Horace Mann once said “Education, then beyond all other divides of human origin is a great equalizer of conditions of men; the balance wheel of social machine.” For Valentine Indagwa this quote meant a lot to her in her younger days.
As a young girl, Valentine had big dreams. Dreams of being a better person in life. She aspired to be a resourceful person in the society, change societal norms and affirm that when you educate a girl child in the community, she will equally be powerful like the boy child.
In her teens, she admired the few people in her locality who through education had built nice houses, had beautiful compounds. She was attracted to how they gave back to the community and strengthen community systems especially in matters development. She revered them, looked up to them, saw role models in them.
All she wanted was to be part of the change and transformative process. To live a better and productive life. Build her father and mother a nice house and raise the social status and dignity of her family in the community. Since she was a bright student academically, all she had was one weapon education, the greatest equalizer.
Valentine grew up in hardship throughout most of her upbringing. Life did not give her the comfort of enjoying basic privileges like eating 3 meals in a day and getting most of the basic needs she required as a child. Her parents were and still are casual laborers who live not a better life.
Luckily for Valentine after completing her high school entry exams, she scored good grades that got her a place in a good government sponsored school. Her parents did not have enough money to pay for her fees and by God’s grace, her story caught the attention of UKR who enrolled her in our high school scholarship program.
The scholarship proved to be impactful as she experienced some good moments of her life in high school. “It was a pleasure. I was able to participate in school games. I could eat 3 meals in a day. I made friends from different cultures which made school enjoyable,” she said.
With our support she also got to go on educational trips which helped her a lot. “I went for geography trips in Elgeyo Marakwet and Eldoret airport. There I learnt about the environment, the ecosystem and appreciated mother nature,” she said.
She also liked the high school retreat UKR organized during school holidays. “I loved retreats. I learnt a lot about sex education. It helped me gain knowledge that helped me make informed decisions on my life,” she adds.
UKR’s support helped her once again score good grades in her high school exit exams and eventually received a call to join Tom Mboya university to study bachelor of education science (Physics and Maths Option).
Valentine shares that she loved Physics and Maths in high school and an opportunity to teach students those subjects would be wonderful. She has also been volunteering teaching the subjects in a nearby school after completing high school and continuing with the same is an idea she welcomes.
Valentine is appreciative for the support she was given for her high school education. Extended support for campus education will help her achieve her dreams.
She promises to come back and help her family in building a nice house and paying fees for her siblings and improve literacy levels in her community through teaching.