Francis

“Success is and will never be an activity, rather, it is a process”. These were the exact words spoken by Francis on his big day—his graduation day. Francis, our most recent graduate, joined the program in 2010 as a young boy full of ambition. He not only completed his studies but also graduated in 2023, where he and friends celebrated his success.

Francis joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in September 2017. He pursued a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, specializing in animal physiology, which entails studying how animals function and their life processes. He has always been a lover of animals. He completed his degree in December 2021 and graduated on July 28, 2022.

He was an intern at Bimeda Kenya, a leading global manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of animal health products and veterinary pharmaceuticals, as a sales representative for 3 months. Francis currently has two internship options, to either renew his internship contract with Bimeda or to join one of our employment initiatives, the Techmates program. He hopes to be able to put his skills and knowledge into action and add value to any place that he goes.

Shaleen

Shaleen has always been a focused and hardworking girl since she joined the program in 2010. Her dedication and resilience finally paid off when she was able to wear a graduation gown, a dream she has always had. On her graduation day, she had lots of emotions, but most importantly, she was proud of herself for being consistent all through her studies.

Shaleen joined the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in May 2018 after completing her high school studies in 2017. She pursued a degree in Bachelor of Commerce and specialized in accounting, an area that she really enjoyed as business studies were among her favorite subjects in high school. The program took 4 years to complete and on the 17th of December 2021, she finally graduated. 

She is currently working as a temporary finance assistant at the Christian Health Association of Kenya  (CHAK). When asked about her aspirations, Shaleen said that she hopes to complete the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) course, earn the accredited title, venture into the audit

In 2022, we had a total of 30 class 8 candidates who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations. This is an examination that marks the end of primary education and paves the way for the students to pursue their secondary education. These particular students were among the second-last batch of learners in the country under the 8-4-4 system to sit for KCPE.

The examination usually takes a few days to complete and it took place between November 28th and December 1st 2022. The top student in the country scored 431 out of 500 while the top student in the organization was Louse who scored 398 out of 500 marks! The mean grade for the class 8 candidates was 322 out of 500 which is above average performance. 

These students will soon be joining form one possibly at the end of this month in different learning institutions. We would like to congratulate them and wish them all the best as they transition into their secondary education.

Caroline has been able to show resilience all through her studies. She joined the program in 2012 with academic aspirations that she has been able to fulfill.

She studied at the Kabete National Polytechnic where she took a course in social work and community development and graduated. She has also gained valuable experience through attachments and internships. In 2021, she was sent to the NRCF offices to work with the primary department, and in 2022, she interned at the same location to work with the secondary department.

Caroline is currently working with ICEA Lions Group as a salesperson, a position she has held since October 2022. She aspires to further her studies as she continues to work as well as volunteer during the Saturday programs. We wish her all the best!

Sallyanne and Tabitha are our very first students to venture into the Blockchain space. In January 2022, they were among the first students to join the Techmates Programme which was launched at the same time. They ventured into Digital Marketing and It was through the Techmates Programme that they were introduced to work with Lido Nation. Lido Nation is a Cardano staking pool and it also has a website with tons of information for everyday people and newcomers to learn about the Blockchain world.

They signed a 6 months contract with Lido Nation and their work was to translate the articles on the Lido Nation website into Swahili. At the end of the contract, they came up with 3 original articles each related to Blockchain that were published on the Lido Nation website! After the 6 months contract elapsed, the team from Lido Nation was impressed by the work they had done and they, therefore, gave them another 4 months contract to become community outreach officers in the Ngong Road Blockchain Lab, the first Blockchain lab in Africa. This lab is a result of funding from Project Catalyst, a series of experiments that seek to generate the highest levels of community innovation. 

Sallyanne was privileged to become a co-proposer with Stephanie and Darlington from Lido Nation in the proposal, “Swahili learn to earn”. The proposal got funded and the project kicked off on the 1st of December 2022, with Sallyanne and Tabitha still being part of the project. It is through them working for Lido Nation that DirectEd got in touch with them through Stephanie to help them with their project that will be launched in Kenya next year in January. Directed identifies high-potential students in Kenya and Ethiopia and supports them with the resources and training required to start a successful career as remote software developers. 

They have so far met with Simon Sallstrom, the CEO of DirectEd who is currently in Kenya, and Moses Kahure who is the Kenya Lead. They have accompanied Simon and Moses to Kagumo High School and Bishop Gatimu Ngandu High School to sign the Memorandum of Understanding and to also help the team from DirectEd to carry out surveys that are meant for the preparation of the curriculum for the program. Sallyanne and Tabitha have also been contracted by Gero Wallet, which is one of the Cardano Wallets, to translate their wallet content from English to Swahili for it to be used in Africa for the Swahili-speaking countries. 

The Blockchain space is one that so many people are not familiar with and to have Sallyanne and Tabitha become wits in it is such an outstanding achievement not only to them but to the entire organization. We are so proud of them for this milestone and hope they will continue raising the bar even higher for our students.