I went to Alliance: The desperate law student seeking menial jobs
Elijah Githinji who was pursuing a law degree at the Strathmore University stresses a point during the interview. He has been unable to raise money to continue with his University education.
For more than five years, Elijah Githinji has unsuccessfully been toiling to raise funds to settle his University dues after being discontinued for failing to pay fees.
Now aged 27, Mr Githinji is almost despairing with the dreams of ever becoming a lawyer disappearing in the thin air.
The Alliance High School alumnus who scored an impressive A minus has been surviving on tough menial jobs and his physical appearance is telling, his towering flame, notwithstanding.
He sat his KCPE in 2010 and joined Alliance in 2011 up to 2014.
In 2015, he joined Strathmore but only studied for one year before he was discontinued.
He says he failed to apply for Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) facility fearing he might not be able to repay the loan with some of his family members talking him out of the it.
"Some of my family members warned me against taking the loan, saying it was a bad idea," he said
The Nation caught up with him as he engaged a potential employer in a conversation at a Naivasha hotel, his would-be boss, clearly overawed by his academic credentials.
With desperation written all over his face, Mr Githinji flipped through papers put in a neat handbag, eager to leave a lingering mark on his interviewer.
Fidgeting, he fishes out his notable papers, laying them on a coffee table. The moment meant the world to him…he has been struggling to survive.
“I wanted to hire a shamba boy (garden tender) and somebody suggested him (Githinji) to me,” said Peter Mwangi.
"My conscience cannot allow me to hire such a qualified young man for such a job. My singular wish is for him to get a sponsor to enable him to continue with his academics,” added Mr Mwangi, a retired primary school teacher.
The campus student has been desperate and any kind of work will do for him as he harbours hopes of resuming school.
“I'm bereft of choices…I was recently working in a quarry and had stints in the butchery and hotel industry. Life has become one major struggle, with no hope in sight,” he said, swallowing hard.
“I got admission at Strathmore University but I just managed to complete my first academic year only, before being shown the door for lack of fees,” he continued.
His effort to get a sponsor has not yielded fruits, forcing the young man into the uncertain world of job seekers. Being the first born in the family of nine, he has also been taking care of his siblings, further compounding his woes.
He managed to navigate through his secondary education after securing sponsorship through the now famous popular wings to fly initiative.
He scored 396 marks in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and had lofty dreams of joining the league of learned friends and standing at the bar, engaging in legal discourse with his peers.
The inspiration ebbing away, as days go by, he has done all he can, but nothing seems to work for the bright student. His lack of confidence shows.
"I am just praying and hoping that a Good Samaritan will come to my rescue. I believe I have what it takes to make it in the academic arena with the right support and am raring to go,” added Mr Githinji.
He needs nearly half a million shillings to successfully complete his studies at the university, which at the moment he cannot raise despite having been out of school for nearly five years.
On the verge of giving up, he is hinging his hopes on well-wishers to come to his aid. Alluding to hailing from a humble background that has further derailed his efforts of ever resuming schooling.
