Three Turkana students dream of joining university in limbo after benefactor's death

Fred Ekiru Amurio, Brian Kimutai and Humphrey Eloor in Kuinei Kapchan village, Moiben Sub County, Uasin Gishu, on August 22, 2026. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Three vulnerable boys from Turkana County defied the odds to secure places at some of the country’s top secondary schools, thanks to an elderly woman who opened her home and heart to them after seeing their plight in a social media appeal.

But just as their stellar KCSE results promised to usher them into a brighter future, tragedy struck.

Their benefactor, Christina Cherono, popularly known as Kogo Christina, of Kapchan Village in Kuinet, Uasin Gishu County, died on December 6, 2025, aged 79, just before the trio could celebrate their impressive Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results with her.

Now, Humphrey Loreh, 19, Fred Amurio, 20, and Brian Kimutai, 18, are stranded without the support they had depended on, watching helplessly as their former classmates prepare to embark on university education.

Loreh, who was born in Nadirkonyen village in Turkana Central, is an orphan from a family of four children—two brothers and a sister.

He says he is the last-born, and none of his elder siblings had an opportunity to pursue their education.

Loreh recalls how his parents died when he was still a toddler, but he chose to pursue education in the hope of one day helping his siblings back in Nadirkonyen.

After scoring 404 marks out of 500 in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) at Nadir Koenyen Education Centre through the support of local well-wishers, Loreh embarked on another agonising search for assistance to join Maranda High School, where he had been called to study. He eventually achieved a B+.

“The sponsorship that took me through primary school came to an end when I did my KCPE, and I was forced to make an appeal through social media to continue my education in secondary school. I had qualified to join Maranda High School, and other students were beginning to join Form One while I was still at home, with no hope of reporting,” he said.

He added: “I was forced to turn to social media to appeal to well-wishers to help me join Maranda. That is when Kogo Christina contacted me and informed me that she had decided to sponsor my secondary school education. And that was not enough; she welcomed me to stay in her home.”

A portrait of the late Christina Cherono, popularly known as Kogo Christina, of Kapchan village in Kuinet, Uasin Gishu County, who died on December 6, 2025. [Peter Ochieng, Standard

Loreh says Kogo Christina’s daughters also welcomed him and the two other vulnerable boys as their brothers, embracing them with open arms.

But life took a painful turn soon after he completed his KCSE. Kogo Christina died aged 79 after a short illness, just as he and the two other boys waited anxiously for their high school results.

The late elderly woman, Loreh says, paid for everything, including bus fare to and from school, pocket money and other basic needs throughout the four years. With her death, however, their university education is now hanging in the balance.

He is set to join Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to pursue a course in financial engineering.

“Kogo’s death was the most devastating thing to happen to me. She passed away as we waited to celebrate our KCSE results with her because we finished high school thanks to her support. I applied for Higher Education Loans Board funding, which may cover my school fees, but the person who was to ensure that I get bus fare to JKUAT, food and other basic necessities is no more,” said Loreh.

Like Loreh, Amurio, 20, was losing hope of joining Kapsabet Boys High School in 2022 when the late Kogo Christina stepped in and helped him fulfil his dream.

Amurio’s hope of joining Egerton University for an undergraduate degree in Computer Science now hangs in the balance.

Already, first-year students reported to Egerton last week, but Amurio is still trying to figure out how he will travel to the institution without transport money or the means to cater for food and other basic needs.

He was born in a banditry-prone area of Turkana East and cannot return home because his parents were unable to provide food and school fees for him and his siblings.

“My parents in Lokori were unable to sponsor my education at Kapsabet Boys. It was Kogo Christina who did everything for me. I have stayed in her house since 2022. The late Kogo came in after I made an online appeal,” said Amurio.

Kimutai also completed his secondary school education at Kapsabet Boys and is uncertain whether he will join Chuka University, where he has been called to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in agribusiness management.

He was born to a single mother in Kibish, Turkana North, and is the youngest among the three beneficiaries of Kogo Christina’s philanthropy.

“My dream was to complete the agribusiness course and return to Kibish to support one vulnerable child to complete school in honour of Kogo Christina,” Kimutai said.

Kogo Christina’s daughter, Josephine Cherobon, says her mother had her own unique ways of mobilising resources, which she used to sponsor needy children from Turkana.

Ms Cherobon says it would be difficult for her and her siblings to raise enough money to support the vulnerable boys through university.

“My mother took them in 2022 after watching their plight on social media. She sympathised with them and asked us to look for them,” said Cherobon.

The daughter went on to say: “Kogo would call her personal friends and immediately raise money to pay fees for the three boys who were in national schools. She was a talented mobiliser, and as her children, we lack the same talent. We pray that well-wishers will help us continue my mother’s legacy of ensuring that the boys realise their dreams of completing university.”