Mother of four beats the odds to graduate 24 years after passing KCPE exam

When Maria Kosgei, 39, from Lombala village in Mogotio, Baringo, scored 500 marks out of 700 in the KCPE exam of 1999 and got an admission letter from Kabarak High School, she knew her dream of becoming a lawyer was on course.

However, there was a challenge. Her father, John Kosgei, a military officer and their family’s sole breadwinner, died the same day the results were released.

With her mother’s tireless efforts, she was admitted to Kabarak. But she soon started facing a school fee headache. And in February 2003, when she was in Form Four, she was sent home to collect fee arrears, which had accumulated to more than Sh110,0000.

“I had no option but to go home. The institution had insisted on everyone settling at least half of their arrears, meaning I was expected to pay more than Sh55,000 if I was to be allowed back in school,” explains Ms Kosgei.

Mother's sickness compounds matters

When she went home, she found her mother severely sick and bedridden, being nursed by her younger sister who was in Class Six. It then dawned on her that the dream of going back to school was farfetched. She resorted to taking care of her sickly mother and released her younger sister to go back to school.

“Now that my mother was bedridden, there was no hope of me going back to school. I resorted to nursing her, but one month later, she passed on. That is when my life and that of my siblings came crumbling down,” says the fifth born in a family of 12 as she fights back tears.

There was no one, not even relatives, to give them direction after they lost both their parents, and their life was virtually reduced to survival of the fittest, she recalls.

“My elder sister also dropped out of school in Form Three because of lack of fees. My elder brother had secured a job but was struggling to take care of my siblings.”

She sought a salon job at Emining shopping centre, which she did for six years before relocating to Nakuru in 2009 to work as a waitress.

Despite the myriad challenges, she still had the urge to return to school.

“It was not easy for me to go to a prestigious school, only to drop out and end up in the village. When schools closed and I saw my peers, I felt life was not fair to me and my siblings.

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“Despite so many problems, I still yearned to go back to school. I remember, a decade ago, approaching one of my former classmates at Kabarak High School, informing him that I would still go back to school and he was wondering how. He had already graduated from university and was teaching at a secondary school,” she says.

In 2016, a campaign in Mogotio dubbed Campaign Rudi Shuleni targeted those who had dropped out of school for various challenges to go back. She rejoined Form Three in 2017.

“I already had four children whom I was raising on my own, but I saw that this was a time to grab the opportunity. I enrolled at a private institution the following year,” explains the mother of four.

“The Ministry of Education failed to register the institution for the 2018 KCSE exam, claiming it had not met requirements, so I registered in neighbouring Athinai Secondary School and scored a B- in the national exam, emerging their best student.”

The school was aware of her predicaments and retained her as an untrained teacher the following year so that she could get some money to support her higher education.

“I taught at the institution until September 2019, when I got admitted to Kabarak University to pursue a Bachelor of Education. At the time, my firstborn was also expected to join Form One the following year. It was not easy juggling parenthood and education with no stable employment, but I encouraged myself that I had to complete university.”

From her pay at Athinai, she raised the required amount and joined the institution of higher learning. In her second year, she wrote a letter to the university’s vice chancellor, Henry Kiptiony, explaining her predicaments and the institution settled her fees for the second year.

While in third year, some of her relatives and friends organised a funds drive and she was able to clear her fee arrears.

“When I was at the university, my firstborn was also in secondary school. I used my Helb (Higher Education Loans Board) money to pay her fees as I hustled to get mine. Though I didn’t manage to pursue law, which I had yearned for since childhood, I am happy I fulfilled my dream of continuing my education.”

Crowning moment

Two weeks ago, she was among thousands of students who graduated from Kabarak University.

“I always wanted to achieve what I wanted, no matter the age. Despite being a mother of four, I went back to secondary school 14 years after dropping out.

“I encourage anyone going through the same challenges that you should not give up; be focused.

“There is a time when even your close relatives can disown you, but that should be your driving force. I thank God because my close friends turned out to be part of my family and supported me.

“I appeal to local leaders to help me secure a job so that I can support my children and my siblings, considering that I am the only one among my 11 siblings to join university. I would also wish to further my studies.

“My advice is: you should never give up, no matter the situation. Take one step at a time and you will reach your destination,” she concludes.

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