High school students should know how to seize study-abroad opportunities. Study-abroad missions gives us a riveting rehash of Tom Mboya – the silver-tongued orator. I fleshed it out from Prof BA Ogot’s heroic book titled Tom Mboya: Life, Death and Disintegration of the Nascent Enterprise ‘Project Kenya’.
Mboya’s greatest gift to Africa was the philanthropic project of Kenyan students’ airlift to America (1959-1960). The maiden trip of 1959 had 81 students. The second one of 1960 had 288 students. Then, the third one of 1961 had 300 students.
Notable beneficiaries included Pamela Odede, later the wife of Tom Mboya, Prof Wangari Maathai – the eco-warrior and 2004 Nobel Laureate. Then, there was Barrack Obama Senior, among others. Dr Susan Mboya, Tom Mboya’s youngest child, carries the fire lit by the father through Zawadi Educational Fund, which since 2002 hitherto, has been supporting financially disadvantaged girls who are bright: Studying in Kenya, Canada, United States and South Africa.
When the philanthropic drive started in 2002, only two girls benefitted, but by 2009, about 86 girl`s had received hope and help. Consequently, Naphtali Haya, an alumnus of Alliance High School, is an excellent example. KUCCPS placed him at the University of Nairobi to pursue Medicine.
Instead, he chose to pursue Engineering at Havard University through Kenya Scholar Access Programme (KenSAP), which assists brilliant students to join prestigious universities based abroad. His story cites the possibilities and benefits of studying abroad. While at Harvard, his Senior Capstone Project, which was a requirement for all Engineering students emerged the best. In turn, he scooped the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Engineering Project.
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Moreover, in 2023, through Equity Leaders Programme (ELP), around 73 students joined Ivy League tertiary institutions in countries such as USA, UK, Canada, China, India and Germany. Five joined Pennsylvania, 3 joined Harvard, 2 went to Princeton, 2 matriculated into Dartmouth, 2 went to Cornel, 1 joined Brown and 1 went to Columbia. In 2024, ELP enrolled 505 students from 47 counties to undergo mentorship before joining top universities. The 26th cohort had 215 who scored A’s in 2023 KCSE.
Then, 104 Wings to Fly Programme participants and 186 Elimu Scholarship recipients. Actually, study-abroad opportunities serve as excellent pathways to tertiary institutions abroad. These oodles of opportunities offer exciting experiences.
Various study-abroad agencies such as Uni-abroad, Imperial Education Consultants, Swiss Education Consultants, Edu-USA, Edu-Canada, Edu-care International, Universe Education, UNIPSS, Transworld, Education Consultants, Uni-serv Education, Finds-Admission and Craydel: Facilitate this journey.
Finally, when applying to study abroad, students must prepare scanned copies of KCSE certificates, international passport, data pay and any other requisite document. Ostensibly, numerous factors influence the success of applications. Ipso facto, a gap of 6 months after KCSE gives the applicant an upper hand, but delays of one year require adequate justification. Application fees may apply and sometimes a statement of purpose is necessary. Before applying to foreign universities, it’s crucial to consider accreditation and ranking.
By Victor Ochieng’
The writer is a career coach. vochieng.@gmail.com
The writer rolls out academic talks in schools. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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