Proposed Student: Saleh Stephen Ngila
Proposed School Program: Public Secondary School in Kenya

Saleh graduated from Lokusero Primary School in the Il Ngwesi region of Kenya. He lives in a rural masaai village and walks several kilometers each morning and afternoon in order to attend classes at Lokusero. He recently finished standard 8, the highest level of education available to him without external financial assistance.

Saleh finished standard 8 with very high marks and has, more often than not, received the highest marks in the class on tests and compositions throughout the year, regardless of subject.

Saleh’s favorite and most impressive subject is English. Unlike most of his peers, Saleh is very confident in his spoken English and is the first to
volunteer to speak in front of the class. His written compositions are the best in the class, showing his comfort with the English language, his thrid language spoken fluently, and his creativity in story telling and problem
solving.

Saleh is the only student from his class who, during breaks between classes, would often stay in the classroom, finishing or correcting assignments, studying or reading.

Saleh’s education is his passion but, because of his family’s financial situation, it is unlikely that he will be able to move on to secondary school without financial assistance.

There is no government day secondary school close to Saleh’s home so his most affordable option for secondary school is a government boarding school. The government subsidizes 10,500 KSH of the 31 550KSH yearly cost of boarding school. So this leaves Saleh 21 050 KSH ($285 USD) short of school fees. His family is able to contribute some but nowhere near enough.