It's Almost Exam Time!

Fall is almost upon us! For our Form 4 students at Waddington High School, that means studying for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams, which they will be taking in the next couple of months.

As you know, here at Plant-a-Book International, we're passionate about making education available to children who have been raised in extreme poverty. Our hope is that gaining an education will help these young people break the cycle of poverty. Some of our high school students have ambitions to go to university and become accountants and doctors. Others want proof that they have a secondary education to find jobs after graduation. We want to make these goals achievable for them.

Before they can go on to college, students in Kenya must pass the KCSE exam. It covers three compulsory subjects -- English, Swahili and mathematics -- plus 2 science subjects, one humanities subject and one technical or practical subject, such as business studies, computers or agriculture. It costs $85.

Unfortunately, for most of our students, this exam is far too expensive. Many don't have money for food or books. The only meals many of our students eat are the ones provided at school, which are generously funded by our sponsors and donors and any contributions that parents are able to make.

Last year, we were thrilled to be able to to cover approximately one third of our Form 4 students in sitting for the exams, all based on funds from of our wonderful sponsors and donors! Now, it's time to raise money for next year's students.

The deadline to pay the KCSE fees is February 1, 2013. We have 92 Form 3 students who will be sitting the KCSE exams in 2013. Based on current sponsorships, we anticipate having enough funds set aside to cover 21 exams. That gives us less than 5 months to raise funds to assist the other 71 students who want to sit for these exams.

We appreciate every donation, whether it covers several students' fees or just a portion of one student's. Every little bit adds up to invest in these young people's futures. Because really, that's what Plant-a-Book is all about!

 

 

 

Submitted by Ashley Hagood, Staff Writer