Student Spotlight: Meet Situma Samuel, a star with lots of potential

We regularly like to shine a light on those members of Kids League Kenya that are flying.

To kick off 2023 we’re celebrating Sammy.

Meet Sammy, aged 20. He attended our partner school Kongowea Primary.

As with all of our students Sammy is from Kongowea, but as with many of our sponsored pupils he now attends a Secondary School in Kisii, the capital of Kisii County in south-western Kenya.

Many students go away from home for their secondary school education. We help by funding the education, but also work with the families to support this transition. It is of course an exciting but hard time for a child’s loved ones:

Facing the unknown

When in Form 1 and assigned to sit his Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) to attend his future school there were concerns.

This was a school not known well by Kids League Kenya or Sammy’s family, and there was some concern that the school may not match up to the potential of our able student.

Julie our administrator offered wise advice to the family. In particular to Sammy’s sister who has played a great role in helping his Kids League journey, to focus on the exam and on Sammy: “don’t look at the name of the school, any school depends on the child”.

So rather than worry that the performance of the school may be a problem, for Sammy and his family focus on his own performance.

The perfect match

We received some fantastic news recently that Sammy’s Kisii Secondary school is now in the top ten.

In the news it was reported: “A little known school in Kisii beat all odds and beat the giants for the first time.”

It is fantastic to have a great school paired with our talented student.

Sammy is ‘A-grade material’

Sammy is very disciplined, and after his first time visiting our office to collect his slip to pay his school fees didn’t quite go to plan. (You must have your report form and required documents, and without them, you cannot receive your fees). Sammy’s sister saved the day by gathering them together quickly, and since then he has been very organised and prompt.

Our team build a close relationship with the students we support.. While Julie enforces the rules for providing correct documentation for the school fee funding, she also coaches the pupils to be their best. Sammy is a great example of this.

When Sammy scored Bs in his grades (of course a credible result) Julie spent time building his confidence as ‘A grade material’. And guess what? We’re delighted he’s just achieved a mean A- grade in his latest results for Form 4. Congratulation Sammy!

Looking at a bright future

Sammy is 20 years old and looking forward to his next step.

He has an ambition to work in aviation, so he will be applying and await approval from the Ministry of Education.

Sammy regularly calls into the Kids League Kenya team office in Mombasa when he’s home, and we love to see him flourishing.