Watoto Wasome

Affecto Foundation is a non-profit organization in Kenya dedicated to providing scholarship opportunities and mentorship programs to secondary school students across the country. Our Watoto Wasome program aims to create lifelong impact by offering quality education to academically gifted learners from underprivileged backgrounds. In the academic year 2024, the organization is embarking on a significant expansion of Watoto Wasome program, with the goal of welcoming 50 new students into the program. The 50 new scholars will make make up Affecto Foundation’s Cohort 8. The organization has already onboarded 47 cohort 8 scholars into the program. Affecto received over 500 applications from across Kenya highlighting the serious need for intervention in bridging the education gap. However, due to financial limitations, the organization can only accommodate 50 new students at this time. One of the newly onboarded students is Ngechu, a young man born and raised in Eldoret. Ngechu is the first born of five children, he is currently being raised by the mother who is the sole breadwinner of the household. Prior to that, Ngechu’s parents were living together. However, the family never knew peace. Not once did the father cause chaos of physical and verbal abusive to the mother and children. The father is a drug addict whom to date, doesn’t contribute in raising his children. The family does not even know of his whereabouts. Due to the family wrangles, Ngechu’s mother opted to go back to her home. Here, they met Ngechu’s grandmother who neglects the family. She constantly compares her daughter to her learned sons and though she is in a position to educate her grandchildren, they are all under scholarship compelled by the community as they noticed the need of the family. This transpired when her children were seen in the streets when they were supposed to be in school. In 2019, Ngechu was diagnosed with Typhoid. He went through surgery that drained his physical health. To date, he cannot take part in extreme manual labour. His family struggles with socioeconomic challenges. The mother is a casual laborer, primarily engaged in laundry services. She barely manages to provide three meals a day for her children. Amidst all the challenges, the young man did extremely well in his final exams of primary school. He received an admission letter to a well performing high school in the country but due to their financial constraints, he had lost hope of continuing with his education. Affecto Foundation offered Ngechu a scholarship to enable him to fulfill his dream of being a doctor. We believe he will be a pillar of change in his family. We're grateful for the support we receive from GlobalGiving, which enables us to change lives through education. With your partnership, we're on track to making an even greater impact, providing education and support to those who need it most. Together, we can ensure a brighter future for deserving students like Ngechu and more