American-based businessman Como Choi has urged the youth to remain honest, determined and hardworking in their education and complete their studies successfully to make their parents proud.
Choi said many youths, even those from poor homes, join universities and fall into bad company that lures them into drug and substance abuse, undermining their educational pursuits and ambitions and ultimately bringing disappointment to their families.
Speaking at their family home in Boochi, Borabu Ward, Kisii County, Choi congratulated his nephew Charles for braving all hardships to complete his doctorate in medicine and asked his siblings and other youths in the village to emulate him.
He said Charles had proved that poverty is not an excuse for failure. Despite coming from a humble background, he remained focused, disciplined and prayerful, avoided negative peer pressure and worked hard until he completed his studies.
"My nephew Charles is a living example that hard work pays. He did not allow poverty, distance or discouragement to stop him. He stayed honest, he stayed determined, and today he has made our parents proud and our whole family proud," said Choi.
He warned the youth that university life is full of temptations. Many young people, he said, start well but lose direction when they join friends who introduce them to alcohol, drugs, betting and immorality. Such habits, he said, destroy health, waste school fees, break the hearts of parents and kill dreams that took years to build.
"Do not waste your parents' sacrifice. Your parents sold land, sold cows, did casual jobs and borrowed money to take you to school. The best way to thank them is to finish your education and come back home with success," he said.
Education as a tool for community development
Choi said apart from personal development, good education helps uplift a community.
Quality education, he said, benefits a community in many ways. It produces doctors, teachers, engineers, nurses, lawyers and agricultural officers who return home to serve their own people. A village that has its own doctor does not need to travel far for treatment. A village that has its own teachers produces more educated children.
Education also reduces poverty. An educated youth gets a job, starts a business or creates employment for others. That income builds better houses, pays school fees for younger siblings and supports the church, school and community projects.
Beyond that, education fights drug abuse, crime and early pregnancies. A youth who is busy in class and focused on a goal has little time for idle groups that plan crime. An educated community understands the dangers of drugs and works together to protect its children.
Education equally brings development and good leadership. Educated people understand their rights, demand accountability from leaders, manage public resources well and bring new ideas such as modern farming, ICT and value addition to local produce. A community with educated leaders builds better roads, water projects, health centres and schools.
Above all, education uplifts the dignity of a family and a village. When one child succeeds, like Dr Charles, the whole village celebrates. Other children get the courage to dream. Parents get hope. The community gets a role model.
He urged parents to continue supporting their children in school and encouraged the youth in Boochi and Kisii County at large to emulate Dr Charles.
"Copy Charles. Be honest in your exams. Be determined even when you lack fees. Be hardworking even when others are sleeping. Education is the only inheritance that no one can steal from you," said Choi.
Successful professionals urged to mentor youth
Continuing his address, Choi said the celebration at their home in Boochi was not just for one family but for the whole village. He said many people had watched Charles grow up, knew the struggles he went through and had prayed for him. To see him now return home as a doctorate holder in medicine was proof that God rewards patience.
He told the youth present that success does not come overnight. Charles, he said, spent many nights reading while others were sleeping, many days walking long distances to school and many seasons going without enough money for books and food. What kept him going was discipline and a clear vision of where he wanted to go.
"Do not compare yourself with those who seem to succeed quickly through shortcuts. Shortcuts end in shame. Slow, honest hard work ends in honour," said Choi.
He also challenged those who have already succeeded, especially those living abroad, to come back home and mentor the young ones. He said a community cannot grow if its successful sons and daughters forget where they came from. Those in America, Nairobi, Mombasa and other towns should send not only money but also advice, books, mentorship and encouragement.
"Let us not be the generation that eats alone. Let us lift others as we rise. If each successful person in Boochi sponsors one child, mentors one youth, and encourages one family, in ten years this village will be a completely different place," he said.
Choi further urged village elders, church leaders and teachers to work together to protect the youth from drug peddlers and bad influences. He said schools, churches and homes must speak the same language: that education is sacred and drugs are the enemy of development.
He also asked the youth to respect their parents and teachers, fear God and choose friends wisely. A good friend, he said, will push you to read, pray and dream big. A bad friend will push you to drink, steal and drop out.
In his closing remarks, Choi said he was proud to be an uncle to a doctor and proud to belong to a family and a village that believes in education. He promised to continue supporting education initiatives in Boochi and called on other well-wishers to join hands in building a community where every child has a chance to succeed.
"Today we celebrate Dr Charles. Tomorrow, let us celebrate many more doctors, teachers, engineers and leaders from this same soil. That is the true meaning of development," he said.
Dr Charles recounts his journey to success
When Dr Charles stood to speak, the crowd went silent. With tears in his eyes, he thanked God, his parents, his uncle Como Choi, his teachers and the whole community for standing with him.
He said there were times he wanted to give up. Times when school fees were not there. Times when he failed an exam and felt like a failure. Times when friends laughed at him for being too serious with books. But every time he remembered the sacrifices of his parents and the prayers of his village, he found strength to continue.
"I did not make it because I am the cleverest. I made it because I refused to give up. I stayed away from drugs. I chose good friends. I prayed. I worked hard. If I can do it, you can also do it," said Dr Charles.
He promised to use his knowledge to serve humanity, treat the sick with compassion, mentor young people in Boochi and give back to the community that raised him. He said his doctorate was not his alone; it belonged to his family and his village.
His parents, visibly moved, thanked God for the day. They said they had sacrificed everything, sometimes going without, so that their son could stay in school. To see him now as a doctor was the greatest reward they could ever receive.
Village elders, church leaders and neighbours who attended the celebration also congratulated the family. They said Dr Charles had put Boochi on the map and had given the youth a new hero to follow, not a musician, not a drug dealer, but a doctor.
The celebration ended with songs of praise, ululations and a communal meal as the family, friends and neighbours rejoiced together. Many youths left the home with a renewed determination to work hard, avoid drugs and finish their education.
For Boochi, it was more than a graduation party. It was a lesson. A lesson that honesty, determination and hard work still pay. A lesson that a child from a poor home can become a doctor. And a lesson that when one child succeeds, a whole community rises.
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