping, always checked on her grades, and provided mentors. It filled a gap that poverty had carved in her life. “It was like having another parent who not only pays the bills but asks why you are not performing and cheers you on when you succeed.”
With discipline, clarity, and support, Sheillah thrived at Butere Girls. Her voice, once subdued by gendered expectations, grew bolder. She scored a straight A. This August, her story enters a new chapter at Amherst College in Massachusetts, USA, where she will study Psychology and Communications.
“I am anxious,” she admits. “I am only 19, and I am moving to a new country, a new continent, with a different culture and system. I also know that I have already survived things tougher than culture shock. So, I will be fine.”
Sheillah is particularly excited about Amherst’s open curriculum, the chance to explore interdisciplinary thinking, and the opportunity to discover more about how people think, relate, and grow. Her goal is to return home and partner with community organisations, not to work for them, but to empower them. “I want to help young people who come from backgrounds like mine to believe that they can be more. I want to be the voice I did not have when I was 10.”
To her fellow KCB scholars and students walking similar paths, she has one message: “Keep pushing. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Find what gives you peace and chase it relentlessly.”
To KCB Foundation, she says with emotion, “Thank you for becoming my family. For investing in my story before it was even written. As I step into the world, I know I carry not just my name, but your belief in me.”
