Pauline’s dream was to get an education and to enable her siblings to get an education too.
- Born in 2001 in Nairobi county, Kenya
- Sponsored from 2021 to 2024 for her Bachelor in Commerce degree
- She started her career in 2025 at Trufoods in Receivables/Treasury
- She is 25 years old
Why did we sponsor Pauline?
Pauline’s mother sold vegetables and her father worked as a casual laborer. They earned just enough to cover their basic daily needs and were unable to pay school fees for their children. Pauline’s eldest sister had to drop out of secondary school because of financial difficulties. Despite these financial challenges and being regularly sent home from school due to unpaid fees, Pauline was able to complete her secondary education with good grades at the end of 2019, thanks to a number of small scholarships, her intelligence, and her hard work.
Pauline applied to Kids to School for sponsorship after being admitted to the Bachelor of Commerce program at the School of Business. Because of her promising academic results and strong motivation, Kids to School began sponsoring her in January 2021, enabling her to focus on her studies without the burden of financial stress. She successfully graduated in December 2024 with good results.
In January 2025, Pauline was able to start work immediately in a training program at Trufoods. This is a one-year postgraduate training program that will lead to a permanent position upon successful completion.
Pauline’s own words (Newsletter Kids to School July 2025)
I am the fourth child in a family of five and grew up in a Nairobi slum, where life is tough and you experience a lot at a young age. The worst thing I faced was the murder of my childhood friends. This was the result of the bad choices they had been forced to make to survive without the guidance of their alcoholic parents. From a young age, I knew I wanted to be different. But when I once told my friends I wanted to go to university, everyone, including myself, laughed out loud, considering the circumstances we faced as slum dwellers. My mother had never been to school, and my father and my older siblings had only completed primary school. Fortunately, I was able to attend secondary school in a rural area in the western region of Kenya, thus escaping slum life. At St. Ursula’s Chamakanga Girls’ School, I became class representative and later head of the student council. After graduating, I returned to Nairobi in 2019, where I resumed playing football for Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP). When my footballcoach Eva asked me about my future plans, I realised that with my good grades I could indeed go to university but how could I ever pay for it? Eva then contacted Ann, mentor at Kids to School (KtS) and contact person between VAP and KtS. Ann introduced me to KtS and KtS made university financially possible by covering tuition and a monthly allowance for upkeep. Because I enjoyed business administration and mathematics in high school, I chose to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (majoring in finance) at Kenyatta University. In ten years time, I want to have completed my master’s degree and be working as a financial analyst at one of the accounting firms. I also want to establish a foundation to help others believe in their own power and thus give back to society. I am currently gaining work experience at Trufoods Limited as a graduate trainee in Receivables/Treasury.