- A community organisation in Homa Bay has raised Sh500,000 to support vulnerable learners struggling with education expenses.
- Yamalang’o CBO says the intervention is aimed at preventing school dropout and helping children from poor families remain in class.
- Community leaders say the support will complement government bursaries that do not always meet the full cost of keeping learners in school.
For 120 vulnerable learners in North Kanyabala, Homa Bay, a Sh500,000 community initiative could mean the difference between staying in school and dropping out.
Yamalang’o Community-Based Organisation (CBO) has stepped in to support the learners, each receiving Sh4,000 to help meet education expenses.
The bursaries were distributed in Homa Bay Town as the organisation sought to cushion children from financially struggling families from the effects of poverty.
Yamalang’o CBO chairperson MaryTriza Achilles said the initiative was born out of concern over the increasing number of bright learners abandoning school because their parents could not afford education expenses.
“We saw a growing number of bright students from vulnerable families dropping out of school and decided to support them to keep them in school so that they could have a better future,” Achilles said.
The organisation raised Sh500,000 for the programme, with members contributing Sh250,000 and well-wishers and community leaders providing the remaining Sh250,000.
Achilles said the money was mobilised through the organisation’s community activities and was being channelled into interventions designed to improve the lives of residents.
Keeping vulnerable learners in school
For David Kongere, the organisation’s education programme chairman, the intervention was also about keeping young people away from activities that could destroy their future.
Kongere said some learners who dropped out of school were turning to boda boda riding, while others were getting involved in theft.
“We started this because we saw students in the area leaving school and going into boda boda business and others into theft. We wanted the students to go to school,” he said.
North Kanyabala Assistant Chief Washington Kideu said the community initiative was important because government bursaries did not always cover the full cost of education.
He said many of the beneficiaries were day-school students from poor families who continued to struggle with education expenses even after receiving government assistance.
“Some of the students are from poor backgrounds and their parents are unable to raise the remaining school fees required to supplement the bursary they receive from CDF,” Kideu said.
“The gap is there, and as a community and CBO, we saw the need to come together and pool resources so that the children stay in school,” he added.
Kideu urged the beneficiaries to take their studies seriously, saying the community had sacrificed from its limited resources to give them another chance.
“You have been given an opportunity by people who have sacrificed what little they have. You should work hard and make good use of it,” he said.
Appeal for more support
He also appealed to other well-wishers and stakeholders to support the organisation so that more vulnerable learners could benefit from the programme in coming years.
Yamalang’o CBO, established in August 2025, celebrated its first anniversary in August 2026.
During the celebrations, members shared Sh4.7 million generated through their weekly savings and lending activities.
Besides education, the organisation runs programmes targeting women and youth empowerment and environmental conservation through tree planting.
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But for the organisation’s members, supporting education has become one of the most important ways of investing in the future of North Kanyabala’s children.
By Kimutai Langat
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