Simon Kamau Mwaura

SIMON KAMAU MWAURA

NAKURU COUNTY

BENT BUT NOT BROKEN

FAMILY BACKGROUND

I came from not a so well of family; basically we used to lack even the most basic commodity. My mother having raised us single handedly after divorcing with my father at an earlier stage in life meant that we had to stay with my grandmother. My grandmother had to do menial jobs for our upkeep; majorly working on a coffee plantation.

I was enrolled in the NCCK sponsorship programme in the year 2010. Having successfully completed my secondary education I was lucky to get employed and I have been working since then.

After completing my primary education I had lost all hopes of joining secondary school even though I had scored high marks (396) in my KCPE. My mother had no job and I had nowhere to source for school fees. My grandmother through her monthly Chama meeting was introduced to the regional coordinator where she got to know about the programme. She then informed me about it and I decided to take a shot at it. Being in a deep pit of despair and depression of knowing I had no way to fund my secondary education. I found the information about the scholarship programme very helpful. It was my light at the end of the tunnel moment.

Upon realization of the viability of the opportunity to further my studies I was asked to present my academic certificates and write a letter describe everything about me including my family background and the financial status of my guardians. Luckily, due to my good performance in my primary education and social and financial background I landed a scholarship opportunity which was in immediate effect.

The scholarship chance was a wakeup call to me; it was more of a second chance in my life. It proved to me that all was not lost as I had earlier thought. The opportunity to learn again that was offered by NCCK really changed my view of life. It brought back the light that was almost dimming in life. It gave me hope for brighter days ahead. Being enrolled in the programme molded me spiritually since it was based on religious bases. It showed me, Gods plan for my prosperity. It also gave me piece of mind and assurance of safe and smooth sailing through high school education.

My dream is to basically change the world by giving back to society when I get accomplished in my field of professionalism. I want to be a top class photo journalist and work to show case our country’s rich and diverse culture. The biggest challenge in achieving all this is the lack of equipment (cameras, lenses, and speed lites) and other gadgets to help me diversify y skills as a photo journalist. Through the meagre pay I get I plan to care as much as I can to help me buy the gadgets needed for my field of work.