Evans

Evans met Pastor George in Class 8 when his mother heard about the work Uzima Tele was doing for young children from Gituamba. As the first-born son of five, his mother could not afford to send Evans to secondary school without the support of a scholarship. After applying for a place, Evans became the first person from his home village to attend secondary school. 

At first, he found it difficult to acclimate to the competitive environment, as well as to his teachers who were from Eastern and Central Kenya – their accents were different from those in his village. Despite the challenges, Evans excelled in Math and History and earned the nickname “Computer” from his fellow classmates. He graduated in December 2017 and has been accepted to college in Bondo, where he plans to study Community Development and Social Work. Since graduation, Evans has volunteered at Uzimatele Primary and now is teaching mathematics at a St. John’s Secondary School in Mwiki in order save up money for enrolment this autumn. 

Evans believes the future of Kenya relies on helping people develop their skills, their education, and thereby offering them a chance at more opportunities and a better life. He is passionate about mentorship and helping children have access to the tools they need to succeed. After he graduates, he wants to begin social work including entrepreneurship training to help people get the skills to build their own businesses. 

Still, challenges lie ahead. For now, Evans isn’t sure how he will pay for the entirety of his college programme (each semester costs 32,900 KES). But he is committed to doing everything it takes to graduate. “My village motivates me,” he explains. “If I succeed, I can help others. I am not willing to fail – so many people depend on my success.”