Relief for vulnerable families as 400 learners secure M-Pesa Foundation scholarships

M-PESA Foundation Executive Director, Les Baillie hands over sanitary towels to Hadijah Juma from Kiwandani Primary School [File, Standard]

As Grade 10 learners across the country report to school under the weight of biting economic hardship, many parents are grappling with the rising cost of living and the heavy burden of school fees.

For hundreds of families, the transition to secondary school has been marked by anxiety and uncertainty, with some learners facing the real possibility of staying home due to a lack of fees.

But for 400 deserving learners from needy backgrounds, hope has been rekindled after the M-Pesa Foundation stepped in to ensure that financial constraints do not derail their education.

On Monday, the learners drawn from all 47 counties received a major lifeline after the Foundation awarded them full secondary school scholarships under the Citizens of the Future Scholarship Programme.

Among the beneficiaries is Jacob Mongesa from Chura Amaya Ward in Tiati Constituency, Baringo County. For Jacob, the scholarship represents a second chance at life after tragedy struck his family.

His father, the family’s sole breadwinner, died in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the family struggling to make ends meet.

“Without this scholarship, my hope of joining secondary school would have disappeared. I am happy that I can now pursue my education and work towards a good career,” Jacob said.

In Machakos County, another beneficiary, Lucy Muli, described the scholarship as a life-changing opportunity that has renewed her confidence and ambition.

Now a student at the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, Lucy could hardly hide her excitement as she spoke about beginning her secondary school journey.

“I’m very happy to be here right now. I’m a member of the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, and I’m going to do my best,” she said, expressing optimism about her future.

Lucy said she is still exploring different career paths but has a keen interest in science, which she hopes to pursue further through the training and exposure she will receive at the Academy.

Her mother, Janet Ndunge, a casual worker, said her daughter’s selection came as a huge relief for the family, which is already struggling to educate their firstborn, who is pursuing an engineering course at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

“If my child had missed this scholarship, her dreams would have been dimmed because I cannot afford secondary school fees,” she said.

Speaking during the launch and award ceremony, Safaricom Director of Sustainable Business and Social Affairs, Ms Karen Basiye, said the scholarship marks a significant expansion of the M-Pesa Foundation’s education support programme.

“For the last 10 years, the M-Pesa Foundation has been offering scholarships to students who join the M-Pesa Foundation Academy. This year, we have expanded the programme to cover students who have been called to various schools across the country,” Ms Basiye said.

Under the expanded model, 150 scholars will join the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, while 250 others will be placed in public secondary schools across all 47 counties, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 400.

The expansion has consolidated Safaricom Foundation, M-Pesa Foundation, and M-Pesa Foundation Academy education initiatives under a single umbrella dubbed “Citizens of the Future, which now serves as the education pillar of Safaricom’s social impact agenda.

Basiye explained that the programme goes beyond secondary school sponsorship and includes rebuilding primary schools across the country, digitising teacher training, supporting Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and providing long-term scholar support from secondary to tertiary education.

Selection into the programme, she said, is based on academic excellence, strong character and an “X-factor”, such as talent in sports, music, entrepreneurship or leadership potential.

“Over and above exemplary academic performance, we look for the X-factor. Are you musically talented? Are you a sports person? Are you an entrepreneur or a leader in the making?” she said.

Safaricom has committed Sh500 million over three years to support the 250 scholars placed in schools across the country, bringing the total cumulative investment in the expanded scholarship programme to Sh1 billion.

While the figures are significant, Ms Basiye emphasised that the focus is on transforming lives rather than counting numbers.

“In three years, we will have transformed the lives of 1,200 students across the country,” she said, adding that top-performing scholars will be supported beyond secondary school and into tertiary education.

The demand for the scholarships remains high, with the Foundation receiving over 8,000 applications, a clear indicator of the growing number of learners at risk of missing out on education due to financial hardship.

Ms Basiye said the Foundation is also extending support to high-performing learners from children’s homes and other vulnerable settings, ensuring that no deserving child is left behind.