Empty promises crush dreams of KCSE star to pursue medicine course

Doris Waithera's dream of becoming a doctor to assist her autistic brother is on limbo. [Daniel Chege, Standard]

The stench from irregularly disposed garbage, poorly drained muddy roads and a crowded community, surround the home of Doris Waithera, 18, in Ponda Mali Slums within Nakuru County.

A single room is what Waithera has been calling home since she was born, together with her autistic brother, another elder brother and her parents.

In her own words, eating meat worth Sh100 is a celebration for the family of five-something that happened when she excelled in her KCSE examination in 2023.

The picture of her dismal home is a stark contrast to Waithera's brain, as she got a straight A of 81 Points in the examination, which she sat at Langalanga Secondary School.

"I was to join a national school after scoring 387 marks in my KCPE Examination but due to lack of school fees, I joined the sub-county school. I studied with hardship until I got a scholarship and, in the end, I excelled," she said.

In order to assist her elder brother who has autism, Waithera said her only choice is to be a doctor and to specialise as a paediatric cardiologist (heart doctor who works with children).

She said if she is lucky to be in the field of medicine, she will do anything to try and change her brother's condition that has been weighing on the family since she was born.

"Our environment is not conducive for my brother's condition. I feel for him and I also feel for other children and that is why I want to help those with heart conditions," she said.

When she passed her KCSE examination, the teenager was featured on media and got promises of scholarships to pursue medicine.

"Little did I know that my A of 43.073 cut-off points would not be enough to pursue medicine, under the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), I missed the 44 cut-off point by 0.023," she said.

KUCCPS placed Waithera under an Architecture degree course at Jomo Kenyatta University, but she only had one goal.

To ensure she pursues medicine, Waithera said she searched for universities offering scholarships and got an advert from Aga Khan University, which was offering scholarship to 70 students.

"I enrolled for an examination where I competed among 500 candidates, I made the top 120. We did another examination in June and I was among the top 70," she said.

Waithera applied for scholarship and the university offered her 70 per cent tuition fee amounting to Sh855,044 and 90 per cent on accommodation which adds up to Sh241,020 per academic year.

Waithera is now expected to pay Sh412,000 per year; the remaining tuition fees plus accommodation in the year. She is supposed to report to the institution by August 30.

"I struggled to do the examinations but when the fee structure came, I was shut down. My parents cannot afford that. My joy of excelling and being among the 70 was short-lived," she said.

Waithera said she was expected to pay half of the Sh150,765 required for her first trimester by July 30.

"The university called last Friday and asked if I was still interested in the scholarship. I asked them to give me a week but it is now August 4 and I have not seen any light," she said.

She said she visited the officer of an MP who promised to sponsor her but got no help. She said when she visited the office of the governor, which had promised to support her, she was told there was no bursary.

Nakuru East MP David Gikaria had pledged to sponsor Waithera for her first year in university when he went to their school during prize giving day. "My daughter visited his office, teachers called him and set up appointments but we have no answer to date," her father said.

Waithera's mother Serah Wangui said there was a reason why her daughter excelled and believes she will get help.